Making Paper

Updated July 28, 2007

It's incredibly easy. You'll need the following:

Old paper (scrap paper from craft projects, old newspapers, junk mail, old school papers; note, the color of the paper you use will influence the color of your final product)
Any other material you want to put in your paper (flowers, leaves, thread, vegetable scraps, clay; note, any of these items may change the color of your paper)
Scissors and/or a paper shredder (you should have a paper shredder with cris-cross-cutting anyhow for security purposes, and this is by far the easiest way to cut up paper)
Bowl or bucket
Water
Blender
Big square or rectangle pan
Big piece of screen (such as for a window) that fits in the pan
Tea towels
Rolling pin

Here's what you do:

Cut up your paper and any other material for your paper by putting it through a shredder or cutting it with scissors into small pieces.
Put the paper in your bowl or bucket and cover it with water.
Let it soak overnight (or you can heat it up in the microwave and let it sit for just an hour or so)
Put it in the blender (slowly, a little at a time) and blend until it's a creamy pulp.
Put your screen in the big pan.
Pour the pulp and water mixture slowly over the screen, spreading it gently with your fingers if necessary. (You'll have to experiment with this to get the right thickness and evenness. Thicker paper is easier to make than thin paper.)
Lift out the screen gently, so the pulp doesn't fall off, and place it on a tea towel (this may take practice).
Cover with another tea towel.
Use a rolling pin to roll over the tea towels, screen, and paper (all sandwiched together) while pressing gently to squeeze out the water.
Remove the top tea towel gently pick up the screen.
Put the screen on a dry, flat tea towel with the paper side down and gently peel off the screen.
If you want really flat paper (no screen impression) you can put another towel on top of the paper and roll over it with the rolling pin again, but if you want something more textured, you can skip this step.
Let the paper sit on the tea towel until it dries enough to be picked up without falling apart (this could be a few minutes to a few hours depending on the materials you use, the moisture content, and so forth).
Set the paper aside on a flat surface and let it dry for at least 24 hours.
Cut or tear your paper to the shape you want. Fold it if you are going to make cards.
Use your paper!