I am speaking! — Northwest Flower and Garden Festival

The Northwest Flower and Garden Festival is this week in Seattle and I will be there! I love this show because there are so many creative ideas, new plants, and fun activities. This year they are doing Traveler Teas where you can visit gardens all over the world and enjoy a lovely tea in the process. I am signed up for the Gardens of England and can’t wait. If you still need tickets to the show here is a discount code: click here

I will do a future post on the show and what I discovered. I hope to see some of your there. Here is the info on my DIY presentation - It will be Thursday February 20 at 3:30 on the DIY stage with a book signing to follow.

Homemade Flower Seed Paper

You can create your own seed-embedded papers and recycle junk mail or old documents turning them into cards, tags, and other paper creations. Seed papers are a fantastic way to share flowers with friends and family. It is a fun project to do with children and you can make a whole stake of cards or even use the paper to print invitations to your next seed exchange or garden party.

Materials needed:

Scrap paper (newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons, tissue paper, grocery bags, junk mail – just nothing glossy magazine pages.)

Hot water

Blender or food processor

Flower seeds

Dried flower petals and leaves (optional)

Cotton towels

Rolling pin

Tear the paper into small pieces or shred with a paper shredder. Fill a blender or food processor half full of the shredded paper. Slowly pour hot water over the paper until you have filled the container. Let the mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes to soften the paper. Process the torn paper on low speed for a few seconds, then increase the speed until well blended and you do not see any pieces of paper. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in a packet or a few tablespoons of flower seeds. Strain the mixture into another bowl and squeeze out as much water as you can. You should have a wet, pulpy mixture. Lay a clean cotton dish towel down and spread the paper pulp onto the towel. Cover with another piece of fabric and gently roll with a rolling pin until you have a thin even piece of paper. Gently move to a cookie sheet and allow the paper to dry. You may need to turn it several times. When dry you can cut your paper to the desired size.

To use: Place a piece of the seed paper on top of garden soil or in a container and gently press into the soil.