Springtime Seed Paper Flowers

 

It's finally spring! Seed paper is easy to make with kids- you just need an old blender. The finished paper can be cut into shapes to make lovely cards for Mothers Day or as teacher thank you notes in little pots.

Materials:

Old wood frame

Screen material (fiberglass) from Home depot or buy some online

Thumb Tacks

A hammer

Color Construction paper 3-4 sheets torn or cut in 1” pieces

Seeds- we used wild flowers

Big pan- ours is a foil pan from the baking aisle at the grocery store and measures 13”x19”

Shaped cookie cutter
Handy wipes or paper towels- Handi wipes work GREAT and are reusable!

Old blender- ours is 2nd hand from the Salvation Army

Soak shredded paper overnight in bowl of water.

Use a hammer to thumbtack the mesh screen tightly across a frame (or use an embroidery hoop - instructions below).

Add the soaked paper with the water to a blender and mix. 

Add more water if mixture isn’t smooth.

Put pulp mixture in the baking pan.

Add more water so that it’s about 2.5” deep.

Stir in the seeds.

Mix with your hand as the stuff settles and sinks.

Hold the screen frame parallel to the tabletop and dip it into and under the pulp and seed mixture.

Move it gently from side to side to remove excess water and distribute the pulp evenly on the screen.

Keep the screen horizontal to the water as you lift the screen frame out of the water.

Place the screen frame with the pulp and seed mixture on top of an old bath towel or pan and let it drain.

Press the Handi wipe or paper towel to absorb and lift the water from the paper.
Squeeze the wipe out and return it to the screen.

 
Place the frame, pulp side down, onto a dry towel or handy wipe.

Slowly lift the screen and peel the edge of the paper away so that the seed paper drops onto the cloth

You can do the project with an embroidery hoop as well.
Add the screen between the hoops then trim off the outside material and continue as above. 

Let the paper dry overnight or place it outside in the sun to dry.

Trace a shape (we used a cookie cutter) and cut the paper.

Tip: If the paper is not flat after drying, place a heavy book over it for a few hours.

Directions for planting: Lay paper in the dirt and sprinkle ¼-inch layer of soil over it.

Water the soil and keep seeds wet until they sprout.