RePurposing for Earth Day

April 13, 2021

By Sarah Ramberg

Hey, there, it’s Sarah of www.sadieseasongoods.com again, with a new upcycling idea for you!

Since Earth Day is in April (and some folks just think of April as “Earth Month”), I wanted to challenge myself to bring you a project with EXTRA upcycling “oomph”, if that’s a thing. Remember this felt succulent desktop garden that I made a few months ago? Well, I am re-repurposing that same muffin tin for this Earth Day project. To top it off, I’m also recycling paper…that has already been recycled! I’m going to make flower seed bombs, which really makes this project an Earth Day Grand Slam, if you ask me.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Mini muffin tin or other molded baking pan
Paper packaging, newspaper, or construction paper
Flower seeds
Water
Mixing bowl and spoon
Drying rack
Food processor (optional, if you’re using large pieces of newspaper or construction paper)

Pro Tip: To add even MORE “oomph” to this Earth Day project, pick up items like mixing bowls, spoons, drying rack and yes, even a food processor at one of the 7 Charlotte Region ReStore locations! These items will stay out of the landfill and proceeds help build and repair homes!

Safety first!

If you need to use a food processor to create paper pulp, please take care and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Here’s how I made these Seed Bombs:

To make seed bombs, you need to create paper pulp. Paper pulp is tiny pieces of paper mixed with enough water to make it almost mold-able, like a thick paste. I had some recycled paper packaging on hand, which I used to make my pulp. I gathered that, a mixing bowl, and the wildflower seeds that I planned on using.
If you are using newspaper or construction paper, you will first need to tear or cut the paper up into small pieces. Then, you will need to carefully add those pieces to a food processor (perhaps an older one that you picked up from the ReStore) and drizzle in water during the chopping process to make pulp.
To make my paper pulp, I simply harvested the dusty paper bits from inside the packaging and placed it by the handful into my mixing bowl.

Once I had quite a bit of tiny paper bits, I was ready to add in the seeds and water!
I added a couple of handfuls of seeds (no measurements needed) and drizzled in water. I stirred the mixture together to distribute the seeds and turn the mix into a damp paste that I could mold in my hand.

Then, I took a small handful of paper pulp, squeezed out any excess water, and pressed it into my muffin tin. I did this over and over again to fill the entire tin.
To compress the mixture, I pressed a dry clean dish towel over each seed bomb to get out any additional excess moisture and to really compress the seed bombs. I let them sit in the tin for two days to dry.

After two days, I popped them out of the tin and let them sit on a drying rack for an additional day.
And that was it! Now I have seed bombs that I can plant for wildflowers that important pollinators can use. Seed bombs also make delightful gifts for teachers, friends, and neighbors, as well as wedding/baby shower favors for guests. The paper pulp keeps the seeds together in a neat little package and will break down naturally when planted.

Happy Earth Day!

What a fun and family-friendly way to celebrate Earth Day/Month!
Are you loving this re-repurposing Earth Day idea for Seed Bombs? Take a snap and tag us (@cltregionrestore and @sadieseasongoods) with the hashtag #ReStoreEarthDay! Happy Planting!

P.S. Hang on to that muffin tin – you never know what we might come up with next! Light fixture, anyone? 😉

photo credit: sarah ramberg of sadie seasongoods

April 13, 2021

RePurposing for Earth Day

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