Weather-Resistant Seed Flags

Here we go again with my pennant/bunting obsession in life!  These are an off-shoot of last year’s Weatherproof Seed Banners made from duct tape.  Don’t get me wrong, those worked great, and there is an endless supply of super cute designer duct tapes available these days–but this year, I decided I wanted something a little less duct-tapey.

The supplies are simple: bamboo skewers, clear packing tape, and some sort of craft paper (I used Martha Stewart’s rolls of craft paper–I have no idea what this stuff is for, Martha–but I am using it for seed flags, a-thankya-very-much).

I love Martha’s craft paper rolls for this because they are kind of water-resistant to begin with, are printed on both sides, and are about the right width for this specific project. But probably any other scrap-booking or craft paper would work just as well.

Start by cutting your chosen paper to whatever length you want your little flag to be–I went with about 1-1/2 to 2 inches long.  Write whatever info you want on it with a permanent marker.

Next, pull out a length of clear packing tape that is slightly longer than your piece of craft paper, and apply it to the front side of the paper making sure to leave about a quarter of an inch overhang on the left side (there will be overhang on ALL sides, but the left side is the important one).

Next, apply another length of tape to the back side, justifying it slightly so that that left overhang of the front piece of tape still has it’s sticky side exposed.  This effectively laminates the piece of craft paper, but leaves a flap of sticky tape on the end that will be affixed to the bamboo ‘flagpole’.  Now trim all edges of the excess tape except that over-hanging left side.

Trim all excess tape and swallowtail the ends by cutting into the craft paper.

Now, take that exposed sticky tab and wrap it around your bamboo skewer and back against the backside of the flag.  For extra insurance, you can cut another little length of tape and just stick it along the backside to hold the flap in place.  Or, if this is all too complicated (and I didn’t articulate well!), don’t leave a left-side flap and just use a separate piece of tape to tape the flag to the pole.  It all looks pretty much the same!

Repeat with multiple colors and patterns of craft paper.

Allow your chickens to check your work.

***Millie Approved***

Mark away!

I must say that I doubt these things would stand up to really serious weather–but they do hold up quite nicely to the gentle watering that goes along with starting seeds.  And they’d make great cocktail stirrers, for the record.  Cheers!

Tagged: craft paper pennants, diy cocktail stirrers, garden crafts, garden markers, garden pennants, plants, seed flags, seed markers, seed pennants