How to Make Seed Paper

Celebrate Earth Day with a sustainable craft idea that helps the planet and also allows you to recycle old scraps of paper and turn them into whimsical, plantable paper sheets that you can use to grow flowers and herbs!

One cute idea is to cut your finished seed paper into different shapes using scissors or cookie cutters. You can make heart or flower shapes and use them as tags for your homemade gifts or make bigger pieces of paper for greeting cards and notes.

Start by tearing paper from magazines, newspapers, or old mail into small pieces.

You can soak these small pieces of paper in water for several hours to help soften the paper before blending it. This works especially well for magazine paper since it usually has a thicker consistency.

Place the small pieces of paper in a blender or food processor. Add plenty of water until you cover the paper pieces completely. Then, add one or two extra cups if possible. If you are creating a lot of new paper, you might need to do this in batches.

If you soak the paper for hours, make sure to drain the old water, add the pulp into the blender or food processor, and then add new water into the mix.

Blend the mixture until you get a smooth pulp consistency.

Transfer the paper pulp from your blender or food processor to a plastic container. You could use an aluminum foil pan too. The container needs to be deep enough to be able to immerse the mesh or screen and grab the pulp.

After the pulp is in the plastic container, add more water.

Dip the mesh or screen into the mixture and pour a thin or medium layer of the paper pulp onto the screen. Spread it out evenly with your hands.

While the pulp is still wet on the screen or mesh, scatter seeds on the top until you cover most of the surface completely.

You could add the seeds to the pulp mixture, but I discovered that it's harder to distribute them throughout the paper sheets unless you have tons of seeds floating at the top.

Carefully transfer the seed paper to a dishcloth or a thick towel.

Use a sponge to gently press on the top of the mesh or screen to remove the excess water and flatten the pulp into compact paper.

After you transfer the seed paper to a towel, you can use your hands to press the seeds a bit more and make sure they stay in place.

Wait about one hour and carefully transfer the paper sheets to a flat and dry surface.

Allow your new seed paper to air dry completely. This may take one to two days depending on the thickness of the paper.

It's better to dry the new paper sheets indoors to prevent birds from trying to eat the seeds or to prevent them from blowing away on the wind, but you can place them in the sun from time to time to speed up the drying process.

You can use heavy books to press the paper after it dries to ensure it stays flat and the seeds stay in place.

It's a good idea to store the seed paper in a cool, dry place until you're ready to use it or give it away.

When it's time to plant the seed paper, rip the sheet into small pieces. Plant the paper in a pot with proper drainage, or plant it directly in the ground. Use a small stick or a gardening tool to create holes in the soil. Place the small pieces of seed paper into the holes, spacing them a bit or according to the recommendations on the seed packet. Gently cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.

Water regularly and enjoy watching your beautiful seed paper sprouting into colorful flowers or herbs, bringing joy to your home and garden!