DIY Plant Markers, Pins and Tags

By Kelly Castor on June 27th, 2022

When everything in the garden starts growing and blooming, we tend to get a little plant obsessed. We give cut flowers from our gardens, pot up pups from our houseplants and share saved seeds. That’s where the ideas for these DIY clay plant markers, pins and tags came from—we couldn’t wait to share them, too.

We recommend making a batch of these cute clay designs so they’re ready the next time you want to give something from your garden.

What you’ll need:

Card stock and free template download
Oven bake clay (like Sculpey)*
Acrylic craft paint
Paintbrushes
Paint pens for accents
Rolling pin
Craft knife
Scissors
Toothpicks
Hot glue and glue gun
Wooden plant stakes (for plant markers)
1″ brooch pin backs (for pins)
Small craft paper envelopes (for seed sharing)
Tissue paper and bakers’ twine (for wrapping cut flowers or attaching designs to…anything)

*Doing this craft with kiddos? Use Crayola Model Magic, let it dry overnight and decorate with markers.

Step 1: Print the templates

Download and print our template onto card stock and cut out the designs you want to use.

To make your own templates, start with illustrations from any greeting card or other source you like. The goal is to create the simplest outline possible. As examples, look at our plant paintings—we don’t cut leaf shapes into our templates.

Step 2: Play with the clay

Preheat the oven to the temperature suggested on the label of your clay.

Knead the clay as directed to get it ready, then roll it out on a clean surface to about 1/4″ thick.

(If you’re using Model Magic, just knead it a little and roll it out. No need to preheat the oven.)

Place your card stock templates on the clay and gently trace around them with a toothpick. Then remove the template and cut all the way through the clay with the craft knife. Pull away the excess clay.

If you’re going to add string to turn your design into a tag, make holes with the toothpick before baking.

Follow package instructions for baking the clay.

Step 3: Paint your heart out

Let the clay designs cool completely.

We painted ours to match the Blooms Around You card illustrations (see photos), which is completely optional. A fine-point, gold paint pen gave us the control we wanted to add the little details.

Want to create and paint your own plants?

Here’s some advice from Hallmark Artist Jeanne Rittmueller:

Start with a pencil drawing and explore a few ideas, then select a favourite.

Keep the shapes simple and have fun with the detail. Note the pattern in the leaves, the varied colours and the pot profile.

Simple colour palettes tend to look modern and dramatic. Pick a few colours that make you happy.

Referring to the sketch and palette, start by painting the pot’s basic shape. Then add a couple of simple strokes for stems or leaves.

Use a little imagination to add fun patterns and details over your simple shapes. Try dots on stems and leaves, triangles and thin black lines for accents.

To make DIY clay plant markers

Use hot glue to attach your clay design to a wooden plant stake. Poke it in a potted plant for a birthday, Mother’s Day, Easter, housewarming or hostess gift.

To make DIY clay plant pins

When the paint is dry, use hot glue to attach a pin back. To make cute gifts, we stuck our pins in some craft paper envelopes filled with seeds. Give the pins and packets by themselves as party favours or place cards or tuck them inside a card.

To decorate a bouquet

Thread some bakers’ twine through the holes and tie your DIY clay plant tag around a bunch of blossoms or a jar full of cut flowers. Keep some tags and twine on hand for spur-of-the-moment giving—just because your flowers are pretty and you want to share.

Need more ideas for wrapping flowers?

Check out these four pretty ways to wrap any kind of bouquet, from grocery store blooms to wildflowers from the garden to dried craft flowers!