DIY Garden Markers

As I have continued to add to my medicinal and kitchen herb garden, I have found I am adding plants quicker than I can remember what they are. I knew I needed a way to remember especially what some of my medicinal herbs are. I have looked at a lot of different ideas for garden markers - some you can buy and others you can make. I wanted something that would weather well and was also cheap (and easy!) to make if I went that route. After many ideas came and went through my head, this is what stuck!

Today, I am sharing how to make polymer clay garden markers!

As you can see, my lavender is currently recovering indoors from frost.

Supplies Needed:
Polymer clay
Rolling pin
Ruler (or some other long, sharp edge tool)
Letter stamps
Pigment ink, optional
Baking sheet
Parchment paper, optional

Baking sheet and parchment paper not pictured.

Here's the polymer clay I used:

Instructions:
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit or whatever temperature your polymer clay package recommends.
• Take a portion of clay and knead it for a few minutes until it becomes pliable and you can manipulate it easily.
• Place on a clean surface and roll to desired thickness, about ¼” is as thin as you will want it for this project. You want an even thickness.
• Using a ruler or other long, sharp edged tool, cut a straight line to start the edges of your garden markers.
• Lightly stamp your letter stamps making sure not to press too hard. If you are using ink, make sure the stamp is adequately covered with ink before stamping.
• Use a paper towel moistened with water to clean your stamps after you are finished.
• Use your straight edge to cut along the other side of your stamped word. The width of your marker will depend on the size of your letter stamps. My markers ended up being about ½ inch wide.
• Cut a wedge on the end of your marker to help it pierce the ground. You do not need to have a sharp point especially since the thinner it is, the more likely it is to break off. This part does not have to be perfect since it will spend its life in the ground. ;)
• Gently remove the marker from your work surface and place it on the parchment paper on the baking sheet making sure there is no bend or curve to your marker. The position they bake in is how they will harden.

After playing with and without the ink for my stamps, I decided not to go with the ink. The letter stamps I was using did not have deep impressions so with the ink it made too much of a fuzzy, muddled look to me. I liked the clean, white look.

You could use colored polymer clay for added interest or even mix various colored clays to get a swirl look or a new color. Cutting the markers wider would allow for more room to stamp decorative images along the edge such as swirls, birds, flowers, etc.

This is one I used ink on and like how
it shows up better but not the fuzzy look.
Now that I think about it, I may play around and try painting these
or make some more and see what I can create! We shall see!
I will share on the Facebook page if I do.

Tips:
1. Make sure your letter stamps are clean before using to keep any residual ink from past projects off your clay. While looking at tips for using polymer clay, I also found there are special embossing letters available specifically for that medium.
2. Write out the herb or vegetable names you want to make markers for because once you begin to stamp them, words start looking funny and you wonder if you are spelling them right!
3. Practice stamping on scrap pieces of clay first, if needed, to ensure you know the right pressure to stamp clean images. Words can be stamped where you are reading up or down. Mine are reading down.
4. Allow for about three inches of the garden marker to actually go in the ground. My shortest one was 6.5 inches because I wanted to ensure I could see the word clearly.
5. See this link for 10 simple polymer clay tips. It gives excellent ideas such as on how long to bake polymer clay (the longer, the harder it gets - read the link for more info!).

If you have a garden - whether vegetables, flowers, or herbs - and you need help to remember what is what or what you planted where, then maybe these simple and inexpensive garden markers will work for you! Do you have garden markers? What do you use?