CREATION STATION: MAKE YOUR OWN PLANTABLE SEED PAPER

• Paper of your choice (not glossy or coated)
• Water
• Plant seeds of your choice
• Blender
• Mixing bowl
• Plastic wrap or parchment paper
• Cookie cutters (optional)
• Paper towels or cloth
• Hairdryer (optional)

Directions

• Tear the paper into small pieces, and place it in the blender. Then, add twice as much water as paper. (For example, if the paper reaches the 1 cup mark on the blender, add 2 cups of water.) Blend the paper into a pulp, and then transfer it to the mixing bowl. Squeeze the water from the pulp, and make sure there aren’t any large chunks of paper in it.

• Next, add a handful of seeds to the paper pulp. The number of seeds required will depend on the type of seeds you use and the finished effect you are looking for. For instance, if you have somewhat large seeds you might not want to use that many of them. Or maybe you want the paper to be dotted with lots of smaller seeds.

• Mix the seeds into the pulp using your hands or a spoon. (Don’t use the blender, which can damage the seeds.)

• If you are using cookie cutters as molds to make specific paper shapes, place them onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Then, press the paper pulp firmly inside the cookie cutters for even coverage, and remove the cookie cutters.

• If you aren’t using cookie cutters, simply press the paper pulp on plastic wrap or parchment paper into your desired shape. Try to spread the pulp fairly thin, as a thick layer will take longer to dry. Use a paper towel or cloth to press as much water as possible from the pulp.

• Drying the seed paper quickly is essential. Otherwise, the seeds might start to sprout. Place the seed paper in a warm environment, and ensure that air can circulate around it. Blowing the seed paper with a hairdryer on the cool setting can help it dry.

• When the seed paper is thoroughly dry it can be finished as desired. For example, you can decorate it with stamps or writing utensils. And you can punch a hole in it, through which you can feed a ribbon or string to use the paper as a gift tag.