Valentine’s Day Cards You Can Plant!

For a greener valentine, create plantable paper that’ll sprout come spring.

Materials:

  • Used picture frame
  • Scissors
  • Fine mesh screening from a hardware store
  • Thumbtacks
  • 3 to 5 sheets of 81⁄2-by- 11-inch scrap paper
  • Blender
  • Warm water
  • 1 Tablespoon flower seeds
  • 2 dish towels
  • 1 piece of felt

Instructions:

  1. Remove glass and backing from the picture frame. Cut screening to fit the size of the frame and secure it with thumbtacks to form a sieve. The size of your frame determines the size of your seed paper.
  2. Rip scrap paper into very small pieces, and put in blender. Add enough warm water to cover the scraps and let soak for 45 minutes.
  3. Add 2 additional cups of water per 1 cup of well-soaked paper scraps.
  4. Run the blender slowly, gradually increasing the speed until the mixture thickens and no visible paper flakes remain. Be sure to blend in short spurts so as not to burn out the motor! Add seeds and gently mix with a spoon—don’t blend them—to create the pulp.
  5. Place the sieve over the sink, then spoon pulp onto it, letting the water drain.
  6. Lay one of the towels on a flat surface and place a piece of felt on top of it. Gently flip pulp-covered sieve onto felt. Remove sieve, leaving the pulp on the cloth. Press lightly with another towel to remove excess water.
  7. Allow pulp to dry completely (at least 24 hours). Once pulp has fully dried into a flat sheet, cut into fun valentine shapes, like hearts or flowers.
  8. Decorate with string, glitter, or stickers. Don’t forget to let your valentine know he or she can plant your card!