Making Paper!

Probably my most involved project to date has been making paper. It is a lot of fun to do, and though it is very easy, it does take up alot of time and space. You can get pretty complicated with it if you want, but a pretty basic setup will produce some pretty nice paper! It's a great use for recycling paper, especially bright construction paper. You can also put stuff in the paper, like dried leaves or flower petals, or even bits of thread make for some interesting paper.

I first was introduced to making paper in elementary school, it was a class project one day to make paper out of old newspapers, I remember we did it in the parkinglot because it was pretty messy but it was neat to see how it's done. Ironically, newspaper is just about the worst to use in your pulp because it yellows so quickly (so your newly made paper will yellow), but it got the point across!

I wish I had taken more pictures (any pictures, really) of the whole process, as it really is a process, but I do have some photos of the finished products of my paper. I made books out of the paper as Christmas gifts two Christmasses ago, and bookmaking is a whole other topic that is a lot of fun and you can get super creative with. If you can sew on a button, you can make a book. (Actually, if you can pass a needle and thread through anything, you can make a book)

Another time I will probably do a more indepth how-to for papermaking (cause it is so cool and fun and kindof on the uncommon side of crafts), but for now, here are some photos of the finished paper, and the books I made.

The cut paper, the full sheets with their raw edges, the first book, and some multicolored experimental sheets that came out too thick for the books.

The books!