To celebrate Earth Month, Bookmans Grant offers recycled crafts in our store each week for you to bring home. Last week we made bird feeders. This week, we made a simple biodegradable flower pot. Hundreds of thousands of books are disposed of every day; talk about “pulp fiction”! Rather than toss a perfectly good book, why not turn it into something incredible and good for the earth? Book pages are ideal for papier-mâché projects and are also biodegradable. That’s why we decided to use them in our flower pot craft! For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are step-by-step instructions on how to make a biodegradable flower pot from home.

Flower Pot Materials

Materials:
* Papier-Mâché Paste: 2/3 flour or glue, 1/3 water
* Paper Towel or Toilet Paper Rolls
* Strips of Book Pages, about 2″ thick
* Scissors
* Potting Soil
* Flower/Vegetable Seeds of Choice

Instructions:

Step 1:
Cut toilet paper rolls in half.

Flower Pot Step 1

Step 2:
Dip paper strips in the papier-mâché paste. Squeeze off any excess liquid.

Flower Pot Step 2

Step 3:
Vertically wrap a strip of paper across your toilet paper roll, covering the bottom. Add another strip vertically across your roll until the base is secure with no holes.

Flower Pot Step 3

Step 4:
Once you feel the base is secure, wrap more book strips horizontally around your toilet paper roll until the cardboard is covered and you are happy with the thickness. Set your flower pot aside to dry.

Flower Pot Step 4

Step5:
Fill your pot halfway with potting soil, then add your seeds of choice. Top that off with more soil. Care for your seeds as instructed on the package. You may plant your flower pots in your garden or in a larger flower pot immediately or once your flowers start to blossom. These pots are biodegradable and will eventually become part of the soil.

Flower Pot Step 5

Crafting is better in good company. You can make this flower pot with us from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25 at Bookmans Grant. Also, we want to see your ideas for recycled crafts. Send us images of your recycled craft, step-by-step instructions, your name/age (optional) and tell us why your craft is good for the Earth. Entries will be accepted until April 19. Bookmans.com readers will vote on their favorite recycled craft. Whoever gets the most votes will win an Earth Month gift basket from Bookmans Grant. Send all entries to grantevents@bookmans.com.