Our lettuce beds are out of control.
A few good rains, a lot of sunshine, and voilà: Lettuce explosion. It’s simply growing faster than we can eat it, which is fantastic news. Why? Because it means we have enough to start gifting!
I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted greens from other people’s gardens in the past, and I’m always appreciative. I did make a mental note, however, that when it came time for me to start gifting others from my own garden, I would do the following: Wash my produce first, and dress it up a little. Nothing really glitzy, just a little touch to make it feel extra special. This past week I came up with the following little project to do just that.
First, I found the perfect quote: “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” -Marcel Proust. I was specifically looking for a quote that began with “let us,” which I then pun-ified into “Lettuce.” Perfecto!
I used a stencil to make the word ‘lettuce’ stand out, and wrote the rest in script.
I used a green crayon to accent the words “lettuce” and “souls blossom” ‘ I thought it added a nice touch. Then I used a pair of corkscrew paper edgers to cut off the top of the bag and add a little extra pizzaz.
I cleaned and sorted all of the lettuce: One huge head of green leaf, and one huge head of red leaf.
Then I made little bouquets, laying the largest leaves on the bottom.
Next, I stuffed bags! I thought they looked mighty fine.
Finally, I distributed them. Some were left on doorsteps. Others were handed off directly to their recipients.
You know what’s amazing? Everyone that was personally handed a gift from the garden asked me, “Where did you get these bags?” They couldn’t believe I had made them myself—and this was a quick and easy craft made using stuff I had lying around the house. One neighbor even told me they looked “artisanal.” Love it!
My only gripe with this project was that I used paper sandwich bags—not the most environmentally-friendly way to gift. Any greener ideas on what I can use next time?
Originally published on ReadyMade
