Make your own Seed Paper Christmas Trees & create gifts that will grow & grow! Attach the trees to cardstock to make cute Christmas or 'Thank You' cards, & then in the new year plant them outdoors & watch wildflowers grow for the bees. Made from recycled paper they're super eco-friendly, making them a perfect gift for friends. family, & wildlife too!
Here's how we made them.
These really are so simple to make & the process is great for kids to get stuck in, especially all the squishing & squeezing of the wet paper.
To make Seed Paper Christmas Trees you'll need:
Scraps of or pre-used paper (newspaper, brown paper, non shiny wrapping paper etc)
Wire mesh (we use a splatter guard for a saucepan) & drying rack
Old tea towel
Liquidiser
Christmas tree cookie cutter
Wildflower seeds
Method:
(For a more illustrated guide visit here)
1. Roughly rip up the paper into small sections. We used scraps of green paper left from previous crafts, but any porous paper works well too. (Don't worry if you've no green paper, you can always paint your finished tree green once it's dry.)
2. Soak the paper in bowl with 2 cups of water for around 5mins
3. Pour the soggy paper & water into a liquidizer & blend for a few seconds until you've created a pulp.
4. Tip the contents into the centre of a tea towel & squeeze most of the water out over a sink. (Make sure the pulp is still 'squishy' otherwise the next step won't work so well.) Add the pulp to a container.
5. Sprinkle over your wildflower seeds & gently mix them into the pulp. Small seeds like borage, poppy, cornflower, or nigella seeds work well.
6. Place your cookie cutter on the mesh rack over a bowl. Push some of the pulp/seed mix into the cookie cutter, making sure it fills all the corners. You'll need to hold the cookie cutter to prevent it slipping while you continue to push the pulp down to remove as much water as possible.
7. Once you've filled the shape, carefully push your Christmas tree from the base of the cookie cutter. We found it was easier to press out the corners with one hand whilst holding the base of the cookie cutter in the other.
8. The trees are a little delicate at this stage, so carefully place them on a wire rack to dry. We dried ours overnight in the airing cupboard.
8. Once dry the Paper Seed Christmas Trees are ready to use.
I love the effect of the cornflower seeds on this tree with the paper heart, they remind me of little shooting stars, perfect for Christmas.
To create our Christmas cards we folded a sheet of A5 card in half & used a glue stick to attach our trees. We added a little star, along with a note about planting the seeds for the bees in the Spring. You can download a Free copy of our labels here.
These eco-cards can be planted in containers, window boxes, or a garden, basically they'll grow anywhere outdoors where there's space. And when they've finished producing their wildflowers for the bees at the end of the Summer they'll produce seeds ready for more flowers next year. It's like a gift that keeps on giving. ♥
If your children are passionate about the environment, or keen to care for bees, then these Seed Paper Christmas Trees make a great craft to explore over the festive season, & a neat way to recycle any Christmas wrapping paper!
Whether you're making Christmas cards or 'Thank you' cards, these trees are guaranteed to make a positive difference to wildlife next year, & who knows, by sending them maybe you'll inspire others to do the same. ♥