Make-Yer-Own Seed Packets

With all this cold and 4 days off work for snow in the past week, I've had some time on my hands to work on getting our life organized after spending just about every waking hour working on the 1893 Victorian.  I'm looking forward to getting the tools and paint out of our laundry room and finishing up some honey-do items on our own house for one. 
(Like hanging that dining room chandelier, J.  *hint hint*)

One of the things that took a back seat last year was my seed saving.  The drought decimated our garden, but I was able to save a few seeds for this year and they've been sitting patiently on a paper plate in our guest bathroom ever since.  Why our bathroom?  That's a darn good question.  But now they need a new home.

 

I've had this crazy idea about making my own custom seed packets for awhile now.  I was able to  pick up some cute scrapbooking paper at JoAnn's a couple of weeks ago for about 15 cents a piece and, when we ended up off work earlier this week because of snow, it seemed like an easy project that I could get off my to-do list.

 

The paper was bigger than a normal sheet of paper, which means I couldn't run it through my laser printer.  So the first thing I had to do was cut it down to size.  You could use a paper cutter, but I just used a pair of scissors and a sheet of printer paper for the template.  TIP:  The one thing I learned was that I couldn't use the cardstock paper because it was too thick to go through the printer.

 

Next, come up with your template for your seed packets.  There are tons of these out on the Internet, so I just did a Google search but you could design your own with Adobe Photoshop, Publisher, Paint, etc.  Hey, put your dog's picture on there.  Whatever!  This is your opportunity to be really creative!

I was able to get 2 packets per sheet.  Notice the light grey lines that indicate where the packets should be cut out and folded.

Cut out the packets on the outside lines and then fold on the inside lines.  To finish the packet, use some non-toxic glue on the small folds (the bottom and right hand side of the packet in the picture above.) Don't glue the top!  :-)

I could have printed the type of seeds on these packets, but I wanted to be able to use them as I needed them.  So I just used a marker to write it on the front and added some information on the back of the packet for the date it was collected, planting information, etc.

 

They're cute, aren't they?  I realize that this is kind of a frivolous project because seeds don't need fancy storage packets.  But they Spring-y paper makes me smile, they're pretty, and I had fun doing it.  Honestly, once I had the template finished, it only took about 2 minutes per packet to print, cut and assemble each one.

 

Honestly, what started this whole idea was this beautiful box that I found at JoAnn's.  With a coupon, I got it for $6.00 and it's roomy enough to store a ton of seeds.  I could have used a shoe box but this is much prettier.  That sweet little yellow Goldfinch was too adorable to resist.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Well, I've got all my seeds snug in their new packets and one thing crossed off my organization list.  Have you come up with any creative ideas for storing seeds?  I've love to hear about them.

 

I'm sharing this post as part of this week's Farm Girl Blog Fest, Ole' Saturday Homesteading Trading Post, Clever Chicks and HomeStead Barn Hop hops. Go check it out!