This is an excerpt from the article “Herbal Summer Camp” by Jessie Lehson featured in the Summer Vol 4 | Issue 13 | 2025 edition of Botanical Anthology. To learn about herbs through fun summer camp inspired projects, check out the entire article in the magazine! Our herbal magazine, featuring remedies, recipes and projects with plants for the spring season, can be purchased as a digital version here and as a printed version here.
Hapa zome is the art of transferring plant pigment to paper or cloth. And it is always a kid favorite because it is sanctioned bashing stuff with hammers. For more control use a mallet or a smooth rock, but sometimes the fun of this project is the hammering more so than the final product. Dandelions make a great first hapa zome print because they pretty reliably transfer color to paper. Other plants to try include sage, mint, coreopsis and pansies. A good old fashioned bookmark makes the perfect gift or special way to mark your place in an important book.
Materials
- Dandelions, freshly picked
- Thick watercolor paper
- Parchment paper
- Hammer, mallet or a smooth rock
- Scissors or a paper cutter
- Black pen, optional
Method
You can either make your prints on a full piece of paper and cut out your favorite bits afterwards, or you can cut the bookmarks to size first, whichever you prefer. A standard bookmark is 2”x6” but you can make them whatever size you prefer.
Arrange your dandelion flowers and leaves on the paper face down. You’ll want to detach the flowers from the stems so that they can lay flat.
Cover the plant material with parchment and start gently hammering. The goal is to get everything evenly flattened and juicy so that the dye comes out. Softer, more careful hammering is better than bashing. Kids will often get very exuberant at this step though so be prepared to just roll with it.
Once everything is completely smushed down, peel the dandelions off the paper. If there is less color that you would like you can just rub the crushed flowers and leaves over any area that needs a little more and it will rub onto the paper.
Allow to dry and then outline with a little black pen if desired.
Jessie Lehson is the author of seasonal children’s books about the wheel of the year and nature. She is the founder and former director of Watershed Public Charter School and was a professor of sculpture and environmental artist. Lehson is an avid chicken keeper, master gardener and permaculture designer. Follow her at wineberrypress.com and @wineberryadventurescouts
