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A Bit of Earth – Secret Garden seed packets EDIT

Launch gallery slideshow

A Bit of Earth – Secret Garden seed packets EDIT
Group:The Hundred Acre Wood
Swap Coordinator:TangleCrafts (contact)
Swap categories: Nature  Handmade 
Number of people in swap:5
Location:International
Type:Type 3: Package or craft
Last day to signup/drop:March 27, 2011
Date items must be sent by:April 18, 2011
Number of swap partners:3
Description:

image above is borrowed from Ariel of the BoroBoro! art collective
- stop by the original blog post to view full size pic

Swap description: A Bit of Earth – seed packets for a Secret Garden

"After supper there was still a long clear twilight to work in and that was her quiet time. She could sit upon the low rough wall and look on and hear stories of the day. She loved this time. There were not only vegetables in this garden. Dickon had bought penny packages of flower seeds now and then and sown bright sweet-scented things among gooseberry bushes and even cabbages and he grew borders of mignonette and pinks and pansies and things whose seeds he could save year after year or whose roots would bloom each spring and spread in time into fine clumps. The low wall was one of the prettiest things in Yorkshire because he had tucked moorland foxglove and ferns and rock-cress and hedgerow flowers into every crevice until only here and there glimpses of the stones were to be seen."

Send your partner an empty seed packet to store their garden seeds. The packet should be made and/or decorated by you, inspired in some way by Frances Hodgson Burnett's 'Secret Garden'.

Please tuck a short, friendly note inside your seed packet, explaining your relationship with 'The Secret Garden' and/or your own garden, and include an extra small, flat (related) gift. The gift may be store-bought, handmade or vintage/thrifted (gently used is fine, but dirty/broken/unuseable is definitely not). The focus of this swap is on your seed packet design, so there is no $ value for the contents, however please make sure you send a package that will be fun for your partner to open.

Please note that due to international import restrictions, it is strongly advised against sending actual seeds if your partner is overseas. However, if you have a partner in the same country as yourself, seeds (with sowing/growing instructions) are indeed a viable option. :)

Some templates

Not sure where to begin? If you would like to make your own seed packet from scratch, here are some free online templates for you to play with:

Swap requirements

  • 3 partners = 3 seed packets sent & 3 seed packets received
  • Each seed packet should include a short note about your relationship with the Secret Garden and/or your own garden, plus a small, flat (related) gift (see above for more detail).
  • Unless you & your partner reside in the same country, check the receiving country's import restrictions if you wish to send your partner actual seeds. If you send seeds, please include sowing/growing instructions.
  • Seed packets may be altered-storebought or entirely handmade. They should be at least (approx.) 2” x 3”, and seal securely.
  • Seed packet decoration may be text only or text plus illustration.
  • Seed packets may be decorated using any technique, from hand-drawn/painted artwork, to collage, to embroidery, to PhotoShop (or similar), to any other creative technique. Designs must be your own original work but may include copyright free clip art & illustrations.
  • Please send on time!

The obvious bit

As well as meeting requirements as outlined on group homepage, participants must have no late swaps on their dashboard, no 3 ratings in the last 3 months, and no 1 ratings in the last 12 months. I will check before assigning partners, so please contact me if you are concerned. I will take extenuating circumstances into account, but the happy swapping of the majority is the most important factor.

Discussion

thehappyhoneybee 01/16/2011 #

So lovely! I can't wait to see the packets that come out of this.

By the by...seeing the perfect title for this swap made me want to hear the song again. Did anyone else see the musical? Really wonderful music! And still available on CD.

DeidreArt 01/19/2011 #

I have these little paper things that have seeds inplanted in them, to rip up and put in the earth, can I include these in a seed packet?

TangleCrafts 01/20/2011 #

Yes, that sounds fine, so long as you include instructions. :)

hippofairy 01/23/2011 #

FYI: it is illegal to receive seeds in the USA from foreign countries without a phytosanitary certificate. the seeds could be harboring pests or diseases that we don't have in the USA. the certificate is provided by the Agriculture Department of the country of origin. it certifies that the seeds (and plants they were taken from) are free from diseases and pests. if you don't have this (and most seed packets sold in stores don't have it), then you take the risk of having your package seized and destroyed. no swap for you! so... my recommendation is to keep this regional (like USA only, Europe only, Australia only).

see: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing/agriprodinus.xml

excerpt: Depending on the country of origin, some fruits, vegetables, and plants may be brought into the United States without advance permission, provided they are declared, inspected, and found free of pests. However, certain plants and ANY plant parts intended for growing (propagative) require a phytosanitary certificate in advance. For information on certificates, contact the USDA/APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine Permit Unit.

TangleCrafts 01/24/2011 #

Thanks for the detailed info, @hippofairy ! I have sent seeds to the USA (from UK) before without incident, but I must have just been very lucky! Due to being in the UK, it isn't very practical to make this swap regional as it would really limit the number of people who could participate BUT I have edited the swap details above so that sending seeds is no longer a requirement of the swap (I had already suggested an alternative for our Australian friends, so I have just expanded on that).

If you and your partner are in the same country, you can still send seeds (if you like), but if your partner is overseas - or you just feel like getting a little creative - you can now send any small, flat related gift, tucked inside your seed packet with a note. Your partner can still use your seedless (but beautifully designed!) packet for storage of their own seeds, so it is still functional. :)

I think I actually prefer the edited version of this swap, so thanks for the advice & prompt, @hippofairy ! :)

hippofairy 01/25/2011 #

not a problem. :) and i do like your edited version. i just didn't want anybody's packages to go missing! i hate lost packages.

TangleCrafts 03/27/2011 #

By request, an extra week has been added to the send-by date. :)

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