Making Paper-It's Fun and Easy

EDCI 427 Graphics for Communication and Display Spring 2004
Instructors:  Joan Cook and Jim Vernon


    Making handmade paper is easy and fun to do!  Use the project with your students when studying about recycling.  Ask students to collect materials and then create the very unique and individualized handmade papers utilizing the throw-away materials.  Use the new paper as a cover for a personal journal about ways in which people can recycle and the benefits found from recycling.

    You can make different colored papers by adding dye or by using colored paper in the pulp.  Adding leaves, flower petals, thread, yarn, dryer lint, and different types of paper to the pulp also changes the texture and look of the paper.  Experiment with a variety of organic materials in the pulp.  Using newspaper as the main ingredient in the pulp produces a greyer looking paper while using lighter colored paper produces a brighter paper.  Using a thick pulp results in a thicker paper; a thinner, watery pulp produces a thin paper.  You can dip the deckle again and again into the pulpy mixture to thicken the paper.

Materials: paper strips or pieces, link, organic material, blender, water, dye, large tub (to hold water, pulp, and deckle (frame with screen), sponges, extra newspaper on which to dry the paper.



1.  Tear the paper into small pieces, add lint and other materials to the blender. Fill to approximately 1/3 full. Add enough water to cover the pieces to about 2/3 full.  Let it sit for a few minutes to soften any heavier, thicker pieces of paper or material. 



2.  Blend several minutes.  Be careful not to have too thick of a mixture; this can ruin the blender motor.  Blend the mixture to the desired consistency.  Blending several minutes creates a smoother pulp while blending a shorter time leaves larger bits of paper in the pulp.

A consistency of cooked oatmeal is about right.
 		blending
blending
 blending 2




3.  Pour the pulp into the tub which is 1/4 full of water.  Blend more pulp as needed.  The consistency should be soupy.  Thicker, pulpy water results in a thicker paper.  Water with less pulp results in a thin paper.


 dunk


4. Use your hands to agitate the mixture.   Hold the deckle with the screen side up and wooden frame on the underside.  Smoothly and slowly slide the deckle into the tub and under the pulp.  Let it sit to allow the pulp to settle on top of the screen.

paper on deckle








dunk deckle
sample
 paper sample


5.  Remove the deckle from the water tub when you are happy with the thickness of the paper pulp on top of the deckle screen.  Let as much water as possible drain from the deckle and paper.  Place a piece of newspaper on top of the paper and flip the whole thing over so the paper is on top of the newsprint and the screen is on top of the paper.

dunk









paper



6.  Gently press a sponge onto the screen to draw extra water away from the paper.  Press until the screen begins to draw away from the paper. 

Gently remove the deckle from the paper.
remove deckle


sponge


7.   Set the paper aside to dry.  When dry, it will peel off of the newspaper.
 drying samples
Created 4//1/2004