DIY Seed Paper Valentines

6 Materials
$5
1 Hour
Easy

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

I have a fun and easy DIY to share with you today, seed paper Valentine’s.

Now you may be wondering, what is seed paper?

Seed paper is recycled bits of paper mixed with seeds. You can use the paper for a card, or in this case a Valentine, that can be placed in the garden or flower bed and will sprout flowers for summer time beauty.

The seed paper Valentines combine my love for gardening with a bit of recycling to create beautiful, one of a kind Valentines.

These are so easy to make, and it’s a great project for the family to help with.

Doesn’t that sound loverly?

Here’s what you need to get started

  • Heart Shaped Cookie Cutters
  • Paper
  • Tissue, Craft Paper and/or Packing paper
  • Cookie sheet
  • Butterfly Milkweed Seeds (or wild flower seeds)
  • Water
  • Mr. Clean type sponge (optional)
  • Blender (optional)

Are you ready?

Gather your paper – tissue paper, craft paper, or packing paper.

The paper shouldn’t be coated, like some wrapping paper, but left over tissue paper from the holidays is fabulous to use for this project. Or some of that packing paper from all of your Amazon.com orders.

The pop of red, looks gorgeous for our seed paper Valentines.


Start by ripping your paper in to small pieces, you want about one and a 1/2 to 2 cups of paper.


Don’t pack the paper in, leave it loose.


Add the paper pieces to a large bowl and add 2 cups of water.


Here’s where you can use a blender or just your hands to mix the paper and water in to a slurry.


If you have a blender for crafting, fabulous.


It’s important to have a separate blender that the one you use for your food, because you don’t want to contaminate food with left over glitter, paper or random bits left over from previous craft projects.


The blender that I use for crafting was picked up for a steal at Goodwill. Keep your eyes open at yard sales and thrift stores if you need one.


Back to the DIY.


If you have a craft blender, add the paper and water mixture to your craft blender and pulse to mix into a slurry.


You want a wet mixture to start as it makes for easier mixing and forming, so if it looks a bit dry, add more water.

If you don’t have a blender for crafting, that’s OK.


Just let the mixture sit about 10 – 15 minutes to absorb water and use your hands (or enlist a couple kids to help) to mix and squish the paper together with the water.


Once your slurry is ready, strain about the slurry to remove about a cup of water.

It doesn’t need to be exact, you just want a wet pliable mix in your bowl or container.


You want a loose mixture to start.


Transfer your drained slurry to a container.

Then, add your wildflower seeds and mix them together.

I used butterfly milkweed for my seed paper Valentines.


It’s like an extra gift, because not only does brings beautiful flowers to the garden, but the flowers will bring butterflies, too!


You can use any kind of flower seeds, I love wildflower seeds, including butterfly milkweed.


This is such a loverly way to gift seeds collected from last years flowers to your friends.


While our paper slurry and seed mix hang out for a minute, line a cookie sheet with paper.

This will help catch some of the moisture.


Next, place your cookie cutters on cookie sheet.

You really need only one or two cookie cutters, they will be used to frame the shape.


Instead of making cookies and cutting into the dough, the cookie cutter gets filled with the seed paper slurry.

You can also add dried flower petals to some of the paper and seed mixture for added texture.


Press them in with the slurry mix so they don’t lose their shape.

The flower petals look really pretty once the slurry dries and transforms in to the seed paper.


Fill the cookie cutter in about a centimeter or so and press down flat.


Make sure to get into all the corners and edges.

Once you have filled your heart with the seed paper slurry, grab a Mr. Clean type sponge.


Use one to press down the paper and seed mixture in to the heart form.


Be gentle, because the sponge will also absorb some of the water from the paper.


Wring out the sponge as you go along.

Once the heart is pressed and the excess water has been removed, carefully remove the cookie cutter and repeat the process until you fill up your cookie sheet [or until all the seed paper slurry mix has been used up].

The paper seed Valentines need to dry, but let them air dry slowly.


If you speed the process, the seed paper will curl as it dries.


Slow and steady wins this race.


I made mine in an afternoon. I let them dry a bit and then carefully flipped them over before bed giving them time to dry overnight.


Be still my paper seed heart, aren’t they beautiful?

Look at the precious seeds mixed with the recycled paper.


These seed paper hearts are thicker than normal paper, so we don’t want to punch a hole thru them to hang them.


Simply add a bit of clear washable glue to the back, then add a loop of cotton string.

I used cotton string because the goal is to create a biodegradable gift for your Valentine.


Since these hearts will be placed in the garden in the spring, we want to make sure there is nothing in our seed paper Valentines to harm the environment.

Once the glue dries, you add a little love note, but I love mine just the way they are.

I love how the heart with the petals turned out. You can see the milkweed seeds peeking out and the dried petals look gorgeous.


This one is my favorite.

Hang your beautiful seed paper Valentine’s around your home, but don’t forget to share them with your friends! Love is always better shared.


Now after Valentine’s Day, depending on where you live, sow seeds of love and toss the seed paper heart in your garden and water.


Then wait for the magic to happen and you flowers to grow.

Keep the paper damp, so that the seeds will sprout.

Not to break your heart, but to multiply your flowers, simply tear the heart in two pieces for double flower coverage. Then toss in your garden.


Now it is time to sow seeds of love by sharing these beautiful seed paper Valentines with your friends.


Happy Valentine’s Day, loverlies.


Juliet


Pin it for later! You can make these anytime, gift them anytime.

BTW – These make place cards for for bridal showers, weddings and baby showers.

Resources for this project:
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A loverly life
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Carol Jollymore Carol Jollymore on Feb 11, 2021

    with the water used in the process do the seeds ever sprout on the heart prematurely?

  • Gail Buckley Crane Gail Buckley Crane on Feb 12, 2022

    I understand that the hearts are too thick to punch a hole in...could you put a small piece of a plastic straw into the wet material at the place you would like a hole, and let the whole thing dry. Remove the straw and you have a perfect hanging hole

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  • Cat24158165 Cat24158165 on Feb 12, 2022

    I ❤️ This idea. I save several seeds and can’t wait to try & share w/Family & Friends who live far away! I would love to receive a sample. Thank You for sharing idea!!

  • Rose Rose on Feb 13, 2022

    This will be the perfect Mother’s Day gifts for my Kindergarten class to make-& just in time to plant in our Minnesota gardens for Spring! You are so clever & creative! TY!!

    Ms. Rosie

    P.S. It would be so nice to show the kiddos one of yours up close & personal-If you are able to share:) The school’s address is: Our Lady of Peace School, 5435 11th Ave So, Mpls, MN 55417

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