cool plant labels

From Habitat magazine - issue 15, DIY kids

Use Resene paint stirrers, seed packets and your own artistic skill for these funky vege and herb labels.

Cool plant labels
Hand painted plant labels

How to make hand-painted labels

You will need:

White card, pencil, ruler, scissors and hole punch
Resene testpots in Resene Neva, Resene Hi Jinx and Resene Clowning Around, and a Resene testpot brush
Variety of paint brushes
45cm slimline pointed canes (we bought ours from Kings Plant Barn)
Access to a laminator (most copy shops will do this for you)

Step 1
Take the white card and measure up three rectangles 13.5cm x 10cm and cut them out. Use the Resene testpot brush to brush on a sweep of paint using Resene Neva, Resene Hi Jinx and Resene Clowning Around, one per card. Take some spare card and have a practice painting the vegetables you chose.

Step 2
Once the background paint has dried, take the lime Resene Neva card, and paint on pea pods using Resene Grass Stain for the pod outline and Resene Dizzy Lizzy for the peas. Take the purple Resene Clowning Around card, and use Resene Hi Jinx for the carrots and Resene Dizzy Lizzy for the carrot tops. On the Resene Hi Jinx card use Resene Neva to paint broccoli.

Step 3
Wait for the paint to dry thoroughly, then take the cards to be laminated. Measure a 1cm border round each, then cut them out.

Step 4
Use the hole punch to make a hole in the centre of the top and bottom of each card, then run the cane through the holes as shown.

How to make seed packet labels

You will need:

Seed packets and glue stick
Resene testpots in Resene Bright Spark, Resene Grass Stain and Resene Rocket

Steps: Measure three rectangles of 13.5cm x 10cm on the white card and cut them out. Cut out the front of the seed packet from the seeds you are raising and measure a rectangle of 6cm x 9cm around the name and picture. Cut out. Glue the seed packet on to the white card as shown.

Paint rough brushstrokes around each seed packet using the Resene testpots. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the hand-painted vege labels to finish.

How to make stirrer tags

You will need:

Resene paint stirrers
Resene testpot in Resene Grass Stain and a fine paintbrush
Pen, ruler and scissors
Furniture tacks and hammer
Plastic plant tag

Stirrer tags 3

Step 1
Measure out a rectangle of 2.5cm x 3.5cm from the picture part of the tag and cut it out. Turn the Resene paint stirrer to the unprinted side, with the flat end at the top, and nail the plastic tag to the top of the stirrer as shown

Step 2
Hand print in capital letters, the matching name of the herb onto the stirrer, then use Resene Grass Stain to hand paint the letters onto the stirrer.

Resene Neva

Resene Hi Jinx

Resene Clowning Around

styling and words: Helena Dunn
pictures: Mark Heaslip

▸ Download a PDF of this article

summer 2011/12

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