Mom Is Teaching

On Monday I posted a how-to on making cute little felt bags. They are perfect for stuffing with gifts and candy for Valentine’s day. Then I starting thinking it would be fun to also make Valentine’s day cards to add to the bags. Of course my brain took it a step farther and thought how fun it would be to try to make your own paper.

Yes, I am a nerd. Why do you ask?

It’s still a fun idea, and a great way to make intresting cards. And you know what? It’s educational too! Sure! Not only is the paper making process itself something worth learning, but there is a lot of history bebind paper that could be a great lesson or two.

Ancient Egyptians invented the first substance close to the paper we know today called Papyrus. Papyrus scrolls were made by taking slices of the inner part of the papyrus stem, flattening then pounded into a hard, thin sheet. In fact the word “paper” comes from the word “papyrus”. The paper that we know today was invented by Ts’ai Lun in A.D. 105, It is believed that he mixed hemp, mulberry bark, and rags with water, mashed it into a pulp, pressed out the liquid and hung it to dry in the sun.

Check out Paper Online, the history of paper for kids, read about William Rittenhouse, and take a virtual tour of a paper mill.

To make your own paper here are some simple instructions:

You will need the following supplies:

• a sponge
• a window screen
• a wooden frame (like a picture frame)
• large plastic tub (think a rubbermaid storage tub)
• a blender
• white felt
• 2 teaspoons of liquid starch
• staples and stapler
• paper

This recipe is a way to recycle old paper. You can use newpaper, computer paper, paper bags, toliet paper, magazines, or what ever you want. Mix and match to create your own unique paper. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

Rip your paper up and toss into your blender. Fuill it about half full with the paper pieces then fill it up with warm water. Blend the water and paper up until it is a good pulpy mess. Make sure that there are no paper pieces unblended in there. You can also add pieces of flowers, yarn, or any other tidbits to make the paper even more interesting when it comes out.

Now you need your mold. The simplest, and cheapest, way is to stretch screen, like form a window or door, over a wooden frame. You will want to stretch it tightly across it and staple it on. You might need two or three people to do this as you really want the screen stretched tightly and secured into place.

Now take you plastic bin and fill it half way with water. You will want it to be large enough and filled with enough water thant you can completely dunk your screen. Then add 3 or 4 cups of your paper pulp into the water. The more pulp you add the thicker the paper will turn out. Add in the liquid starcher now too. This will make the paper perfect for writing on. If you don’t plan on actually writing on the paper you can skip this step. Stir it all up until it is evenly mixed.

Now dunk your mold into the water/paper mixture. You want the pulp to settle evenly on the frame, so kind of wiggle the frame around. Slowly lift the mold straight out of the water. Hold it there for a minute while the water drains out of the pulp. Give it a good wiggle or two to amke sure your pulp is even on there.

When it has stopped dripping you need to move the paper pulp onto the felt. This part can be tricky to do. It’s best to put one edge of the frame on the felt then slowly lower it across onto the fabric so that it is upssdie down with the paper up against the fabric. Use the sponge to gently press against the bottom of the frame, now faced up, and press out the water. Once you have the water out slowly lift the frame off leaving the paper stuck to the felt. If it sticks to the fame that measn you either did not lift it slowly enough or there is still some water in the pulp. It takes practise to be able to get it right.

You can do this as many times as you want, placing each new pulp sheet onto a pice of felt fabric. Stack the pieces of felt and paper up, one on top of each other and place a final sheet of felt on top of it all. You’re makging a felt and paper sandwich of sorts. Now you want to press the sheets a fianl time. It’s easiest to use a large cookie sheet over the top. You want to press down evenly and firmly to get out any remaining moisture. After the final pressing you can dry your paper in the sun. Gently seperate the sheets and either hang them on a clothes line or lay them out in the sun.

When they are fully dried peel the paper off of the felt. Viola! You’ve made paper!

For other fun ideas and activities check out today’s Winter Bazaar!

paper, DIY