Monday 2 December 2013

Making Paper

Hi everyone, this post is about making paper......from paper!

It is a great way of using old scrap pieces of paper and envelopes, this post covers the basic preparation.

You will need.

Old towels
Newspapers
J cloths
Large container for water and pulp
Old hand blender
Jug
Access to water and sink
And of course your torn paper


First of all you need to tear into very small pieces  your paper, I have included some brown paper to create a nice creamy beige colour.




You will need to pour some hot water onto the paper and leave for around 30 minuets to soak.




Once soaked take a small amount of the paper and place into a plastic jug.




Add some extra liquid to cover your paper.




Using an old hand blender pulp the paper pieces.




Add the pulp to a container with warm water in....see photo above.




Swoosh around with your hand, repeat this process until you have a good amount of paper pulp in your container, the more pulp the thicker your paper.




Using a Deckle ( you can make this using an old picture frame and some net stretched across and stapled to the back) Slide under your pulp.



Then lift slowly letting the excess water run off, be careful not to tip your Deckle at too sharp an angle! you do not want your pulp sliding off.





Lift out slowly and turn out onto J cloth.




Dab the back of the Deckle to remove excess water










Then lift frame slowly releasing your sheet of paper. Put all your sheets of paper to dry, if you are going to emboss your paper needs to be slightly damp.




Once my sheets were ready .....using a small table top printer (borrowed from my friend) I layered up the paper with lace and crochet.






These are a couple of embossed dry pieces, they can be torn up and used to create pages for artist books. If you are careful depending on thickness of paper you can also stitch into them.




This little book has added fabric to compliment the pages of embossed paper.




Here you can see the embossed piece, I have given it the lightest of touch with a white oil pastel.





A big thank you to my lovely friend Coral Spencer for demonstrating while I took the photos and the use of her printer to emboss.

Have fun.
Marilyn xx


17 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful tutorial Marilyn - thank you....love those pressed images within the paper....so beautiful...I have made paper before but not contemplated embossing....it really makes it very special...x

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  2. delightful tutorial Marilyn!! I love your little books....
    http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/

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    1. Thanks Karen, will be making more soon xx

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  3. Great Tutorial, Marilyn!
    The Magic happens when You turn it into one of your lovely creations.
    I'm thinking....Etsy...very soon....?
    :) Laura

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  4. great explanation. i did this years ago with all my junk mail and put it in a blender. i used to add bits of flowers and leaves to the damp paper. beautiful results here.

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    1. Thanks Deanna, I have in the past made coloured paper and paper with flowers and fabric trapped in it. Xx

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  5. So, so cool, Marilyn! I made paper a couple times in the early 1990s. I'm still using that paper up! And I have absolutely no room to make more, although it's always so tempting. I love what you've done, especially with the fabric bits! xo

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    1. Hi Connie, it does take time and I know what you mean about having the space! Love Marilyn x

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  6. Such an easy tutorial to follow, you make it look so simple Marilyn. I love the results and the little touches you have added, it is something I really would love to try for myself as I love hand made deckle edged paper. I will be trying it as soon as possible! thanks for that. Jayne

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  7. Thanks Jayne, I'm loving the results ......I keep looking at them and smiling xx

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  8. what a brillaintly good post ! xxxxxxxxxx

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  9. Just saw on fb post Mrs B link to your blog. You just reminded me of my university days. I broke two blenders while making my own papers, I loved making them. Lovely blog. X

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  10. Marilyn, wonderful and clear tutorial! I made paper before but I added corn flour which looks too hard after dried. Yours looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Lovely simple tutorial. Great results. What part does the printer play in the embossing process? Xx

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