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Oh hey, I'm in the Peace Corps! You can email me at: elvisrocks87@gmail.com and check out my photos at: picasaweb.google.com/elvisrocks87 MY MUSIC and all other links can be found at: www.facebook.com/socorracmusic **The contents of this page, and all links appearing on this page, do not represent the positions, views or intents of the U.S. Government, or the United States Peace Corps.** |
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Notes I be making paper…..but not the money kind…..So if you’re like me, you have paper EVERYWHERE! And you don’t even know it until you decide, “Hey my house is a mess, maybe I should do something about that.” And by “mess” I mean that my coffee table has crap all over it. So I gather the papers and try to make a nice pile but I end up throwing away half of those papers. Then I just get on this cleaning kick and start going through ALL the papers I have.
This happened to me last week. I ended up filling up an extra box with old scrap pieces of paper, everything from envelopes to “to-do lists”. In keeping with my recycle-kick and desire to not burn as much trash as possible, I decided to make NEW paper! JIGGA WHAT!?!?! Let me explain:
1. Gather old paper, non-waxed
2. Soak paper for 1/2day to a full day
3. Rip up paper scraps (can either be done before or after soaking)
4. Use a blender or a mortar and pestle to create the paper pulp.
5. Fill your basin about 1/2 full of water. Dump the pulp into a basin where you can submerge your paper frame. You can use an old picture frame for this and tack on some mesh. I made one with scrap wood.
6. If you want to make your paper “ink-ready”, then you’re going to have to make liquid starch. To make liquid starch just take 1T of cornstarch and dissolve in 1/4c of cold water. Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. Mix cold mix into hot mix and let cool. Then add some of this mix to your basin.
7. Submerge your frame into your basin and let the pulp settle on top of the frame, pull the frame out and let drain.
8. Use either felt or flannel for this part to prevent the wet paper from sticking to the fabric once pulled out of the basin. So after you’ve pulled out your frame, use a sponge to squeeze out the extra water and then place the felt or flannel on top.
I don’t have any flannel or felt at my house but for some reason I do have this shammy thing that you would use to dry your car and it soaks up water really well. So I’m just using that. Once the fabric has been placed on top, I also use an old manual and place that on top. Then I flip the whole thing over and carefully peel off the frame. Now you should have a wet piece of new paper on the fabric, let that dry. Depending on how hot it is outside, the drying time may vary.
Then BOOM! You should have some new paper. Use a frame according to the size of paper you want to make and also try mixing different papers to get the color, texture etc that you want. It’s an experiment so have fun!!!
