We got to make recycled paper, yea!
Woo-hoo! I’ve been wanting to make recycled paper with the grands for a long time. I finally got around to it this morning and we had a blast. I think that you will too.
Who invented paper anyways?
During our home schooling years long ago we studied paper making while doing a unit study on China. Paper was invented by the Chinese in about 100 AD. Cool, huh? We made paper with some friends and then did some printing and brush painting on it. I still have mine somewhere.
Careful, making paper can become an obsession!
Paper making can get to be a habit if you aren’t careful. It is such an intriguing and hands on process. Once you start it is easy to think of many other things to try putting into the paper pulp to get different effects. It is also a wonderful way to recycle old paper.
Gather your supplies
Gather up your supplies and have a table to spread out on (this also works well outside).
Make a mould and deckle!! 🙂
The first thing to do is to make a mould and deckle. A what? Ha! Let me explain. These are the devices you will use to strain the paper pulp and form it into a sheet of paper.
The easiest way to make the mould and deckle is to use two old wooden frames. I used an 8 by 10 inch frame as this creates paper close to a traditional 8.5 by 11 inch size.
Take the frames apart and discard the glass, cardboard and any nails or tabs they may have. You only want the frame itself.
Tip: Take care to get wooden frames. Some of the plastic frames look like wood.
You will take one of the frames and staple a piece of the window screen onto it to cover the opening. Staple the screen onto the flat side of the frame, not the ridged decorative side. This is your “deckle” that will strain the paper pulp. Papa nailed 4 boards together for me all those years ago to make us a deckle so mine looks a bit different.
The second frame will be used as it is on top of the screened frame and will be the “mould” that provides an edge for the paper. More on this later.
Water in the tub...
Take a few minutes to pour water into the tub to about 3 inches deep or so. You will use this for dipping in just a few minutes.
Recycled paper please
This morning we raided my paper shredder and got a big bowl of shredded paper as you see in the pictures. This worked famously. If you don’t have a shredder, gather old papers that are to go into the recycling bin and tear them into little pieces.
Tip: Old newspaper doesn’t work as well as the ink makes the paper really dirty looking.
Paper pulp made in the blender
Let the grands place a couple handfuls of paper into the blender along with a generous amount of water. Let them blend up the paper and water until it is a globby mess. This is the paper pulp you are needing. The kids really liked this part.
Tip: The paper pulp should be in plenty of water or it will be hard on the blender motor. It also works better in the paper making process.
The fun part of making recycled paper...
The little artists hold the mould and deckle, flat sides together, in the tub of water (the deckle, with the screen side up, is on the bottom). They need to hold them together firmly during this process and position it so that they are under the water but not so far that the pulp will go everywhere in the tub. Pour the pulp into the open area of the mould and onto the screen of the deckle. It will spread out naturally on its own.
Have them pull the mould and deckle out of the water and let the water drain off and into the tub.
Couch (-cooch-) the paper...
Set the mould and deckle on a set of towels and gently lift the mould off. It is so cool to see the pulp sitting on the deckle screen.
Place a paper towel over the pulp area. Gently dab it with the flat surface of the sponge. Twist the water out of the sponge several times as you continue to dab out some of the water. Taking the water out of the pulp is called couching (which is pronounced “cooching”), FYI.
Let your grand quickly turn the deckle over so that the paper towel is flat on the towel. Gently pull the deckle off, leaving the paper towel with the paper on it.
Drying the paper
Bring the paper towel and paper over to the ironing board. Place a tea towel over it and iron it very gently with very little pressing motion. It won’t get dry but this will provide some pressure and heat to get the paper fibers to bond. There isn’t any glue to hold the paper fibers together.
Paper is usually placed in a press where it dries and is pressed flat. I don’t have this available so this will have to do.
We set our papers to the side to finish drying.
Make recycled paper from other materials- so fun
There are a lot of things we can do to make various types of paper. The second piece of paper the kids made had some paper pulp and a small handful of dryer lint. The couldn’t believe I’d saved dryer lint!! It works really well to get fabric fibers into the paper. Papa and I end up with a lot of blue lint from towels and jeans which made a light blue paper.
You can use bits of construction paper or colored paper to make speckled paper which looks really cool. I’ve heard of putting some food dye in the blender so it turns it pink or yellow but I haven’t tried that myself. I have also seen paper with little leaves and flowers placed on it as soon as the pulp is spread on the deckle and mould. They bond into the pulp as it is couched.
As you can see, this could get addicting!! I hope you have a blast with this project.
Stand by as we will use this paper in the future for printing or drawing.
Supplies to make recycled paper:
- Frames, need two 8x10 in size (upcycled some old ones)
- Window screen
- Heavy duty stapler
- Recycled paper, shredded if you can
- Dryer lint, colored paper, other papers to add for fun
- Blender
- Tub
- Sponge
- Bath towels
- Paper towels
Enjoy!
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How to Easily Make Recycled Paper at Home
Equipment
- Heavy duty stapler
- Blender
- Tub
- Sponge
- Bath towels
- Paper towels
Items Required
- 2 8x10" Frames upcycled some old ones, preferably wood
- 1 piece Window screen
- Recycled paper shredded or torn
- Dryer lint, colored paper, other papers to add for fun optional
Instructions
Make a Mould and Deckle
- Take the two frames apart and discard the glass, cardboard and any nails or tabs they may have. You only want the frame itself.
- Take one of the frames and staple a piece of the window screen onto it to cover the opening
- Staple the screen onto the flat side of the frame, not the ridged decorative side. This is your “deckle” that will strain the paper pulp.
- The second frame will be used as it is on top of the screened frame and will be the “mould” that provides an edge for the paper.
Let's Make Some Paper!
- Take a few minutes to pour water into the tub to about 3 inches deep or so.
- Shred or tear old papers that are to go into the recycling bin into little pieces.
- Let the grands place a couple handfuls of paper into the blender along with a generous amount of water. Let them blend up the paper and water until it is a globby mess. The paper pulp should be in plenty of water or it will be hard on the blender motor. It also works better in the paper making process.
- Hold the mould and deckle, flat sides together, in the tub of water (the deckle, with the screen side up, is on the bottom). Hold them together firmly during this process and position it so that they are under the water but not so far that the pulp will go everywhere in the tub.
- Pour the pulp into the open area of the mould and onto the screen of the deckle. It will spread out naturally on its own.
- Pull the mould and deckle out of the water and let the water drain off and into the tub.
- Set the mould and deckle on a set of towels and gently lift the mould off.
- Place a paper towel over the pulp area. Gently dab it with the flat surface of the sponge. Twist the water out of the sponge several times as you continue to dab out some of the water.
- Turn the deckle over so that the paper towel is flat on the towel. Gently pull the deckle off, leaving the paper towel with the paper on it.
- Bring the paper towel and paper over to the ironing board. Place a tea towel over it and iron it very gently with very little pressing motion. This will provide some pressure and heat to get the paper fibers to bond.
- Set your paper to the side to finish drying, and make some more!
Judy says
These are the best instructions I’ve seen....great for children AND adults! Thanks.
Shelly says
Thank you- that is my hearts desire!!
Rachel Oliveri says
Wow. Thanks so much. I bought a kit and failed miserably which put me off. Now I will retry. The pictures and explanation have really helped me envisage what I should do and where I failed. I am particularly grateful for the explanation of how to make your own - I can make a bigger one (I am a visual arts student and this will be great). Also, the inclusion of lint from the dryer is simply genius!!!
Shelly says
I'm hoping you took this info to the class room.
Another person talked about adding in small printed words to the paper surface or small pieces of napkin in the mix.
So, so glad you liked it!!
katherine says
Why is the bucket of water necessary? Do you submerge the pulp?
Shelly says
Yes, the pulp goes into the water. As you can see in the pictures, the pulp is poured into the water vat and then the frame is submerged under it and it spreads the pulp evenly over the screen as it comes out of the water. Hope this helps.
Nancy says
Just found your site and love it, so many fun things to do with -- or without 🙂 -- kids! Have also seen some paper done with tiny words from newsprint sprinkled. Mixing in pieces of a solid-color paper napkin into the pulp is another way to get color. If one side of the handmade paper is desired smoother, I've had good luck doing the final transfer of the couched wet paper onto a piece of plexiglass to dry.
Shelly says
This are great suggestions! Thank you for sharing them. I love the things that can be added like words, napkin pieces. A smoother surface would be nice as well.
James says
Hi Shelly is it ok to use these pictures in a presentation?
TSattazahn says
Will this destroy a blender? Can it be cleaned and used for food again?
Shelly says
I use an old blender and not my good one. But I have made paper many times and the old one is still going strong. I think a key is putting plenty of water in with the paper each time you blend. I can't guarantee that it won't hurt your blender, but it can be cleaned well and used for food again as it cleans up like normal.