I am so proud of myself. I have always been very interested in handmade paper and have failed many times to make it myself. I finally broke down and bought a kit to help this novice.
I bought the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Kit. (both sizes)
I have only used the 5x7 kit but you don't know how satisfied I was when I took one piece of junk mail, some onion skins, dryer lint, and a small sliver of cardboard and turned it into 5 sheets of 5x7 paper. Each one is unique.
I was once told that it cost more money to recycle paper then to actually start from scratch. I have to disagree. I put all of the items in a blender and pulsed for about 30 seconds. I then let the mixture set for about an hour to make sure that the pulp was completely saturated. I then used the kit to make the 5 pieces of paper.
Maybe it is more expensive if you include the drying process. Since I am using the dry-over-night-under-heavy-books method, this is not my problem. The good thing is that I will always keep my junk mail for making paper now. It will be great for writing "Thank You" messages on. I will post pictures as soon as the paper dries.
I m now saving paper from making its way to the landfill. Go me!
Great post (and youtube video) on how to make paper. I found an old rotted tree trunk in the park, the whole trunk soft like a fibrous sponge; although it looked solid, I could literally dig my fingers right into the wood! So I am thinking of making paper with it (which is why I looked up your video in the first place).
ReplyDeleteIf I can add a little tip on making paper pulp from old paper: if you don't have a blender handy, just tear up the paper, put it in a sealable bottle or jar about half-filled with water, and then shake it very vigorously for several minutes. Not only does the paper disintegrate into pulp, but it's quite a good workout too!