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DIY Seed Paper Hearts

I have a fun and easy DIY to share with you today, seed paper hearts. They are perfect Valentine’s Day or party favors, like a bridal shower or wedding.

Now you may be wondering, what is seed paper?

Seed paper is recycled bits of paper mixed with seeds. You can use the paper for a card, or in this case a Valentine, that can be placed in the garden or flower bed and will sprout flowers for summer time beauty.

This seed paper heart combines my love for gardening with a bit of recycling to create beautiful, one of a kind seed paper hearts.

These are so easy to make, and it’s a great project for the family to help with.

Doesn’t that sound loverly?

Here’s what you need to get started

  • Heart Shaped Cookie Cutters
  • Paper
  • Tissue, Craft Paper and/or Packing paper
  • Cookie sheet
  • Butterfly Milkweed Seeds (or wild flower seeds)
  • Water
  • Mr. Clean type sponge (optional)
  • Blender (optional)

Are you ready?

Gather your paper – tissue paper, craft paper, or packing paper.

The paper shouldn’t be coated, like some wrapping paper, but left over tissue paper from the holidays is fabulous to use for this project. Or some of that packing paper from all of your Amazon.com orders.

ripped craft paper | a loverly life

The pop of red, looks gorgeous for our seed paper hearts.

Start by ripping your paper in to small pieces, you want about one and a 1/2 to 2 cups of paper.

Don’t pack the paper in, leave it loose.

Add the paper pieces to a large bowl and add 2 cups of water.

Here’s where you can use a blender or just your hands to mix the paper and water in to a slurry.

If you have a blender for crafting, fabulous.

It’s important to have a separate blender that the one you use for your food, because you don’t want to contaminate food with left over glitter, paper or random bits left over from previous craft projects.

The blender that I use for crafting was picked up for a steal at Goodwill. Keep your eyes open at yard sales and thrift stores if you need one.

Back to the DIY.

If you have a craft blender, add the paper and water mixture to your craft blender then pulse to mix into a slurry.

You want a wet mixture to start as it makes for easier mixing and forming, so if it looks a bit dry, just add more water.

If you don’t have a blender for crafting, that’s OK.

Just let the mixture sit about 10 – 15 minutes to absorb water and use your hands (or enlist a couple kids to help) to mix and squish the paper together with the water.

Once your slurry is ready, strain the slurry to remove about a cup of water.

It doesn’t need to be exact, you just want a wet pliable mix in your bowl or container.

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You want a loose mixture to start.

Transfer your drained slurry to a container.
Then, add your wildflower seeds and mix them together.

I used butterfly milkweed for my seed paper hearts.

It’s like an extra gift, because not only does brings beautiful flowers to the garden, but the flowers will bring butterflies, too!

You can use any kind of flower seeds, I love wildflower seeds, including butterfly milkweed.

This is such a loverly way to gift seeds collected from last years flowers to your friends.

While our paper slurry and seed mix hang out for a minute, line a cookie sheet with paper.

cookie sheet for the seed paper hearts

This will help catch some of the moisture.

Next, place your cookie cutters on cookie sheet.

align cookie cutters on the cookie sheet

You really need only one or two cookie cutters, they will be used to frame the shape.

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Instead of making cookies and cutting into the dough, the cookie cutter gets filled with the seed paper slurry.

You can also add dried flower petals to some of the paper and seed mixture for added texture.

Press them in with the slurry mix so they don’t lose their shape.

The flower petals look really pretty once the slurry dries and transforms in to the seed paper.

Fill the cookie cutter in about a centimeter or so and press down flat.

Make sure to get into all the corners and edges.

Once you have filled your heart with the seed paper slurry, grab a Mr. Clean type sponge.

Use one to press down the paper and seed mixture in to the heart form.

Be gentle, because the sponge will also absorb some of the water from the paper.

Wring out the sponge as you go along.

Once the heart is pressed and the excess water has been removed, carefully remove the cookie cutter and repeat the process until you fill up your cookie sheet [or until all the seed paper slurry mix has been used up].

The paper seed hearts need to dry, but let them air dry slowly.

If you speed the process, the seed paper will curl as it dries.

Slow and steady wins this race.

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I made mine in an afternoon. I let them dry a bit and then carefully flipped them over before bed, giving them time to dry overnight.

Be still my paper seed heart, aren’t they beautiful?

seed paper heart

Look at the precious seeds mixed with the recycled paper.

These seed paper hearts are thicker than normal paper, so we don’t want to punch a hole thru them to hang them.

Simply add a bit of clear washable glue to the back, then add a loop of cotton string.

I used cotton string because the goal is to create a biodegradable gift for your Valentine.

Since these hearts will be placed in the garden in the spring, we want to make sure there is nothing in our seed paper hearts to harm the environment.

seed paper heart with cotton string

Once the glue dries, you add a little love note, but I love mine just the way they are.

I love how the heart with the petals turned out. You can see the milkweed seeds peeking out and the dried petals look gorgeous.

This one is my favorite.

Hang your beautiful seed paper hearts around your home, but don’t forget to share them with your friends! Love is always better shared.

After Valentine’s Day, depending on where you live, sow seeds of love and toss the seed paper heart in your garden and water.

Then wait for the magic to happen and you flowers to grow. Keep the paper damp, so that the seeds will sprout.

beautiful seed paper hearts

Not to break your heart, but to multiply your flowers, simply tear the heart in two pieces for double flower coverage. Then toss in your garden.

Now it is time to sow seeds of love by sharing these beautiful seed paper Valentines with your friends.

Speaking of sharing, I am sharing the love and gifting pairs of seed paper hearts!

Want a pair for yourself?

Comment below for your chance to be gifted a pair of your seed paper hearts.

I made a BUNCH so that I can share a little love.
Besides, it’s such a great way save monarchs and bring butterflies to your garden.

The winners will be chosen at random on Valentine’s Day.

I think that makes it a win, win, win.

Happy Valentine’s Day, loverlies.

Juliet

Pin it for later! You can make these anytime, gift them anytime.
BTW – These make place cards for for bridal showers, weddings and baby showers.

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44 Comments

  1. What a fun project! I’m going to work on this over the weekend. I’d love to hang them on the dogwood tree that’s right in front of the window behind my computer!

  2. I can’t wait to try this project with my daughter and granddaughter. This will be such a fun outside activity for them (and me) after the past year we all have had. This will give us something to look forward to when they bloom this Summer. Thanks for the beautiful craft idea.

  3. I can’t wait to try this with my kiddos. Recycling and helping the environment all rolled into one!❤️❤️❤️
    Thanks for sharing❤️

    1. So glad to hear from you. Are you planning to restart your business or will you be working out of your home?

    2. Hi Barb, I have been working on the blog as I took a break from Loverly Cottage, but was also working on bespoke pieces for customers at my own pace. When I closed the store, I made a deal with my care team that I would take a year off and get my health back on track. I am so excited about the next chapter of Loverly Cottage. The blog gives me a way to share my projects [and other loverly things] but I miss having a retail presence. The next chapter provides EXACTLY what I needed. I can’t wait to share details.

    1. Hi Laura, you don’t NEED the craft blender but it sure helps! I hope you have fun making them.

  4. 😍For several years, I’ve enjoyed planting seed papers but it wasn’t until I read your very helpful DIY with your beautiful and colorful pictures that I knew how they are made! I plan to make them with my two grandchildren and with the preschoolers and Kindergartners that I’m blessed to work with in person this school year and this summer!🥰I have a collection of cookie cutters and it will be fun for the children to use my heart shapes as well as my other shapes.💞Thank you very much for sharing❣️

    1. Debbie, they are SO easy to make. I have another DIY coming up featuring a creative way to gift seeds, too.
      Be sure to send me pictures, I would LOVE to see what your grandchildren make.

    1. Thank you Lynn, raising monarchs sounds AMAZING. I try to keep a pollinator garden going to bring all sorts of butterflies and pollinators to the garden. They just make gardening even more magical, don’t they?

  5. Juliet, you are the Loverlyest, what a clever and fun and Juliet-like project! Hearts back at you and a happy Valentine’s Day 😘😘😘

    1. Thank you dearest Sally. I miss seeing you gals…dreaming of the day I can be back at Randolph Street Market!

  6. Juliet,

    These are so gorgeous and a wonderful gift idea. I am late on making them for Valentine’s Day, but I definitely plan to do this for other occasions. SO simple and sweet. Thank you for a wonderful easy idea – the grandkids will love getting involved in this.
    I love that you have found a way to take care of yourself and stay in touch with each of us as well.
    Stay safe and strong Juliet. Keep those ideas and connections coming 😉

    1. Thank you Karen! You can make them ANYTIME…hearts should be given all year round, not just on Valentine’s Day. They can be gift tags, party favors or just because!
      I have so many fun things to share with you, it’s going to be a fun year.

  7. Love this idea! I will be doing this with my kindergarten class. We have a school garden and each class has a box. We will hang them in the classroom and then plant them. Thank so much!

  8. Now I know what to make my sister for Valentine’s Day! And I just got new seeds in the mail. Thank you so much for sharing!

  9. What a lovely idea! I’m thinking about making some with my granddaughters – maybe bunnies for Easter since I’m not going to be with them for Valentine’s Day.

  10. I made art paper once. It was one of the most soothing activities I’ve ever experienced. Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing, especially with all of the details.
    Miss seeing you, Juliet!

    1. Hi Kristy, The purpose of the sponge is to press out as much water as possible and make sure they aren’t too thick!
      Since it typically takes about 14 days for seeds to germinate, drying the hearts for 24 hours should cause them to germinate.
      Another tip is to not to use thick paper products [like egg cartons].

      I hope you come back and share your project with me, so I can see them!!

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