Friday, July 10, 2009

Plantable paper tags


I am really excited about these little paper tags. They are so sweet and playful. And they are LOADED with perennial seeds! The seeds include baby blue eyes, baby’s breath, candytuft, larkspur, five spot (nemopila), clarkia, coreopsis, blue flax, forget-me-not, purple cone flower, shasta daisy, siberian wallflower and sweet william.

The tags began their life as a tree, then spent their second life as bills, junk mail and other forms of paper. I sorted through the paper and chose the highest-quality pieces to shred, make into a pulp and reform into a new piece of paper. (You have to start with high quality paper to end with high quality paper!)

Because I recycled previously manufactured paper, I have created new paper that already has sizing in it. This means that you can write on the tags and the ink won't feather or bleed. (One side of the tag is smooth for writing on; the other side is the bumpy side with all the seeds.) After this paper has been used as gift tags or product hang tags, it can be planted and begin its fourth life as bed of gorgeous flowers. I love how it just keeps recycling itself.

I was so enthralled with these little guys, I even wrote a poem about how to plant them:

In this paper, little seeds lay asleep,
Waiting to be planted in soil 1/4 inch deep.
Water well then keep moist for 4 to 6 weeks.
Until little plants come out of the soil for a peek.
Many flowers will share their colors to the max.
Like baby blue eyes, purple cone flower and
blue flax!

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