SPRING: 3-D dollar store seed packet art

Back in January, I picked up some garden seed packets at Dollar Tree...

three packs of green zinnia seeds, and one pack of white morning glory seeds.
And though I bought them with the express intent of crafting with them, I had NO idea what I was going to use them for. (Typical, actually). 

A wreath? It's been done over and over. Mounted on sticks as garden signs? Nah.
Then I saw a green wood picture frame sitting nearby, and an idea was born!

Continue reading to see how I created a 3-D version of a seed packet as wall art...

This is what we'll be creating: an art piece that is layered to create a 3-D effect.
Part One is creating the seed packet:

Materials:
scissors . glue stick . foam tape (it's @ 1/8 inch thick)
white printer paper . black thin marker . green marker(s) 
3 MATCHING seed packets - I recommend using ones with large single blooms,
for ease in cutting and layering.

Method:

I traced the existing seed packet's shape onto a piece of white printer paper, using a pencil. Since I wasn't thrilled about the actual look of the existing packet, I looked online for some inspiration - photos of vintage seed packets helped me to come up with a more simple, uncluttered layout and text placement.... and I added the text in pencil.

(PS: There is no 'Mason's Seed House' in Gilroy, California... but my Grandma Ward was Marjorie Mason, from Gilroy, California, and I learned to love gardening from her, so this is a nod to my heritage!)

Then I went over the pencil lines with a fine-tip black felt pen. The 'ZINNIA' lettering has thicker letters, to make them stand out more. Finally, I used a large eraser to erase all of the pencil lines. The ink isn't affected by the eraser, so it ends up looking crisp and sharp on the white paper.

The seed packets served as a paper source... I cut the floral image out, then cut further to remove the large green zinnia bloom, as well as the smaller petal elements and the green leaves from the original photo. 

I laid all of the elements onto the paper with the text, playing around with placement... and discovered that I didn't like the plain white background behind the flowers.

Two varied green alcohol felt pens gave me a deep mottled green background, then I used the fine tip black felt pen to add some scribbled texture over the green. This made it an even deeper color. 

When I laid the floral elements over it, they stood out the way I wanted them to.
The next step was to glue them in place, using a glue stick... I began with the large flower, then added all of the leaves and small side petal elements.

At this point, the flower elements are all just one layer.

Repeat the steps of cutting out the large flower from the other two seed packets.

Take one and cut off the outer rim or two of petals, leaving the middle and center petals attached. Using a piece of foam tape as a 'spacer', attach it to the back of the photo paper and attach it right on top of the original flower photo - center it so that the middle and central petals line up with the bottom photo. *You're stacking these up in layers... and it's important to ONLY glue the CENTER of each bloom layer, to get the desired effect in the end.*

Cut the center petals out of the last large flower, and repeat the foam tape step, placing this element right over the center of the section you just glued on. At this point you will have three layers of the large flower, stacked onto each other, with foam tape separating each layer - this is what creates the 3-D effect.

Cut the entire seed packet shape out of the white paper, and set aside for now.

______________________________________________________________

Part Two is creating the frame, then adding the seed packet to it:

Materials:
scissors . glue stick . foam glue dots or foam glue tape . sheet of white printer paper
tissue paper or gift wrapping paper as a background . @3" X 4" thick paper
a picture frame with removable back - needs to be at least one inch larger than the seed packet.

Method:

Remove the back from the frame, and cut a sheet of white printer paper to to fit the backing - with about 1/2 inch to spare on each side. Fold all of the sides over and attach them to the back of the backing, using a glue stick.

Repeat this step with a piece of wrapping paper, tissue paper, or other paper that will be the visible background behind the seed packet. I used some green plaid tissue that I bought at Target just after Christmas - for 99 cents! I love post-holiday sales!

Put the backing into the frame, and secure with the bendable pins that hold it in place.

Turn the frame over, so you can see the front. 

Take the piece of thick paper, @ 3" X 4", and fold it as shown above into a 'box' shape. Glue the top edges to hold it together, then glue the back of it to the center of your frame backing. Then glue the seed packet you created to the top of that raised paper 'box'. A glue stick works really well and is not messy for this step!

Make sure you place the raised 'box' and the seed packet straight AND that there is an equal amount of space above & below, and on each side of the seed packet. 

You can play with the layers of the flower, bending the paper forward a bit to enhance the dimensional effect:

Once mounted to the backing, the seed packet will 'float' on the background, and the layers of flower petals will make it dimensional. 

Display your art by hanging on the wall, or by arranging on a shelf with some terra cotta pots and garden accessories. It's a perfect spring accent!

related 'seed packet' content:

posie pails

posie pails #2 

shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #772

thank you for featuring my project, Donna!

creatively beth | creatively crafty link party #243

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