Today I tried something completely different then my normal jewelry making or woodworking. Today I made some homemade paper. I have never made my own paper before, but I thought that it would me fun and maybe I could make my own unique paper and then turn them into earring cards or something. Not quite sure, but I just wanted to give it a try.
Material I used: cutup cardboard roll from toilet paper, shredded paper, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, flowers, dye, sheet of felt, newspaper, sponge, and homemade deckle box (made from cheap picture frames).
You can find step by step instructions and a video on “How to make paper“.
I got my own blender and added the TP cardboard rolls, shredded paper, and water. Blended well, and then poured the mushy mixture into a large tub that already had about 2 inches of warm water. Then I used my homemade deckle box and made my first piece of paper. Cool!
Homemade Paper
The next piece I added the rosemary and thyme and cinnamon. Hoping you could smell the cinnamon (I will have to experiment with that).
Homemade paper
The next few pieces I added a mixture of rosemary, thyme and flowers. I added some dye to a few pieces but that didn’t turn out very well, I will have to experiment with that too.
Homemade Paper
For my first time, I think it all turned out pretty well. But next time I will add less cardboard and more shredded paper, because the grey was just to over powering. I think that is why the dye didn’t take very well. I might even try some tissue paper next time to give it color (because tissue paper bleeds).
Have you ever tried making your own paper? I thought it was pretty fun experimenting to see what I could come up with.
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