Seed Paper - Pressed Flower - Rubber Stamped - Christmas Cards

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Pictures removed because they are being stolen and used by Polyvore!!

Yup, that's exactly what they are!

Handmade paper.

Seed paper.

Pressed flowers.

Rubber stamped.

Christmas cards.

And they came out better than I ever expected I would get for my first try.

It felt sooo darn good to be doing a new craft. Ok, 3 new crafts I've never done. I just had to try them all at once! :)

When I finished the paper, I wasn't so sure I'd like the ragged edges, but now that they're actual cards , I think they go with the pressed flowers nicely.

Dried seed paper

I added some globe amaranth petals for just a touch of color. I didn't want too much bling competing with the flowers.

Inside card

I ended up gluing a 4-leaf clover inside each card, too. I had to do something with that mountain! Maybe they'll bring everyone else some Christmas luck. :)

Below are a few examples of the finished cards. I did 20. Maybe I should do a few more...just in case.

Front of cards

And here are the cute little hedgehog envelopes they'll make the mail trip in. I hope the delicate flowers survive! The postal system can be brutal.

I am so darn glad I gave this a try this year. I hope the recipients enjoy getting something other than the normal Christmas card! If I'm lucky, They'll actually plant them and enjoy the flowers, but I'm not holding my breath. lol.

Hmmm, I had so much fun doing these, maybe I'll make this a yearly tradition! Ooooo, must grow new, interesting flowers to press! Wow, could I enable myself a little more?

(EDIT: They looked much neater - flatter, smoother - after I pressed them and cleaned up the edges! I wonder how those patterned edging scissors would make them look. hmmm...)

Jim Cramer Advises Investment In Seed

No, Jim! Please don't be pimping GM seed.

From Today show, msnbc.

One of Jim Cramer's 5 simple ways you could make a lot of money in the stock market:

"Seeds
Agriculture is becoming a big growth area as we look for alternative energy resources, much like natural gas. Seed producers have become the new oil-drilling companies, since seeds are where all this new energy comes from. Moreover, they’re producing the plants that retain the most energy.
In fact, this might be the new biotech market. In particular, corn and soy, since they’re going to provide fuel for the future.
A recent article in BusinessWeek highlighted the great fortune of Monsanto, an agricultural company with a stock that has soared as investors anticipate years of double-digit growth from innovative seeds. The company has spent years funneling billions of dollars into research and development, coming up with new seeds to help farmers grow more corn, soybeans and other crops. Now, it's harvesting the benefits of this investment. Monsanto, and many analysts, predict a steady stream of innovative new seeds coming out of the company well into the next decade. "

The part in bold is what I have so much trouble coming to terms with.
Ok, so I realize GM seed are everywhere, but it doesn't make it right, and it certainly doesn't make it good!

And as for Monsanto-an example, from biotech-info:

"When the world's leading bio-technology company, Monsanto, bid for permission to market the first genetically modified agricultural crop, Roundup Ready soybean, it was sure it knew what it had created. The bean, the company told US regulators in 1993, contained a single new strand of DNA designed to make it resistant to Monsanto's brand of weed killer, Roundup.
Seven years on, however, Monsanto has realised it was wrong. New research by the company, due to be published in the next few weeks, will reveal the discovery of two rogue fragments of DNA in the soybean, the world's most widespread GM crop. The disclosure has already prompted concern among genetic scientists and alarm from environmentalists.
They point out that such surprise pieces of genetic material could have unknown effects on human health and the environment. There could also be similar unexpected bits of DNA in the related, genetically modified, contaminated oilseed rape inadvertently planted by hundreds of Scottish farmers this spring. "

And they wonder why so many people are suddenly sticking strictly to unmessed-with heirloom seed?

Keep messing with Mother Nature, guys. One of these days she's going to give you a good, swift kick in the ass that'll leave more than just a bruise.