Recycling Crafts

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Paper Pulp Plant Pokes

by Twila Lenoir

This is a great gift for Mom along with a plant you grew yourself. Just get some dirt, a flower seed or a plant cutting, and a paper cup. Even if the plant hasn't come up yet Mom will still know it is on the way.

Paper Pulp Plant Pokes

Supplies:

toilet paper

hot water

candy molds or other suitable molds

popsicle sticks or craft sticks

tiny bit of paint

sealer

Paper Pulp Plant Pokes

For each plant poke, you will need to make two molds that are mirror images of each other so that you can glue them together.

Take a long strip of toilet paper and fold it so that you can hold it in your hand. Cut this this into thin strips.

Add the toilet paper strips to a bowl of hot water. Stir it with a popsicle stick until it is the consistency of mud.

Lift the pulp and let the excess water drain off. Press the pulp into the molds, letting extra water drain off. Keep adding pulp and pressing it into the mold until it reaches the top.

Set the molds under a work light or a very sunny place and let them dry completely. For me, the molds dried out under a work light in one day.

Pop out one of the molded shapes and glue to the top of a popsicle or craft stick. Glue the mirror image mold onto the back of the popsicle stick and onto its matching mold, so that the popsicle stick is sandwiched in between the two molded shapes.

Paint your creation with acrylic paint and let the paint dry. Finally, finish with a gloss sealer to protect it from moisture damage.