Seed Paper Ornament Making Tutorial
Imagine gazing at your holiday decorations with the knowledge that they will sprout into beautiful flowers, herbs and vegetables in the spring. This is joy that Seed Paper Ornaments bring to the season! You can make these as holiday gifts after soaking them overnight in a few hours. It is a satisfying project for children of all ages that reconnects people with both art and nature.
Seed Paper Ornaments are homemade paper in holiday shapes that hold the secret of life – seeds! They are fun to make and fantastic to add to cards, gifts or on their own with a little tag with planting instructions. You can also make seed paper for other purposes, not just ornaments. They can be as simple as the star on a string in the featured photo or as ornate as you wish. Your imagination is your only limitation. Using natural or biodegradable decorations makes it nicer to plant in the spring but you may add detachable decorations too.
Equipment you’ll need to make Seed Paper Ornaments:
- Bowl with lid or cover
- Blender
- Spoon
- Screen with a small mesh (I used a Frying Pan Grease Splatter Screen)
- Towels
- Cookie cutters (not plunger cookie cutters)
- Needle
- Toothpick/chopstick
Supplies for making Seed Paper Ornaments:
- Paper scraps
- Water
- Seeds (save the seed packet instructions for planting tips later)
- Thread (embroidery floss or thin metallic cord)
- Optional: Decorations (glue, pens, biodegradable glitter, food dye, etc.)
Seed Suggestions
- Carrot
- Poppy
- Radish
- Oregano
- Columbine
- Chia
- Catnip
- Millet
- Nigella
- California poppy
- Mustard
- Any small seed will do….
Procedure for making Seed Paper Ornaments:
- Choose the paper that you want for your finished ornaments. Be sure that the paper you choose is not plastic coated or have adhesive on it. If you want differently colored or differently textured (think sparkles or grains) ornaments, separate the paper into piles according to color or textures.
- Shred paper into a bowl (or bowls if you are getting fancy).
- Add enough water to completely cover the paper.
- Cover the bowl(s) with a lid or towel.
- Let the paper soak overnight. (If you are using extremely thin, spongy paper like newsprint, a shorter soaking time is fine.)
- Remove the cover and check to see if the paper is pulpy.
- Pour the paper and water into a blender. (You can add more water if you wish.)
- Blend until it turns to mush.
- Put a sturdy screen with a fine mesh on a towel.
- Place your cookie cutters on the screen with the cutting side down.
- Pour your seeds into the blender with the paper mush. (about 1 teaspoon of seed to every 2 cups of paper mush) This is also the time to add glitter, food color or other details.
- Blend just enough to spread the seeds evenly throughout the mush.
- Take the blender container off the base.
- Spoon the mixture evenly into the cookie cutters being sure to get the corners inside the cookie cutters.
- Use the chopstick or toothpick to level out the edges and small spaces.
- Use your toothpick/chopstick, gently push the finished product out of the cookie cutter.
- Let your project dry overnight in a warm, dry place changing the towel under the screen when it gets soggy.
- When the paper gets close to being dry, pat the tops to level out the lumps then turn the ornament over to allow even drying.
- Use your toothpick/chopstick, gently push the finished product out of the cookie cutter.
- When the Seed Paper Ornaments are completely dry, decorate your ornaments as the mood strikes you.
- Thread your needle.
- Poke a hole in the top of the Seed Paper Ornament and leave about 6 inches of thread in the hole.
- Knot the thread ends together so you can hang your ornament for all to see. Viola!
Tips for Beginners
If you don’t like a small section of your ornament just moisten it and reshape it.
If the edges are too ragged, trim it with scissors.
In the spring, put your ornament in the soil following the seed packet’s instructions.
If you screw up completely, throw the ornament and more paper in a bowl with water and try again. It’s just paper.