Much to my surprise, I found the cutest, Earth-friendly valentines today for my little gal to take to preschool!

We were among the throngs shopping last-minute at Target for packaged valentines to give to her pre-school classmates. And there, among the tattoo-, magnet- and candy-adorned miniature cards, I found these eco-friendly, plantable “Paper Blooms” valentines by Paper Magic.
Each little valentine has a slot where you stick a small, pot-shaped piece of red handmade, plant-able paper. The paper contains tiny annual and perennial seeds that bloom when planted – how sweet is that?

The recipient can plant the paper and in a week or two, sprouts will appear! My daughter and I had a lot of fun assembling the valentines (easy to do), and the concept was thrilling both to me and to her!
Planting directions are included on the back of each card, along with a place to put your “to” and “from” and a sentiment from your child. All the sweetheart needs is a small pot and a little soil and your valentine can be transformed into a live plant (as opposed to a short-lived gift eventually destined for the trash). Plus, both your child and the giftee will have been given the opportunity to appreciate the joy of giving, receiving and growing a living thing.

And, Paper Magic goes one step further with these Paper Blooms cards (quoted from their labeling) - the “cards are printed on recycyled paper with vegetable-based ink. Their paper is purchased from Cascades, who saves 47 million trees each year and runs their factory on biogas energy.” The company also “prints their boxes on recycled stock and has been for 20 plus years!”
Eco-friendly and oh-so-sweet! Time to go plant our valentine…