I’ve been wanting to experiment with homemade seed paper for a long time now and this weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity with Mother’s Day just around the corner.

It’s a great DIY project because it perfectly embodies the 3 Rs:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Not only will you reduce your consumption by removing the need to buy new paper but you will also reuse and recycle old paper to make the pulp.

What I love most about plantable seed paper though is that once you have finished using it you can plant it outside and watch it grow!

You will need:

• Recycled paper 8-10 pieces (newspapers, receipts, junk mail…)
• Seeds
• Dried flowers
• Hand blender
• Screen splatter guards x 2
• Large shallow container
• Dish cloth

Method:

1. Tear your paper into small pieces and soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes.

2. Then blend the water and paper mixture until you reach a pulpy consistency.

(N.B. some people suggest using a full kitchen blender but the general consensus is that it clogs the machine and once you’ve used it for paper blending you can’t go back to food blending … hence I used the hand blender that didn’t get clogged)

3. Then you can add your seeds.

… For one batch I used wildflower seeds and dried flowers …

… for another batch I used chilli seeds, chilli flakes and rosemary!

4. Now pour your mixture into a shallow container.

… it should be looking something like this …

5. Then evenly cover one of your splatter guards with the pulp.

6.  Place the second splatter guard on top and pat down firmly with your dish cloth to absorb as much water as possible.

7. Remove the top splatter guard and leave the paper to dry for a few hours.

8. Get creative – once the paper is dry you can create cards, tags or anything else you fancy!