Makin’ Paper
Recycle scraps into handmade paper for artful touches to gifts and more.
This is how I make all the price tags for the shop
What you’ll need:
Scrap paper, soak it if you have the time (Don’t use new paper, that defeats the point)
Old crummy blender (you won’t want to use it for food again, you can find old blenders at thrift stores for cheap if you need to buy one)
A wide tub or bin (Restaurant supply stores are a great source if you don’t have one at home)
Towels, cloth, felt, or other absorbent material
Sponge or rag
A mold & deckle, to make your own you need:
2 Frames the same size (I used old canvas stretcher bars, wood picture frames work as well. How large your frame is will determine your paper size)
Window screening
Hardware cloth or other stiff fencing/mesh
Weather stripping for doors or windows (the kind that’s self-adhesive)
Suct tape
Staple gun (with staples)
Wire cutters or scissors you don’t care about
Step 1. Make the mold & deckle
The Mold: Cut the window screen and hardware cloth to the size of your frames being careful of the sharp edges, you may want to wear gloves so you don’t cut you hand on the wire edges . Layer the two pieces together and tape off the edges with duct tape. With one of your frames flat side lay your wire sandwich, making sure the window screening layer is facing upward. Staple the screening to the frame.
The Deckle: On the other frame, with the flat side up apply the weather stripping to all sides making sure your rectangle has no gaps for water to drain out.
Step 2. Make the paper slurry
Fill the blender with water and add a handful of scrap paper, don’t put in too much or you’ll break the blender. Blend until you have a good pulp consistency. Pour your mix into the tub. Repeat until your tub is about half way full. For thinner paper and more water to the tub, for thicker paper more pulp blend.
You can experiment with different paper types to see what works best for you. Heavier papers like cardstock and water color paper tend to bond better but try it all, ads from the mail, old homework assignments, beer boxes, and on and on. You can also play around with adding materials like dried flower petals for texture or pigments to add color.
Step 3: Make some sheets
Hold the mold screen side up and stack the deckle with the stripping side down on it. Hold the two frames together firmly and dip it into the vat in a scooping motion, pulling the frames up out of the vat and letting the water drain out slowly.
*Here’s another place for experimentation, depending on what type of surface you dry your sheet on will change the texture of your finished paper. A thick towel will add more texture where as a thin cloth can create a smoother surface. I have a metal working surface at the store that gives my a super smooth finish on one side, but it is more challenging to remove once it’s dry. You’ll never know until you try so have some fun with it.
Remove the deckle. In a swift motion, flip the mold to whatever surface you plan on drying your paper on. I like to soak up some of the excess water here before I lift the mold off, but that can also leave an imprint of the screen so you may want to hold off. Remove the mold slowly, lifting from one side as you pick it up, and set the mold to the side. Use a sponge or rag to gently soak up excess water from the sheet.
If you transferred your sheets to a cloth you can gently move them to a clothes line to speed up the drying process, but note they tend to warp a little as they dry so I wouldn’t recommend that method if you’re hoping for a flat sheet.
Let the sheets dry, can take 1-3 days depending on what kind of air flow your space has. If you are hoping for super flat paper, you can layer the sheets between cloth and let them dry with a heavy board on top.
Step 4: Make stuff with your new paper
Send love notes. Make gift tags. Draw on it, paint on it, embellish a strip for a fancy bookmark. Make a to do list and when you’re done tear that checklist up and make a new sheet of paper from it.