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How to make handmade paper products?
Making Handmade Paper Products from Recycled Materials
Today there is a revival in homemade papermaking crafts. Not only is it a fun experience for you and the kids, but it's a good way to recycle waste into wonderful possibilities.
Below you will find a simple papermaking recipe to get you started. If this is the first time you are making paper, don't be afraid to experiment with different fibers, you don't have to stick with paper related products. Some of your ideas will turn out while others may not. Have fun with it, express your creativity...
Collect junk mail and any other colored and/or white paper for a short period of time. It doesn't take much paper. I recycle decorative wrapping paper and even a little brown paper bag thrown in makes a great texture. Magazine and newspaper doesn't work well.
1. Cut or tear paper into 1" pieces. You can do this while you are setting around watching TV. 2. Place a large handful of paper pieces into a blender 1/2 full of warm water. For more texture add dried flowers, leaves, small pieces of raffia or anything you like into pulp mixture. A handful of fluffy (not compact) dryer lint can also be placed in the blender. You want to do about a cup of materials including paper. 3. Soak paper and other ingredients in warm water for one to five minutes (the longer the paper soaks, the less blending will be needed). 4. Blend until paper turns to a pulp. 5. Put deckle (frame) on top of flat side of screen, holding it with the deckle facing you. 6. With your hand, stir pulp in the tub well. 7. Holding the screen and deckle perpendicular to the tub (deckle facing you), slide along the back edge of tub, then down to the bottom of the tub. 8. Raise fairly quickly. You'll feel a "vacuum release" when it exits the pulp and water mixture. 9. Let drain for a few seconds. 10. Place material cut from the old sheet on about 4 pages of newspaper for the paper pulp to drain on. 11. Flip screen over onto the material. 12. Firmly press sponge against the screen to absorb as much excess water as possible to bind the fibers together. 13. Carefully remove screen. 14. Place another piece of old sheet on top of the paper pulp and another layer of newspaper and repeat the process. 15. Continue this process until the pulp in the tub is too thin to dip with screen. Repeat the blender process until you have made the amount of paper you want. One tub of pulp will make about 10 sheets of paper. You can leave them alone and let them air dry or to speed up the process, you can hang the sheets with paper pulp on a clothes line. Once the sheets are almost dry, you can speed it up even more by ironing.
Once dry, carefully peel off of sheet and enjoy!
Handmade paper products can be purchased from Indian Handicrafts where hundreds of paper bags, wrapping papers are available for sale, including Patchwork Items, Bedspreads, Curtains, Wall Hangings, Quilts and Fashion Jewelry.
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