Making
Re-Cycled Paper from DeWyk.net
>> White Vinegar (optional > to whiten paper)
>>
Frame (old window screen frame or a picture frame can be used to hold screen)
Instructions:
Materials:
>
Water
>>
Liquid Starch (optional, ~1-6 tsp. depending) - decreases the ink that soaks in
to the paper
> Paper Source
Examples
of materials that can be recycled to make home-made paper:
>
Computer Paper & Typing Paper
>
Envelopes
>
Wrapping Paper
>
Construction Paper (product ~ colored or flecked)
>
Old Cards (product ~ heavy)
>
Newspaper (product ~ gray)
>
Phone Books
>
Magazines > non-glossy
>
Egg Cartons
>
Cardboard / Boxes > un-waxed (result ~moderately heavy)
>
Brown Paper & Paper Bags > un-waxed (result ~ brown)
>
Tissue & Toilet Paper (result ~ fine paper)
>
Paper Towels & Napkins
These can be great additives to home-made paper but do
NOT use 100% of the following to make your home-made recycled paper:
>
Plants ~> Fiber > mint, flax, jute, hemp AND Accents > petals, leaves,
seeds, etc.
>
String / Fiber
>
Dryer Lint
Equipment/ Supplies:
>
Screen
(to mold paper) ~> window screen or fiberglass screening (if you
don't have an old window screen around this screening is easy to find at
your hardware store)
>>
Frame (old window screen frame or a picture frame can be used to hold screen)
>>
Staples / Tacks (tack screen onto frame)
>>
Silicone (OPTIONAL- to seal screen edge)
>
Tub (large plastic tub or bath tub, just big enough to comfortably fit the framed
screen)
>
Blender / Food Processor (to pulp paper)
>
Light Felt / Flannel, Wax Paper or Towel
AND Cloth or Sponge
Instructions:
>
>Make or find your paper mold (framed screen)
> Stretch the screen (window screening works great) over wooden frame (or picture frame) and tightly staple/ tack it down.
> Stretch the screen (window screening works great) over wooden frame (or picture frame) and tightly staple/ tack it down.
>
Select paper(s) to be recycled, considering how you want the final product to
look.
>
Tear the paper into small pieces.
>
Fill the blender ~ ½
full of paper pieces. Fill the blender with water (I use warm water).
>
Blend on low until the pulp looks fairly smooth to smooth (~30 - 45 seconds),
oatmeal is a good example of blended consistency.
>> With experience you can adjust the paper(s) you select and your blending
time to create smoother or more varied paper (in color, texture and molds).
>
Fill the tub about half way with water (less if you are using a bath tub). If using a
plastic tub add about 3 blenders of the pulp mix, if a bathtub add about 6, stir the tub.
>
IF you would like to use this paper with inks, you can add liquid starch for
sizing (~1-6tsp. depending on tub size). Added starch helps keep the ink from soaking in to the paper.
>
Slide the screen mold, on edge, dipping into the bottom of the tub and level the screen off. Gently
shake the framed screen side-to-side, until pulp mixture looks smoothly covers the screen mold.
>
Gently pick the mold up out of the water. Check the new sheet of paper as the
water drains through the frame into the tub; if the pulp is too thick gently
remove some of it, if it is too thin check your frame dipping technique and the
pulp mixture / percentage of pulp in the tub. This is also the point to add any accents
to the paper, adding small bits of extra pulp over the top of the accents.
>
Moist-dry the new sheet of paper by pressing out water gently with a cloth or
sponge.
>
Finish drying the new paper ~> the paper can be dried various ways, leave it on the screen while it dries:
(remember, it will take the paper about a day to dry!):
>>
turn the paper out of the mold and dry it on a) towel, b) felt / flannel, or
wax paper.
^
^ You can press these new papers out
more, then stack them in the above states to dry
>
Finish allowing the new papers to completely dry, air space around the new
paper helps it to dry faster > leave on frame, lay out on paper, boards
(picnic table), or cloth OR hang them up (e.g. clothesline) to dry. Be careful of
water drips until the paper is moderately dry.
With
two frames and a sunny day you can make a lot of paper!
Again, this is a project I've done fairly frequently over the years and this is a method that has worked very well for a lot of different types of projects! If you use a bathtub be very careful about sifting out as much pulp as possible, you don't want to make paper down your drain ; ) . It is easy to make variations to this to make different thickness, textures, colors, etc... so enjoy!
DeWyk
Again, this is a project I've done fairly frequently over the years and this is a method that has worked very well for a lot of different types of projects! If you use a bathtub be very careful about sifting out as much pulp as possible, you don't want to make paper down your drain ; ) . It is easy to make variations to this to make different thickness, textures, colors, etc... so enjoy!
DeWyk
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