Paper Making Technique

Types of Paper You Can Recycle

You can use pretty much any type of paper product for this project, but steer clear of waxed cardboard. You can use:

·      Construction paper

·      Printer paper

·      Magazines

·      Toilet paper

·      Paper towels

·      Paper bags

·      Newspapers (will produce a grayish paper)

·      Cardstock

·      Non-waxed cardboard

·      Napkins

Decorations

There are many materials you can add in with the paper for a decorative effect. You may wish to add flower or vegetable seeds to the paper, which can be planted.

·      Flower petals

·      Seeds

·      Fine leaves or grass

·      Foil

·      String or yarn

·      Dryer lint

·      Food coloring (you can dye your paper if you like)

·      Liquid starch (add this if you want to make your paper less-absorbent so that you can write on it with ink)

Build a Frame

While you can pulp your paper and make a rough product just by pouring it out and allowing it to dry, you can form your paper into a rectangular sheet if you use a frame. I made my frame by duct-taping an old piece of screen onto a small rectangular picture frame. Alternatively, you could have stapled the screening onto the frame to make the mold. Another option is to bend a wire coat hanger into a shape and slip old pantyhose around it to act as a screen.

Materials you will need:

·      Wooden frame

·      Sieve with holes of about 1 mm (available in a hardware store)


·      Formica sheets


·      Rectangular bowl/container large enough to fit the frame 


·      Mortar with pestle


·      Jug


·      Hairdryer


·      Papers


·      Green and dried grass (optional)


·      Flowers (optional)


·      Flat sponge


·      Water

Make Your Own Paper

·      Soak some of the newspaper in water (it’s better if you let it to set for a day or two)

·      Squeeze out the excess water

·      With the mortar and pestle, crush a little bit of paper at a time until you get a homogeneous paste, consisting of fibers isolated from each other


·      Repeat this until you have enough paste

·      Fill the bowl halfway with water

·      Put the paper paste in the bowl and stir it to separate the fibers

·      Remove any resulting clumps (a dense suspension of fibers must remain in the water)

·      Immerse the frame in the watery suspension in the bowl (the sieve should be facing the bottom of the bowl)

·      Slowly remove the frame from the suspension keeping it steadily horizontal

·      Eventually move the frame to even out the layer of fibers

·      Wait for the water to drain

·      Place the smooth side of a sheet of Formica on top of the sheet of paper still soaked with water

·      Press on the Formica a little to drain the water, taking care not to deform the sieve

·      With a sponge, collect water from underneath and squeeze it away every so often

·      Carefully remove the sheet of Formica so that the sheet of paper remains attached to it

·      Let the sheet of paper dry

·      To do this more quickly, you can dry it with a hairdryer

http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/paper/paper.htm

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryactivities/a/howtomakepaper.htm