Grow Unique Craft Supplies in Your Garden

Unusual craft items give artists a variety of choices when they feel creative. The garden is a great source for craftsmen in search of unique supplies — the plants below produce fruit, seeds, and other craft choices perfect for drying and storing for artistic use.

Broom Corn

With colorful seeds and silk, the beautiful, sturdy straws from broom corn are sometimes incorporated into rustic handmade brooms as bristles. Other craftsmen use the dried seeds and strands to form rustic flower arrangements, decorate wreaths, or tuck a sheath in a primitive doll’s hands.

Gourds

With a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, gourds are a popular craft choice. Artists dry them, using the hollow shell to form birdhouses and jars, or paint creative designs like faces, animals, or landscapes on the side.

Corn Shucks

Gardeners often dry and store the “shucks” wrapped around ears of corn. This silky natural fabric dries thin and paper, with many artists using it to make “corn shuck dolls” by cutting it into strips and using a special wrapping technique. Corn silk is typically dried, dyed, and used to make corn shuck doll hair. Tiny hand-painted faces, and corn shuck dying techniques create colorful, delicate primitive dolls with lots of personality.

Job’s Tears

This unique plant’s tiny produce is harvested and dried for the “Job’s Tears” produced — natural beads with a large hold through the center. Perfect for kids crafts, homemade jewelry, or stringing together to form a primitive garland.

The variety of creative plants available for artists and craftsmen can create a whole garden section devoted to future handmade projects. Selecting only one of these unique plants may be too hard for artists and gardeners alike.