Are you a repentant hoarder with a pile of old newspapers to get rid of? Has the girl you love just dumped you and now you're looking to make something artistic and destroy all of her love letters? Are you just looking for useful crafts to do on a rainy day? If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, you should try making your own paper. The materials you'll need are scrap paper, water, a basin, gauze, and maybe a blender.
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Part 1 of 4: Preparing the Materials Needed
Step 1. Prepare your equipment
To make paper, you will mix pulp and water and then place it on a screen frame. Here are a few different starting steps:
- Frame Method: Spread a sheet of gauze over a wooden frame (used photo frames work great, or you can make your own). Glue the gauze to the edges of the frame using staples or nails. Fine gauze or sieves with a small opening of about 1 mm can also be exchanged for window screens. The gauze sheet should be pulled as tightly as possible. Make sure the frame is large enough to accommodate the paper size you want. In addition, you will need a basin or bucket that is larger than the size of the frame.
- Basin Method: Prepare a deep enough disposable aluminum basin. You can buy such a basin at a grocery store or home appliance store. You can also use a deep bowl. Cut a portion of the gauze sheet following the shape of the bottom of the basin, but slightly larger.
Step 2. Prepare recyclable paper
Newsprint is the easiest material to recycle, so choose it as a starting point. However, you can also use old printed paper, notebooks, phone books-and just about any paper product that isn't waxed. You need to know that the color of the paper used will affect the gray/dark feel of the recycled paper produced. Avoid using glossy and glossy paper as this will not work.
Paper can also be made from grass and leaves with equally good results. In fact, it was the most popular type of paper that had been made until the 20th century! You should chop the grass and leaves into very small pieces, then soak them in caustic soda/fire to “digest”, strain, and blend them into a pulp. Then pour the pulp in the mold and apply pressure. Once dry, you can proudly say, “This paper wasn't made from trees at all!”
Part 2 of 4: Making Paper Pulp
Step 1. Clean the paper
Discard plastic materials, staples, and various other materials that contaminate the paper. Especially if you use used correspondence paper, there may still be plastic that usually wraps the envelope. Try to get rid of stuck dirt as much as possible.
Step 2. Tear the paper into small pieces
Don't spend a lot of your time on this step, but there's no need to cut the paper to the smallest size either. You just tear it into pieces.
Step 3. Soak the paper in water
Place the smallest piece of paper in a container (such as a bowl or cup) and fill it with water. Let the paper soak for about 30 to 45 minutes.
- If you want to make colored paper, use paper that has the least amount of dark ink, use lots of pulp and also liquid food coloring. The final result may be a dull colored paper on one side, and lighter on the other. Both sides of the paper can be used depending on the purpose. But the lighter side of the paper might be better if you want to use it for writing purposes.
- If you want to make the paper whiter, you can add half a cup of vinegar to the pulp mixture.
Step 4. Process paper into pulp
After soaking, the paper will be more moist/wet and soft, so you can start processing it into a pulp. The character of thick, wet, and sticky pulp, with a slightly watery substance will eventually become a new sheet of paper. Here are two possible ways of making paper pulp:
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Blend paper.
Tear the paper into smaller pieces, put it in the blender until it is half full. Fill the blender with warm water. Run the blender, "slow" at first and then increase the speed until the paper looks soft and crumbles completely. It will take about 30 to 40 seconds for the paper to completely disintegrate and no debris remains.
- Pounding paper. If you have a mortar and pestle, you can pound the paper manually by hand. The pestle can be substituted for another similar pounding tool, such as the tip of a bread grinder or a strong bowl. Do the mashing until you get a pulp that resembles the consistency of oatmeal mixed with water.
Part 3 of 4: Printing Paper
Step 1. Fill the basin with water, about halfway
The basin should be slightly wider and longer than the frame used, and roughly the same shape it could be round or square (or at least fit into the frame easily).
- If you're using the framing method, fill the basin and add the pulp "before" you submerge the frame into it.
- If you're using the basin method, place the gauze in the bottom of the basin "before" you add the water and mix the pulp.
Step 2. Add the pulp to the basin and stir
The amount of pulp you add to the water will determine the thickness of the paper. If you want the dense heterogeneous mixture to cover the entire surface of the screen, you don't need to make a basin full of pulp. Do a little experiment! The thickness of the paper can change from plain paper to cardboard depending on the amount of water added to the pulp.
Step 3. Remove any large lumps on the paper
Try to remove any lumps that appear; the softer and smoother the mixture you make, the more uniform your recycled paper will produce.
Step 4. Add backing material to the paper (if necessary)
If the paper is intended for writing purposes, mix 2 tablespoons of starch in the water and add it to the pulp mixture. The starch will help prevent the ink from seeping into the paper fibers.
If you don't add starch, the resulting paper will be highly absorbent, so the pen/pen ink will be easily absorbed. If that happens, soak the dried paper again in the water and agar mixture, then dry again
Step 5. Immerse the frame into the mixture (only for the frame method)
Insert the wooden frame into the pulp, position the gauze on the bottom, then flatten it while still submerged. Move it slowly from side to side until the surface of the pulp is flat on the gauze.
Step 6. Remove the gauze from the basin
Gently lift the gauze so that it is above the water. Drain in a fixed position over the basin. Wait for most of the water to come out of the pulp, and you should see the start of a new sheet of paper. If the paper is too thick, remove some of the pulp from the top. On the other hand, if it's too thin, add some pulp and stir the mixture again.
Step 7. Remove excess water on the paper
Once you have removed the gauze from the basin, you will need to remove the excess water from the pulp. Depending on the method you chose in Step 1, here's how to do it:
- Frame Method: After the water has almost or has stopped dripping, place a piece of cloth or formica over the frame so that it covers the paper. Choose felt or flannel, and if using formica the smooth side is facing down. Place it carefully! Press down gently to squeeze out excess water. Use a sponge to squeeze as much water as possible from the other side. Dry the sponge by squeezing it periodically.
- Basin Method: Spread a sheet of towel on a flat surface, then place the gauze (with paper on it) on half of the towel. Fold the other half of the towel so that it is on top of the paper. Take a clothes iron (turn on the lowest temperature option), then gently iron the top of the towel. You will see steam coming out of the paper.
Part 4 of 4: Perfecting the Paper
Step 1. Remove the paper from the gauze
As soon as the paper gets a bit dry, you can lift/remove it from the gauze. You can gently squeeze the bubbles out while loosening the edges.
- Gently lift the fabric or formica out of the frame. The wet sheet of paper should be left on the cloth/formica. If it's still stuck to the frame, you may be pulling it too fast or not pressing enough to get the water out.
- You can press a dry sheet of paper by placing a cloth or other formica on it and pressing it gently. This will result in a smoother and thinner sheet of paper. Leave the cloth in place until the paper dries.
Step 2. Gently remove the paper from the frame
If you're still having trouble removing it, try ironing it again under the towel.
Step 3. Dry the paper
Take a sheet of paper and lay it outside on a flat surface. As an alternative to speed drying, you can do the drying process using a hairdryer (turn on the lowest temperature option).
- Remove the paper from the fabric or formica (for the frame method only). Wait for the sheet of paper to dry completely, then gently peel it off.
- Paper Ironing (if necessary): When the condition of the paper is damp/wet, but it is safe to move the cloth/formica, immediately remove the paper and then iron it (turn on the high temperature option). This method will dry the paper quickly as well as produce a sheet of paper that has a beautiful glow.
Step 4. Repeat the above steps to create additional sheets
Continue adding the pulp and water to the basin as much as needed.
Tips
- For a more artistic result, you can also incorporate some plant material into your paper dough. For example the remains of flower petals, leaves, or grass that is still green. The beautiful effects it produces will motivate you to create more – no two papers are exactly the same.
- If you dry the paper on a woven cloth, it is possible that the paper will take on the color and texture of the material. So, be careful choosing every tool/material you use! Fine formica is probably the best material if you want to make writing paper with a smooth surface.
- To remove excess water, you can place a cloth on top of the paper and press it with a sponge. Do it gently!
- Wax-coated paper can be used instead of cloth or formica.
- If you have trouble removing the paper from the frame, you will need to gently turn the frame over and try to push it out onto the fabric or formica.
- You can add drier fiber to the pulp. However, don't make paper entirely out of fiber because creating it won't have enough paper character.
