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Easter Egg Decorating Ideas: Revisited April 3, 2012

Easter is one of the most fun and colorful holidays of them all, and no matter how old I get, I will never tire of spending a little time each year to create a bright basket of decorated Easter eggs for my big family dinner.

Last year for Easter, we posted some easy Easter Egg decorating ideas over the course of a few days - and for all of you new followers and friends, we thought you might like a refresher course this year too! Go take a look!

Day 1 showed our Easter eggs in their basket stuffed with shredded plantable confetti (looking really pretty, if I do say so myself). Using shredded plantable confetti for the basket is a great way to keep your Easter basket eco-friendly, too. Everyone at dinner can take a handful of confetti home to plant in their gardens. It'll be a huge hit, I promise. This little preview shows what you'll be learning in the next two Easter egg decorating posts.

Day 2 and day 3 both included a few simple Easter egg decorating tutorials so you can make them your self at home, too.

You know what would be a good addition to this year's basket? Some Five Petal Lime Green Plantable Confetti! The cute little flowers are perfect for spring, and the color would be a lovely base for all those color Easter eggs you've just finished decorating. Even better yet - it's on sale or 40% off!

Last-minute DIY Valentine's Day Craft Idea February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

If you're looking for a fun little last-minute Valentine's Day DIY project, you've come to the right place. We just put together an incredibly easy Valentine's Day craft idea that will add a splash of fun to your family's next meal. Kids will love how special it makes dinner!

We used a hot pink seed paper heart from our Plantable Heart Note Favor, wrote the name of someone special on it, and positioned it in between fork tines as an eco-friendly plantable place card. Sprinkled on the table is plantable confetti as well, for an added touch of Valentine's Day whimsy.

If you don't have plantable paper on hand, basic construction paper will also do the trick, and cutting out a heart doesn't take long at all.

Although you may not need place cards if you have a romantic dinner for two planned, be creative! Write a romantic little love note or song quote on the heart instead of a name.

Enjoy!
 

Candy Cane Easy Holiday Crafts December 22, 2011

We first posted about our friend Jackie way back in April, when she designed some plantable business cards for SXSW. Well, Jackie's back - and this time she's used our Plantable Spruce Tree Favors as decoration for her beautiful holiday table settings.

We absolutely LOVE how she tied all the colors together, and used candy canes as accents! So warm and welcoming.

With Jackie's table setting as inspiration, we thought it would be fun to create another easy table-decorating solution - using candy canes as a place card holder! Take a look:

Using three mini candy canes tied together with a bow, we used a small piece of seed paper to write our names on. Talk about two gifts in one! Guests can take home their place card holders and enjoy both candy AND flowers.

For more candy cane fun, check out the post from Heidi yesterday. She had a whole bunch of fun holiday craft ideas to share.

DIY Plantable Paper Christmas Ornaments December 9, 2011

Christmas is such a fun time of year for holiday parties, eggnog (eggnog latte anyone?!), and DECORATING. That's why today, we wanted to show you how to make your own DIY Christmas ornaments using seed paper!

What You'll Need:

• Seed Paper (we printed a fun pattern on white paper, and alternated between that and a solid piece)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Ribbon or twine
• Pencil

How To Make It (with step by step photos!):
1. Trace 8 circles on the seed paper and cut each one out.
2. Fold each circle in half.
3. Glue the backs of each folded circle to each other to make the round ball shape.
4. Before adding the last two folded circles, place and glue the ribbon (tied with a knot at the top and bottom) in the center of the ornament.
5. Glue the last two folded circles and hang your plantable paper Christmas ornaments!

These plantable paper Christmas ornaments are a fun family craft, perfect for a chilly winter afternoon (with eggnog lattes close by).

Keep checking back for some more really great Christmas-y things coming your way for the holidays! And if you need to stock up on some seed paper for your craft ideas take advantage of our free shipping. It's only on until December 14, the last day we can ensure your package will arrive before Christmas using standard shipping.

Cranberry Mason Jar Candle Decoration November 24, 2011

Last week we showed you how to make a Cranberry and Pinecone Ice Bowl for a festive holiday decoration. Hopefully all of your ice bowls look marvelous! We had some cranberries left, and wanted to share another simple mason jar candle decoration to add to your home this holiday season. We got the idea from our friends at Do It Yourself Magazine - it's so easy!

Here's what you will need:

• Mason jar
• Cranberries
• Floating tea-light candle
• Water
• Matches

How to Make It:
1. Place the cranberries at the bottom of the Mason jar.
2. Fill the Mason jar with 1 1/4 cup of water.
3. Place the tea-light candle in the middle of the jar.
4. Light the candle and place the jars around the room.
5. Soak up the compliments you're going to get for your beautiful cranberry mason jar candle decoration!

Keep checking the Botanical PaperWorks blog for even more fun holiday crafts and freebies we're ready to share for the upcoming holidays!

Image Credit: Do It Yourself Magazine

Cranberry and Pinecone Ice Bowl November 18, 2011

Happy Friday! The holiday entertaining season is here, and I don't know about you, but I love finding inspiration for home holiday decorating. Inspired by our Tranquil Garden Berries design, we made a festive cranberry and pinecone ice bowl that's both a great and useful holiday centerpiece.

Every year at Christmas, my mom makes these ice bowls when we entertain our family and friends. We use this to keep shrimp cool while guests nibble away, or as a extra icy ice bowl at the bar. This holiday centerpiece is SO easy to make with very few supplies.

What you will need:

• 2 Mixing bowls (two different sizes, and make sure there's at least an inch of size difference between the two for thicker ice)
• Water
• Cranberries (we used frozen, but fresh would work too)
• Spruce Tree Branches (we love that we found some with pinecones!)
• Something to weigh down the smaller bowl inside of the large one (we used another bowl with water)

How to Make It:
1. Place a 1 inch thick layer of water on the bottom of the bigger mixing bowl to make a solid base.
2. Place the bowl in the freezer for a couple hours until it's frozen.
3. Next, place the smaller bowl on top of the frozen layer in the larger bowl.
4. Add weight inside the smaller bowl to keep it from floating when more water is added.
5. Add another inch or so of water around the outside, and make sure you have enough weight in the smaller bowl.
6. Drop some cranberries and sprigs of pine in. Freeze again.
7. Once frozen, add in more cranberries and pine sprigs, and pour water in up to the top. Make sure some sprigs go above the water line so they stick out and add character!
8. Freeze again and you're done!

We only used a couple layers of freezing, but you can do as many as you like! You can also try using other festive fillers such as orange and lemon slices. These ice bowls are really stunning, but will eventually melt down slowly. So when you make your own ice bowl, be sure to have a drip pan underneath!

Carry on the winter berry theme by giving guests a party favor to take home. Our Tranquil Garden Berries Coil Bound Plantable Notepads are festive and perfect to organize their holiday plans and lists. The cover is plantable, so once the notebook is filled, guests can plant the seed paper cover and a pot of wildflowers will grow.

Or with all the pine in your ice bowl, why not add Pinecone Plantable Place Cards to the table?

Don't forget to stock up on party favors or do some holiday shopping while we are offering free shipping on orders over $49 to Canada and the US!

Easy Halloween Craft: Plantable Paper Pumpkin October 28, 2011

With just a few more days before all the little ghouls and ghosts are out for Halloween, we wanted to present one more easy Halloween craft. Perfect for a few last minute decorations, these festive plantable paper pumpkins are so easy to make, and require few supplies to put together.

What You'll Need:

• Seed Paper (we used burnt orange, mustard yellow, cream and olive green)
• Ribbon
• Hole Punch
• Scissors

How to Make It:
1. Cut 1" strips of paper.
2. Cut 8", 10", or 12" length strips from above.
3. Put a hole punch at both ends of each strip.
4. String the ribbon through the top holes of each strip. Tie a knot on top and repeat this through the other set of holes at the bottom of the strips and tie a knot at the bottom.
5. Fan out the strips until your desired pumpkin shape is formed.

We found this easy Halloween craft project on Craftiness Is Not Optional, who just happens to have a fully photographed tutorial, should you wish to see each step.

These plantable paper pumpkins are perfect to add to a table setting, place on a bookshelf, or simply have on display as the trick-or-treaters come knocking (or yelling) at your door. Make a whole bunch, they're great to mix and match with your choice of paper color and a variety of sizes.

We hope you enjoyed all of our DIY Halloween decorations! And don't forget, once Halloween is over, you can plant the seed paper inside for a fresh bouquet of flowers, even if it's cold outside.

And check back on Halloween Monday for an extra-special Halloween post too!

Easy Halloween Craft: DIY Plantable Pumpkin Notepad October 27, 2011

We are back this week with another easy Halloween craft - a DIY Plantable Pumpkin Notepad. This craft is fun for the whole family, and perfect for a mess-free craft at an upcoming Halloween party!

Inspired by The Village Family Magazine, this plantable pumpkin notepad is an easy Halloween craft that's both eco-friendly and useful too! Kids will love being able to draw their own creative jack-o-lantern faces on the front, and can then use their notepads to write down all their spooky halloween ideas (including what they're going to do for tricks and treats, of course).

What You'll Need:

• Plantable Seed Paper (Burnt orange makes GREAT pumpkins!)
• Post-consumer White Paper, or recycled paper from your home office misprints
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Pipe Cleaner (Green, Brown, or Black)
• Black Marker

How to Make It:
1. Trace two circles onto a sheet of seed paper with your marker. Use any circular object around the house to trace - a bowl, tin can, whatever size you'd like it to be. Use the same circle to trace multiple circles onto the inside sheets of paper.
2. Cut out the circles, stack them together, and punch one hole through the top.
3. Feed the pipe cleaner through the hole and twist to make the stem and vines on top.
4. Use the black marker to draw your most creative pumpkin faces!
5. Doodle, plan, and use your new plantable pumpkin notepad for all your Halloween plans.
6. When your notepad is full and Halloween is over, plant your seed paper pumpkin face and grow wildflowers!

Have fun, and keep watching the blog this week as we have another great pumpkin craft lined up to show you!