printer friendly version

making homemade paper

Express yourself with homemade paper – then use it to express yourself some more! Making paper at home or at your Arts & Crafts Center is easy, fun, and full of endless possibilities for using and recycling fibers, papers, plants and more. The more variety you use, the more texture and color you’ll have, too. Here’s a simple recipe for paper; all you add is your imagination!

Supplies you’ll need:
Gather the following items before you begin, and be sure to clear a workspace.

  • Sponge
  • Window screening
  • Wood frame (use an old picture frame)
  • Plastic tub (large enough to totally immerse the frame)
  • Blender or food processor
  • White felt or flannel fabric – cut into several pieces about the size of the sheets of paper you’ll be making (based on your frame/screen size)
  • Staples or tacks 
  • Liquid starch (optional)
  • 2 cookie sheets

Ingredients:
Gather any number of combinations of paper scraps from the following sources:

  • Newspaper (produces a grayer paper)
  • Magazines
  • Cardboard egg cartons
  • Old greeting cards (produces a thicker paper)
  • Toilet paper
  • Paper bags
  • Non-waxed cardboard boxes (Pre-soaked in warm water)
  • Office paper
  • Tissue paper (produces thinner paper)
  • Napkins
  • Colored construction paper

 

Ten simple steps:

1. First, make your mold. For this simple recipe, you’ll simply stretch the screening over the wooden frame and staple it in place so that it’s tight. When you get more expert at papermaking, you can create shaped molds, too.

2. Select the papers you’ll be using. Mix them up to create a unique paper.

3. Rip the paper into small pieces and place them into the blender – filling the blender jar no more than half full. Add warm water and fill almost full. Turn the blender to low, then increase the speed until the pulp looks smooth and well blended, about 30 seconds or so. Blend longer if you see flakes of paper remaining.

4. Fill the basin with water, to about the halfway mark. Add three blenders-full of pulp, keeping in mind that the more pulp you add to the basin, the thicker your finished paper will be. Stir the mixture when it looks about right. Now stir in 2 teaspoons of liquid starch. (This optional step is best for paper you intend to use for writing. The starch helps to prevent ink from soaking into the paper.) 

5. Dip your mold into the pulp in the basin and level it out on the screen while it’s submerged. Shake it gently from side to side until the pulp looks evenly distributed on the screen.

6. Lift the mold out SLOWLY above water level. Allow most of the water to drain and watch as your new sheet of paper is formed. This is your opportunity to modify the thickness of the paper. If it’s too thick, remove some pulp from the basin. If it seems to be too thin, then stir in more pulp.

7. Once the paper has stopped dripping, you’ll begin to transfer it to the felt or flannel fabric pieces. Gently place one edge on the fabric, then ease the mold down flat, with the paper directly on the fabric. Press out as much water as possible using a sponge and wringing the excess water into the basin.

8. SLOWLY, while holding the fabric flat, carefully lift the edge of the mold from the fabric. The sheet of paper should remain on the fabric. Press out any bubbles or folds. This step takes practice, so you may not get it perfectly right the first few times. If the paper sticks to the mold, try slowing down and sponging off more water than you had before.

9. Stack each fabric/paper sheet on a cookie sheet, saving one piece of fabric for the top of the stack. Place the other cookie sheet on top of the stack to press out the remaining water. Warning: This can be messy!

10. After they’re pressed, separate the stack, keeping the coupled fabric/paper sheets together. Dry them by hanging them on a clothesline or laying them out on newspaper. When they have completely dried, peel off your paper from the fabric and get even more creative with your new sheets of paper!

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