handmade paper
One of the key components to my pressed flower art is handmade paper. There’s an added element of beauty in up-cycling something discarded and useless into something full of texture and history. Each piece of paper tells its own story. It brings a depth, a layering, to my art and to my poetry and in many ways embodies what I feel like my poetry embodies—a new way of looking at things.
I take old scraps of paper, whether it be journal pages, old chord sheets from leading worship, or the kid’s messed up artwork that they aren’t proud of. Whatever the source, the end product has a way of being more beautiful than it originally was. Each batch of paper is unique and each individual sheet is different from the one before it.
There’s great interest in imperfections. As a recovering perfectionist, I find this process so therapeutic. Imagine opening a box of printer paper from Staples. Every sheet is perfectly the same as the sheet before it, it can’t hold my attention or captivate my interest. It might look beautiful at first but by the time I see the second sheet, I’ve seen enough. When I make my own paper, some pages are thinner, some rougher, some have a small tear or a hole or a ten brown specks, when the one before it had two. You get my point. I truly believe this process parallels our creator’s process in how He enjoys producing beauty out of each unique situation, including our pain, struggles and imperfections.
Someone might look at this paper making process and think it too tedious, messy, and time wasting, and that’s OK. For me though, it is such a connecting process to my own life and the beautiful artist who takes His time breaking me down, and building me back up. When I see the end product itself, I find it gorgeous and captivating. I used to feel disappointed when my life didn’t look like the smooth, white sheet of paper from the store. The tears and the marks I’ve incurred have felt like failures and blemishes, but now I see life differently. Now I see beauty. Vibrance. Newness. Hope. This process is a visual reminder of the process taking place inside of me.
Alright, now for the process!
Here’s what you need:
Old paper. It could be junk mail, newspaper, old homework sheets from your kids, etc. It seems harder and harder to find paper these days as everything has become digital but you could also use old book pages from the thrift store. The paper can have pen ink, pencil, or printed ink. You can use just about anything but if the papers have a lot of dies or colorings on them, it may change the look of your final product. So just keep that in mind. I also would suggest steering away from any paper that has a glossy finish as it may not break down the way it needs to.
A paper shredder if you have one. If not, you can use your hands to tear the paper into pieces. But let’s be real, it’s way more satisfying to shred it.
A bucket of hot water to soak the paper in.
A blender. I prefer an immersion blender but you can use a standing one.
A mould and deckle. You can make one easily like I did or purchase one online.
A plastic bin large enough for the mould and deckle to fit in.
Now, to begin!
1. Start by shredding your paper either with a paper shredder or by hand if you don’t have a shredder. Depending on how many sheets of paper you want to make, you will need to probably double the amount of sheets you use now. But I don’t have an exact formula for this.
2. Soak your paper pieces in some hot water. I use an old bucket with a lid but you could use a bowl, a pot, a blender, or whatever works for you. Make sure the water is completely covering your paper. Let this sit overnight for the best results. I’ve made paper without soaking it more than 20 minutes before and it was just fine so just try it sooner if you don’t want to wait that long. I will say, if you have a good blender then you may not need to soak it long at all. And the hotter the water, the faster the paper will break down.
3. Blend. For this step, I use an immersion blender that I have designated for my crafts. It’s definitely the easiest way to break up the paper. I’ve seen immersion blenders as well as stand up blenders at thrift stores if you want to find a blender to designate for your crafts too. Otherwise, I would just make sure to wash whatever blender you use thoroughly before returning it to your kitchen. If you’re using a stand up blender then you may need to blend your paper in batches depending on how much you have and how much your blender holds. If you want your final sheets of paper to be smooth, blend with a little extra water and blend it until you can’t see any paper bits. If you want your final sheets of paper to have little bits of the original paper then don’t blend it quite as much. Either way, it’s going to be gorgeous! Set that aside while you move on to step number five.
4. Fill a plastic bin or tub with water. This will be your paper making station. You will need a good 4 or 5 inches of water in your container. Now is your chance to determine the hue of your paper. You can add dyes to the water to change the color or if you’re like me and you want a hint of vintage thrown in there, add some old coffee or tea. The first time I made paper I didn’t add anything to the water and my paper turned out very white, which made it look like paper towels. I’m not going for the paper towel look so I now add a few cups of coffee brewed from used grounds (I do not add the grounds themselves). It seems to take the edge off of the stark whiteness. Add as much as you want here, you can’t go wrong!
5. Time to add your mushy paper pulp that you blended to your tub of water. Don’t add all of it at once though. You want to ration it out so that your paper thickness stays consistent. So start with adding two or three cups or handfuls of the pulp to your coffee water and give it a good stir. (You will need to replenish the water after you make a sheet of paper. I usually add a cup of the pulp mixture before each paper.)
**I will take a moment to say, if you shredded paper that had dyes on it and it has turned your pulpy water a weird color, you can strain your pulp before adding it to the water bin. I’ve had my pulpy water turn a bluish gray before. I decided to go with it because when I added it to my brown coffee water, it turned out really nice and had a lovely depth of grayish brown hue to it, but you may end up with a red or something you don’t want. So if that’s the case, just strain it before adding.
6. Now that your water’s ready, you will need to grab a mould and deckle. You can buy these on Etsy or Amazon or you can make them yourself. While you’re at the thrift store looking for an immersion blender, you can also look for two picture frames or canvas paintings that are the same size. Staple a screen to one of them and you’re good to go! You can make it out of scrap wood and mesh too. The key is that the two wooden frames rest flat on each other where the screen meets the wood. I have three different sizes that I made from picture frames, old canvases and an old window screen.
7. Submerse your mould and deckle together into the pulpy water. The frame with the screen (the mould) should be on the bottom with the screen-less frame (the deckle) directly on the screen, lined up with the frame underneath. Hold your mould and deckle firmly as you gently swish it in the water back and forth a couple of times. The pulpy water should be cloudy and depending on how deep your water is, you should barely be able to make out the frames through the water. Gently bring the mould and deckle straight up as the pulp settles on the screen. The first time you try this, notice the thickness of your paper pulp. If it is clumpy you may have too much pulp in your water. If you can see through it to the screen underneath, it may be too thin. The consistency I go for is, I want to see the screen through the pulp but just barely. It’s ok if some spots seem thinner than others as long as the difference is not too great. Just play around with it and make adjustments as you go. Add more pulp if you need or don’t set your mould and deckle as deep if you have too much pulp.
8. Remove the deckle (the screen less frame on top) and let the water drain from the mould. I carefully tip the mould so the water drains a bit faster.
9. After the majority of the water has dripped off the mould it’s ready to flip over onto a smooth piece of fabric. I use an old curtain cut into pieces that the paper can fit on. The fabric I use is made of cotton and has a smooth texture. This helps ensure that the texture on my paper will end up being smooth.
10. Next, I take an old kitchen sponge and start to soak up as much water through the screen on my mould as possible. After a few presses, I squeeze the sponge water back into the bin and keep going. I go over the whole screen two or three times making sure I get the edges really well.
11. Now it’s time to carefully lift up my mould. I start by slowly raising one edge of the mould with one hand while I use my other hand to hold the fabric nice and tight. Holding the fabric tight is the key to getting the paper to stick to the fabric and not to the mould. If one side isn’t cooperating you can gently set it down and try the other side.
12. Now I take the opportunity to carefully dab any places that aren’t laying flat or have little bumps. Be sure not to touch the “paper” with your hands or it may tear. Then lift up the fabric and you can either hang it to dry, or like me, you can lay it flat in the sun. You could leave it flat anywhere that it will be safe overnight if you can’t set it outside. I will say, if it’s a windy day the fabric can easily blow away so be mindful of that. I’ve found that placing it in the sun on a flat surface gives me the quickest dry times. Usually only 20 minutes or so.
13. Once the paper and fabric are completely dry they will be a little stiff. Carefully start separating the paper from the fabric. Start in a corner and run your finger down the side so as to release the bond between the paper and the fabric. Then gently peel the paper off of the fabric.
Sooooo satisfying!
There you have it! Your own GORGEOUS handmade paper! I use this paper in my typewriter and even in my printer. If you use it in your printer, it’s best to cut the edges so they have a clean line. Otherwise you may end up with a jumbled mess inside your printer. Don’t ask me how I know…
I hope this tutorial has set you up for success and makes you feel excited and empowered to try it! If I can do it, you can do it!
I have a full video tutorial on YouTube that is linked at the bottom of this post so you can get a complete visual of the whole process!
