Paper Maker

You may have seen beautiful handmade papers in the shops - with interesting textures, swirling colours or flecked patterns. Many are imported, and most would cost a big chunk of your pocket money.

So why not make your own handmade paper at home? It's a great way to recycle and re-use - saving on the amount of waste which goes in the bin or recycling skips.

The basics of making paper are easy. The details of how you do it can vary depending on the materials and equipment that are available to you. Whatever you do - you can certainly make lots of mess while you make the paper!

Start with scrap paper

Some waste paper makes better paper that others. Especially good are white or coloured printer and photocopier paper or out of date leaflets with just black text printed on coloured paper. It is worth asking at school or even local libraries for coloured scrap to be saved.

You want paper that will go really soggy and fall apart when it gets soaked:

Newspaper is ok but the paper you make from it will be grey, while using a mix of colours will give you grey with flecks of colour. Using single colour scrap produces the best single colour results.

Other equipment

• A washing-up bowl
• An electric blender - a rotary whisk
• Water
• Clean reusable cloths - like J-cloths or nappy liners
• Old newspapers
• A mesh frame - (see below)
• Two pressing boards - about 30cm x 20cm (hardboard or plastic chopping boards can be used)

Mesh frame

The 'proper' equipment for making paper is two wooden frames - called a mould and a deckle. But really all you need is a frame and some mesh.

Here are some suggestions for making your own frame - it should be smaller than the washing-up bowl you use, as you have to dip it into the bowl.

• An old unwanted picture frame - with no back or glass.
• Left over pieces of wood fixed together to make a rectangle.
• The lid of a 2.5 litre plastic ice-cream tub with the centre area cut out.

And for mesh

• Aluminium mesh - usually used for repairing car body work - available from DIY shops.
• Net curtain - may be glued or stitched in place.

If you find a rigid piece of mesh, (I used a piece cut from an old mesh fireguard) you may not need a frame, but bind the edges with waterproof tape to protect your fingers.

Instructions

1. Tear the scrap paper into 5cm squares and soak in water for a few hours until soft.
2. On one of the pressing boards, make an absorbent pile of newspaper bigger than your paper frame. Put a cloth on the top. This is where your paper will be turned out.

3. Put a couple of handfuls of soaked paper in the blender and top up with 1 litre of water. If you are using a hand-held blender or whisk - use the same proportions, but in a bowl.
4. If you are using a blender for the next bit ask an adult to supervise you, firstly because it is probably their blender and secondly because you don't want to chop up your fingers or electrocute yourself!
5. Whiz or whisk until the paper and water make a smooth pulp.
6. Pour the litre of pulp into a washing up bowl about half full with warm water.

7. Stir up the mixture so the pulp is evenly mixed.
8. Dip your meshed frame in the bowl and lift out horizontally - you should have 'caught' a thin layer of fibres.
9. Hold the frame above the bowl until most of the dripping stops.
10. Turn the mould upside-down onto the cloth-covered pile made in step two.
11. Carefully and firmly press the back of the mesh to release the pulp.
12. Carefully lift the frame away to leave a pulp shape on the cloth. This will become your sheet of paper!

13. Cover this sheet with another cloth.
14. Repeat steps 8-14 until you have as many sheets as you want - if the layers you catch get to thin, add some more pulped paper to the washing up bowl.
15. Put the second pressing board on the top of your pile to make a 'sandwich'.
16. This sandwich needs to be squashed now - to press the paper. You can do this by standing on it - (you might want an adult to help you here too).
17. Now unpack your sandwich! Remove the boards and then peel the cloths apart so that you have one sheet of paper attached to each cloth. Leave these to dry on some more old newspaper. How long it takes depends on the temperature.
18. Peel your sheets of recycled paper of the cloths - and you are finished!

NB. Depending on the paper and the cloths you use, sometimes this last step is easier before the paper is completely dry.

If you want to add patterns try adding these at the washing up bowl stage - tea leaves or dried herbs, coloured cotton threads, dried petals or tiny pieces of coloured paper like confetti.

Water-based poster paint, beetroot juice and even curry powder can be used to add colour (and flavour!)

Once you get the hang of it, the only limit is your imagination.