Nature Paper
For the child who loves to collect beautiful nature things, such as the inside of milkweed pods, small seeds, flower petals and other flat ephemeral objects, there is no better way to keep them than to capture them inside handmade paper. To make handmade paper with children is quite simple to do. Sometimes a toddler likes to get into the paper ripping segment so don’t be surprised if they want to join in!
First assemble these ingredients:
* paper egg cartons, old paper scraps, even a bit of that dryer lint!
* a few drops of liquid soap detergent per potful
* water + cooking pot
* papertowels
* old screens - use masking tape around the edges to keep sharp edges away.
* stack of newspaper
* those flat nature items or for that sparkle-holic, glitter, if you must.
Then get started:
* Everyone tears up the egg cartons.You can also use old newspaper and other scrap paper, torn up into small pieces. A combination of them all is great! (Do not try to use glossy papers as they just won’t break down very well)
* Put the pieces in the pot with detergent and water to cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Cook until the mixture looks very soft and can be easily blended with a spoon. During this time, children can sort through their inclusions to decide what will go into each piece of paper, or look outside for more items.
* Put in food processor, until it is a smooth consistency.
* Add water to the mixture before and after cooking to keep it smooth and the thickness of yoghurt.
* You can add a little food coloring if you like, and then pour onto the screen.
* Strain through screen until desired thickness, adding in the nature inclusions as you go.
* Flip over onto the newspaper, cover with the paper towels and then more newspaper.
* Cover with heavy books or another weight for 24 hours. Peel off paper and let dry for an additional 24 hours. If you are careful, you can iron the paper on a very low setting with a protective newpaper layer in between the iron and new handmade paper to avoid scorching it.
* Spray with spray starch and iron if you intend to use ink on it to keep it from bleeding.
This paper is perfect for love notes, invitations and for making little journals filled with secrets and scribbles.
There are a great many papermaking books and web sources for more sophisticated equipment if you get hooked, but this is a good way to get started.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:16 am
What fun! I was just thhinking about doing papermaking with my kids after seeing a bit on the Discovery channel about how all our recycled paper goes into making paper egg cartons and fast food drink holders. Long ago, I experimented with making paper and never did the “cooking” of the paper that you suggest (and that was shown in large scale on the educational Discovery program); what is the purpose? My method was just to whirl paper and water in a blender and then pour over a screen. Now that I think about it, the paper was a bit rough (although I liked the imperfect look).
September 14th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
Yes! It is fun to make paper. That is cool that the Discovery channel had a papermaking episode aired! Makes me want to get a tv again… anyway, cooking, mixing or beating breaks down the fibers so they can rebond more easily. Most anything that you can tear easily can get by with little or no cooking. If you are molding it to look like sculptures or not using it to write on rough is beautiful!
September 15th, 2006 at 4:49 am
how fun! i’m going to try this with my little art student kiddos! this will be a great workshop to do with them!
September 22nd, 2006 at 10:50 am
Another cool thing to try is to dry the paper ON a sunny window (once excess water has been pressed out.) The sun will help the paper dry, and, since the paper is pressed to glass, one side of it will be smooth, which is handy for glueing and writing.
If you plan on making many batches of paper, I would suggest buying a food processor or blender at a thrift store solely for that purpose. You don’t want any chemical byproducts of newsprint inks, etc contaminating your food!
September 8th, 2007 at 8:29 am
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