Craft colorful seed harvest baskets out of recyclables and let the kids collect seeds from the garden. Store the seeds until next season, to plant or give away as gifts to fellow green-fingered friends.
You will need:
- An empty margarine or ice cream container
- Newspaper strips
- Modge podge
- Glue
- Craft paints
- Paper packets or envelopes
What to do:
Cut a strip out of the lid of the container and glue it to the container to form a handle. Cover the outside of the container by painting a layer of podge and sticking the newspaper strips to the container. Paint a layer of podge over the newspaper strips. Covering the container with newspaper and podge, will give a great painting surface onto a plastic container and the paint won’t flake or scratch.
While your container is drying, have a walk in the garden and decide which seeds to collect. Make a list of the flowers.
Let the kids decorate the paper bags or envelopes. Have them record the name of the plant and the date. They can add a simple picture of the flower to remind them next season, what the plant looked like.
When collecting the seeds, tell the kids to select the driest and ripest seeds. Shake the seed heads directly into the paper bag.
Once they have collected the seeds, close the paper packets and finish the decorative basket.
Let the kids paint their baskets and add flowers or leaves. Show them how to paint a simple flower by using a round brush. Make a yellow dot first, clean the brush and dip in colored paint. Paint a petal by gently pushing the brush flat, with the sharp end facing the dot.
Store the seed packets in the basket until next season. The basket can also be used as a plant container, make sure to make a few holes for drainage, add soil and plant the seeds.
Tip – Choose a dry day to collect seeds when the heads are brittle and crack open easily. If seeds are collected while damp, it’s unlikely to store well.
A lovely recycle craft idea for the kids, these seed harvest baskets. Check out this Plastic Flowers Recycle Craft!
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