Although making handmade Japanese paper or mulberry handmade paper in your house may not be in the cards, you can make beautiful paper with a just a few simple supplies.
Paper Making Supplies
One of the nice things about making handmade paper is that you can recycle other paper for part of the content. You can use tissue paper, unused torn or wrinkled computer paper, clean paper towels or bent 3 x 5 cards to make new paper.
You will also need:
You can buy a papermaking mold and deckle from an art supply or craft shop. A mold is simply a screen attached to a square piece of wood like a frame and a deckle is a frame of the same size. The deckle will give your paper a clean edge.
Making Handmade Paper
Paper is made from fibers. During the paper making process, you are going to be breaking down the paper until you only have water and fibers.
Tear your paper up into little pieces about the size of stamps until you have about four cups of paper. Put the paper into the mixing bowl and cover with warm water. The paper will become soggy and lumpy. This is called pulp.
Break apart any clumps with your hands. Use your whisk to beat the pulp. Continue beating and breaking the pulp until there are no paper lumps left and the fibers are completely separated.
Pour the paper and water into the bin. Fill the bin about half way with water. Mix this (called the slurry) around with your hands. The thickness of the slurry will determine the thickness of your paper. If you need to, you can add more prepared pulp to increase paper thickness or water to decrease the thickness. With experience, you will find a slurry consistency that you like.
Take your mold, screen side up, and place your deckle squarely on top of it. Holding the pieces together, dip them into the slurry bin until they reach the bottom. Turn the pieces horizontal, shake them a little and then lift them out of the water. Let the mixture drain.
Turn the mold out onto folded newspaper or towels (about one inch thick and a little larger than the size of your screen). Cover your sheet with a towel and use a rolling pin to gently remove excess water. Let the paper dry completely.
Handmade Paper Art
Try adding dried flower petals onto your sheets before pressing and drying to make handmade floral paper. Throw in some confetti or glitter for a different effect before pressing. Experiment with bits of construction paper in your slurry or food coloring to add color to your paper. You can also add some clean cotton balls to your pulp to give your paper more strength.
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