Plantable Seed Paper Valentines

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  Step 1

  So, I’m pretty excited about this one. These seed paper Valentines are so pretty that I have to keep telling Papa that they aren’t to eat!
  Collect some paper that’s heading to the recycle bin. The less ink on the paper the better since we want the seed paper Valentines to be pink, not the color of the ink. I used some old notebook paper that had gotten wet, a few pieces of red and pink construction paper and a few sheets from an old drawing pad that was ruined.
  Note: Don’t use glossy paper because it doesn’t break down easily. Avoid brown paper because it will darken the Valentine.

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  Step 2

  Tear or clip the paper into small pieces, the smaller the better. This was a bit tedious I must admit. Next time I might try running them through a shredder. I wouldn’t have the younger grands do that though. Keep their fingers safe by doing this ahead of time!

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  Step 3

  Pour some hot water over the paper shreds to soak. Let the this soak for a couple hours. Some people soak it overnight.

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  Step 4

  Add red food coloring to the water and stir it into the paper pulp.After a couple hours, “ding”- time’s up. Place a cup or so of the paper scraps along with a couple cups of water into your blender. Blend until the paper is pretty much a pulp. There can still be some small paper chunks too, that can look pretty cool in the Valentines.
  Repeat this until all the scraps are blended.
  Note: This could dull the blades of the blender over time. Don’t put a lot of paper in the blender at once as it could be hard on the motor. Add some more water if needed. I got a food processor so I kept my old blender for this kind of project. It worked great.

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  Step 5

  I hand squeezed the pulp, getting a large part of the water out, and placed it into another bowl. Sprinkle the flower seeds into the mixture and gently stir them in. Flatter and smaller seeds work best. You do NOT want to place the seeds in the mixture early and then put it through the blender. This will ruin the seeds.
  Again, squeeze more water out of the pulp mixture.

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  Step 6

  Place a screen you purchase for this or a spatter guard from cooking on an old towel (it will ruin the towel so choose well!) Make the seed paper Valentines on top of this screen.
  Use heart shaped open topped cookie cutters to form Valentines. I used my hands to take a wad of the pulp and push it down flat inside the cookie cutter. This was kind of like working with play dough, the kids will love it. I loved it!
  Gently pull the cookie cutter off and leave the Valentine on the screen. Continue this till all the pulp is gone.
  I set my spatter screen up on three glasses to dry the seed paper Valentines more quickly. The trick here is to get them to dry without it taking so long that the seeds sprout! You could use a fan on them if you want.

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  Step 7

  Once dry, use a couple spots of glue or some tape to stick the Valentines onto a sheet of construction paper cut in fourths. Find the free printable Valentine card on the blog: http://welcometonanas.com/plantable-seed-paper-valentines/
  Or write your message, something to do with growing. “I like how we have grown to be such good friends” or “My love for you keeps growing”.

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  Step 8

  Let your Valentine recipient know that they can plant the Valentine in a pot under ½” of soil and see their flower seeds grow!
  Welcome to Nana’s!
  Where there’s fun things to do with your “grand” kids!
  Come join the fun at www.WelcomeToNanas.com

  This post found at: https://welcometonanas.com/plantable-seed-paper-valentines/

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Laura W. 30th November 2018

very nice

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