Spread Wildflower Cheer- Now and Later
Send double the positivity to your friends and family with a handmade seed and paper pulp card! They’ll be delighted now to receive a handmade card and later as they watch the wildflowers sprout and bloom. Seed paper cards are great for the environment as they help reduce paper waste. This activity is great for kids of all ages.
Objective:
Create a seed paper card to send to a friend or family member that can be planted later to grow wildflowers.
Materials:
- Paper like newspaper, egg cartons, tissue paper, phone book pages, paper grocery bags, etc.
- Warm water
- Blender
- Strainer
- Cookie sheet with sides
- Paper towels
- Absorbent rags or terry cloth
- Spoon or spatula
- Teaspoon of wildflower seeds
Directions:
- Tear paper into small pieces.
- Loosely fill the blender ¾ full with paper pieces.
- Add warm water until it covers the paper. Place lid on blender.
- With adult supervision, turn on the blender (or pulse) and run until a pulp has formed (between 20 and 40 seconds).
- Sprinkle the wildflower seeds into the pulp mixture.
- Pour the mixture into a strainer to get out as much water as possible. Hint: use a spoon, spatula or an open hand to press the mixture against the strainer to squeeze as much water as you can from the pulp.
- Lay down the absorbent rags or terry cloth fabric on top of a cookie sheet.
- Pour the pulp onto the absorbent rags or terry cloth fabric lined cookie sheet.
- Spread the pulp into any shape you want. Hint: The pulp mixture should be as thin and flat as possible so it dries quicker.
- Cover pulp with paper towels, press out the rest of the water with flat hands, and let dry.
- After the pulp has dried, turn it over, carefully remove the absorbent rags or terry cloth fabric and let the other side dry. Hint: you may want to add a heavy book to the top to keep the paper flat as it dries.
- When your seed paper is dry, you can cut or fold it into smaller pieces for sending cards to friends and family. Be sure to include the following instructions in your card: Wait until the weather is a bit cooler to plant. When you are ready, plant seed-side down in soil and water.
