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How to Make and Use Seed Paper

Author Bio

Emma Gallagher is a Brit living in North Carolina. She grows organic gardens and... Read More

Making seed paper combines the joy of crafting and gardening. And, to be fair, you needn’t be proficient in either discipline to partake in this activity.

Making paper is a fairly traditional craft at this point. In the age of reusing and recycling, papermaking has become an activity that many have partaken in. The seed part, however, is a new addition that elevates the humble handmade paper to another level.

What is Seed Paper Exactly?

Seed paper is handmade paper that has live seeds embedded into it. You can use absolutely any seeds as long as they are fairly small so as not to protrude from the paper too much or scratch off.

The seed paper is then usually made into some kind of gift or greeting card. Once the occasion has passed, the recipient may then put their paper in the garden or pot on top of soil and water. The wet paper will provide water for the seeds, and they will eventually germinate. Think growing beans on paper towels in kindergarten!

The paper will, of course, eventually disintegrate into the soil and leave the seedlings to root into the earth properly.

What Paper Do I Need?

Before you can make your seed paper, you will need to gather lots of paper material. The best paper to use is newspaper, grocery bags, pages from phonebooks or old books, cardboard or printer paper. You want to avoid anything glossy, plastic coated, or that has metal-based inks on it.

What Seeds Do I Need?

You can use any seed you wish. The only thing you have to think about is how it will behave when surrounded by paper pulp. Imagine trying to make seed paper that you would like to use as a greeting card. Using bulky seeds like sunflower or calendula seeds just won’t work. They are too big and would make it impossible to get the paper thin enough to manage. As well, the protruding seeds would hinder any kind of writing you’d like to do.

If, however, you want to make seed paper ornaments, where the paper pulp might be thicker, you can use larger seeds.

Many wildflower mixes would work well, though you might have to fish out any seeds that are too bulky. Almost all herbs seeds would work well, too. Before you go making up a mix of your own, just give a thought to what those plants will look like growing together in terms of size and space needed.

How Do I Make Seed Paper?

Source: Naples Botanical Garden/YouTube

What You Will Need:

Scrap paper
Seeds
Water
Food processor or blender
Mixing bowl and spoon
Cookie Cutters (optional)
Towel or microfiber cloth and a sponge
Flat-bottomed strainer or fine mesh

Step One:

By hand, tear your paper into bits. It doesn’t have to be too thorough, you just want to give your blender a head start. Next, put the torn paper into your blender, about two-thirds full, and pour in a little water. You are looking to make a nice pulp, so add the water little by little until you get the right texture. Make sure that the paper is really well blended. You don’t want to see chunks of paper.

Step Two:

Next, transfer your paper pulp into a mixing bowl. Now, you will add your seeds. There really isn’t a specific amount. Add as many as you want, but remember that seeds need space to grow, so don’t go wild! Then, either with your hands or with a spoon, mix the seeds into the pulp until they are evenly dispersed. REMEMBER: the seeds must go in after the blender part of the process. The blender will damage the seeds.

Step Three:

This will depend on what you want to make. The goal of step three is to transfer your seedy pulp into a space to dry.

If you want very thin paper, you can turn your pulp out onto a towel that is spread out on a flat surface. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the pulp out as flat as possible, and use a sponge to mop up any excess water.

If you want to make ornaments, press your pulp into cookie cutters that are set out on a towel. Note that the water is going to drain onto the towel, so be mindful of where the towel is. Once the pulp is dry, you can make a small hole in the top of the ornament and thread a piece of string or ribbon through it for hanging.

Alternatively, you can spread your pulp out into the bottom of a flat-bottomed strainer a leave it to drain over a towel or sink.

Whatever your method, leave the pulp to dry in a shady spot as sunlight might encourage the seeds to germinate.

Step Four:

Lastly, carefully prize your seed paper from the strainer, cookie cutter, or towel. Then, turn your dried seed paper into whatever creation you want. If you are giving it as a gift, don’t forget to let the recipient know what they are receiving and give a few instructions, too.

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