Making Handmade Paper from Recycled Paper

I have been making quite a few notebooks recently, (which you can find in my Etsy shop – shameless plug, I know. I’m sorry!) and have been thinking about making my own paper for them. It would make it a much more time consuming process, but there is something about knowing an item is as handmade as you can make it, that really inspires me.

I’ve made paper before a few times. The mold and deckle I use is from a paper making kit for children that my sister and I got when we were younger. Fortunately, it still works just as well as it used to!

I collected paper over the last few months (mostly off cuts from making notepads/books) which left me with a lot of paper to use up! It was a mix of different weights, which meant I had to be a little careful while making my paper, to make sure I was creating as similar weight paper in each batch as I could.

Paper making is fairly straightforward once you know how to do it and, after a while, you get into a rhythm with it.

This isn’t supposed to be a detailed step-by-step guide, but should give you some idea of the process…

1. Firstly, rip your paper into stamp-sized pieces and put it into a blender with approximately 3 cups of lukewarm water.
2. Blend that into a smooth pulp consistency. The texture will probably vary depending on the weight of paper you use.
3. Assemble your mold and deckle and partially submerge under water, then add some of your pulp mixture. (I used about ½ a cup to get the thickness I wanted, but it will depend on what water:pulp ratio you have.) Use your finger to distribute the pulp evenly in the frame.
4. Take it out and begin the drying process. I personally use a method of tea towels and a rolling pin, but blotting paper is probably better! I left my paper on newspaper overnight to absorb excess water.
5. When dry, iron them flat (or as close to flat as you can.)

And that’s it!

Here are some photos from the process and the final results.

I ended up making 29 sheets. My plan is to make them into side-bound notebooks, so will need to make a few more, but I’m leaving that for another sunny day when I have a free 5 hours or so. And I’m going to have to do it too, because I still have a huge bag full of scrap paper I need to use up!