When I was small, my mother used to buy black & white lithographed cards from the Metropolitain Art Gallery in New York. I recall one that portrayed a stable scene, another of angels- but not all of them were Christmas based because they were sent to friends of all religions. She then hosted a party of close friends and we sat around the diningroom table and watercolored them. I still think that is a nice touch- and a happy memory!

I've composted small amounts of dairy with no problems, but I do question how long some of those things would take to completely break down. Wood chips, tree bark, and cattail reeds, depending on the size could take awhile, as could leather items. Since I only occasionally hot compost I'd not use many of those things. I question whether Ivory soap is a completely natural product so I know I wouldn't compost it. I wouldn't bother composting peat moss either but would mix it with the finished compost if I needed to use it up. I'd also be careful to not add too much wood ash or minerals as they don't decompose and could alter the pH and cause an imbalance that's difficult to restore. In a good hot compost everything else on that list would decompose fairly quickly tho - except maybe those little olive pits. Warning - wedding bouquets are composed of more than organic materials, they have wires and plastic stuff also so one should gleefully rip it apart to remove those things OR ceremonially burn/trash it if it no longer has sentimental value! ;-D

I've received seeds from trades in all the methods & styles mentioned above. They all appear to be successful and allow seedaholics to choose the method that works best for them. Plastic baggies - I've found what works best for me are the smaller 2" x 3" zip-envelopes, also available at Walmart if you hit it when they're in stock, 100 @ $1.00. If I see them late in the season, I buy multiple packages. I use sticky labels, also available from Walmart, that can be printed from my computer. I include botanical name, common name, cultivar name, USDA hardiness zone, height, light & moisture requirements, bloom time & color along with any extra pertinent plant or growing information. If there's room, I'll include year harvested in brackets. Before mailing, I Google the seed name and do a little research so the information on the label is current, however I sometimes wonder if that information changes as time goes by. Mailing seeds - I use bubble mailers of different sizes but usually the smaller 5" x 7" size. Bubble mailers I receive get torn apart/cut up or reused as is if they're not too travel-damaged. For single trades I'll tape the seed envelope to a piece of recycled bubble envelope and tuck it inside a standard envelope with "PLEASE DO NOT MACHINE - SEEDS" on the front in the lower left-hand corner. After 2 years of sending seeds via mail in this way, I've not heard of anyone receiving crushed seeds. When harvesting seeds over the course of the season, I set them in paper bowls or spread them on paper platters that are placed on shelf units inside the garage to dry. This also allows any crawlies that may have taken up residence inside the seedpods to depart the premises of their own free will. Once thoroughly dry, seeds are stored in small plastic salad dressing cups with clear, snap-on lids I'm able to buy from the cafeteria where I work. They last from year to year and are re-used. Generally I try to not have seeds leftover from year to year despite evidence that they remain viable for many years. This thread is a good idea and hopefully we'll hear from plenty of folks with other ideas/methods for seed preservation and sharing.

Hi fruitjarfla. Thanks for your help. Now I am really stumped. Yesterday I thought I would try the printer again. WELL!!! it printed part of what I wanted but it was not centered where it was supposed to be.....was way over to the right and the part of the wording was off the edge of the envelope. Which made me think the settings were off somewhere Then I tried again, and again, and again, then it jammed with nothing printed on them. I have gone over and over to make sure the settings are right and I can't find anywhere that is set wrong. I suppose I could shake the dickens out of it again. Nothing fell out of it yesterday when I tried that. ho hum. As far as the thickness of the paper, it isn't as thick as the card papers and they go through with no problems so I'm totally out of ideas. Well, thanks again for all the help everyone is giving me. I appreciate you taking the time to help me figure out this dilemma. BT