Handmade Paper Recipe

How to make it

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• Select the pieces of paper to be recycled. You can even mix different types to create your own unique paper.
• Rip the paper into small bits, and place into the blender. (about half full).
• Fill the blender with warm water.
• Run the blender slowly at first then increase the speed until the pulp looks smooth and well blended. (30-40 seconds)
• Check that no flakes of paper remain. If there are, blend longer.
• The next step is to make a mold. The mold, in this case, is made simply by stretching fiberglass screen (plain old door and window screen) over a wooden frame and stapling it. It should be as tight as possible.
• Fill the basin about half way with water.
• Add 3 blender loads of pulp. (the more pulp you add the thicker the finished paper will be) Stir the mixture.
• Now is the time to add the liquid starch for sizing. (This is not necessary but if the paper is going to be used for writing on, you should add some, the starch helps to prevent inks from soaking into the paper fibers.) Stir 2 teaspoons of liquid starch into the pulp.
• Place the mold into the pulp and then level it out while it is submerged.
• Gently wiggle it side-to-side until the pulp on top of the screen looks even.
• Slowly lift the mold up until it is above the level of the water.
• Wait until most of the water has drained from the new paper sheet.
• If the paper is very thick, remove some pulp from the tub. If it is too thin, add more pulp and stir the mixture again.
• When the mold stops dripping, gently place one edge on the side of a fabric square (felt or flannel square).
• Gently ease the mold down flat, with the paper directly on the fabric.
• Use a sponge to press out as much water as possible.
• Wring the excess water from the sponge back into the large plastic tub.
• Now comes the tricky part. Hold the fabric square flat and slowly lift the edge of the mold. The wet sheet of paper should remain on the fabric.
• If it sticks to the mold, you may have pulled too fast or not pressed out enough water. It takes a little practice.
• You can gently press out any bubbles and loose edges at this point.
• Repeat the steps above, and stack the fabric squares on a cookie sheet.
• Save one fabric square to place on the top of the stack to cover the last piece of paper.
• Use another cookie sheet to press the remaining water out of the stack. (do this outside or in the bathtub, it can make a mess)
• After you press the stack, gently separate the sheets. They can be dried by hanging on a clothesline or laying them out on sheets of newspaper.
• When they have dried peel them off the fabric and voila! you have paper!
• Some Additional Notes:
• . Always stir the pulp just before dipping the mold and deckle into it. Hold the mold with the screen facing up. Place the deckle upside down on top of the mold so the smooth sides of the frames face each other.
• Grasp the mold and deckle securely and lower them vertically into the dishpan. Immediately bring the mold and deckle to a horizontal position under the pulp and lift them straight up, allowing the pulp to cover the screen.
• Don't let the pulp collect too thickly on the screen - thinner paper turns out better! Let the excess water drip off for about two minutes. You can rest the mold and deckle on a corner of the dishpan while the water is draining. If you want to add seeds or other adornments to the top of the paper, now is the time.
• Set up a drying space where the handmade paper can be left overnight. Place one-half of a disposable kitchen cloth on top of several sheets of newspaper.
• Lift off the deckle. Turn the mold over onto the cloth so that the pulp side is down. With a sponge, soak up the water from the back side of screen. Gently pat the screen to soak up the water; don't wipe it. Make sure to sponge well around the edges. Squeeze the water out of the sponge into a small container or back into the pulp pan. Keep soaking up the water until you see the paper separating from the screen. Starting at one corner, gently remove the mold.
• Repeat the above process to make as many sheets of paper as you like.
• Let your paper dry undisturbed overnight. When it's dry, gently peel off the kitchen cloth from each sheet of paper, starting at one corner. If a sheet isn't dry on the reverse side, turn it over and let it finish drying. When all the sheets are completely dry, stack them and place heavy books on top of the stack for a couple of days to press the sheets flat.
• (To speed up these last steps, you can iron partially dry paper between two kitchen cloths at a medium temperature.) After the sheets have been pressed, they'll be ready for display or to be made into cards or other objects.
• Paper fibers can clog your drain, so do not throw any leftover pulp into the sink. Instead, recover it! Use the mold to strain the pulp from the water. Cover the drain in the sink with the mold, and pour the remaining pulp over the screen. Remove the pulp from the screen before it's full. Dry the leftover pulp and place it back in your recycling container.