From: The Greider Family
Subject: Re: RST! Results of My first attempt at making paper

I made about 25 sheets of paper yesterday using dryed flower petals with varying results. The flowers I let dry naturally and then pulled off the petals turned brown once I put them in the pulp. These started as burgundy daisies and now are brown! Although the paper itself looks okay with the brown flecks of petals on tan paper, that wasn't what I was hoping for!
The flowers I pressed and the ones I put in the drying crystals held their color. I made some light yellow paper with yellow and orange petals that turned out beautiful! Going to go to the yard and get some more daisies drying!
I dry my paper on the back door window. After putting the top screen on and smushing out the water I remove the top screen and take the bottom screen and apply the paper to the window, then with a small wood block press the paper to the window, bring a towel cause more water will come off the paper! It was really sunny yesterday and my back door faces the west so it only took a couple of hours to dry then I just peeled it off the window
Dawn

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From: Barbara Gibson
Subject: RST! Results of My first attempt at making paper

Well the results were not at all a success to say the least. For one thing I didn't leave it in the blender long enough as the blender started making noises like it would blow up and since it is one of those old Oster blender and mixer all in one I didn't want to use it if it was going to blow up. So, I mixed it as best I could and it seemed awlful loose so I pushed it down and set in in the sun and it took 3 hours to dry and came out like cardboard with a small coloured paper like spots. It's grayish colour with specks of colour in it sort of intresting. If I don't like it I can tear it up and put it through again as pulp.

I made another one with the rest of the paper and the blender burping at me and the paper is a little more pulpy and I put flowers on top of the pulp. Someone (one of the instructions I have on how to make paper) says to spray the paper with hair spray to preserve the flowers so I'll try that. I hope it's sunny tommorrow or I take the great advice people have been posting for me on how to dry it (microwave, ironing, and using a hair dryer)
Thanks everyone for the help. Barb Gibson aka Klutzy

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From: "Barbara Holl"
Subject: RST! FW: How to make paper

I've been reading about the papermaking and problems some people are having. Below are the directions I wrote to help others make paper. My instructions came from a paper-maker who teaches paper-making at a local community college. I took his class and now he belongs to our stamp club so I know these instructions will work.

Please don't use your daily blender. I bought one just for this at the Air Force Base, but you might find one at a thrift shop. Good luck and if I can be of any more help, please let me know.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PAPER (recycled, not boiled)

You will need:

Measuring cups

Dishpan

Blender, old or heavy duty, if possible

Wire Whisk or fork

Couching cloths - Pellon or old sheets

Towels

Sponges

THE MOLD

Embroider hoop

Aluminum, brass or fiberglass screening

Picture frame mold

Wood frame

Screening

Staple gun/staples

PULP SEPARATION FROM RECYCLED PAPER

Shred or cut into one inch scraps

2 or 3 cups warm water

Handful of paper

Blend about 30 seconds on highest setting. Mixture will appear cloudy and no individual pieces of paper will show. If you see pieces of paper, blend another 15 seconds - unless you'd like to have pieces of paper showing. (Sometimes it looks good to have pieces of paper embedding in the sheet.)

If you are adding lint, pieces of yarn or other decorations such as paper confetti, do it now. Stir with a spoon or whisk.

FORMING HANDMADE PAPER

There are two ways to make paper - the vat method and the pouring method.

THE VAT METHOD

Use any mold.

Add two or three quarts of warm water to your dishpan. More if you're using a larger vat.

Pour the mixture from the blender into the vat. Continue until you've added three to five blenders full to the vat.

Gently stir the pup around in the vat. I use my hand, but you could use a spoon or whisk.

Lower the mold into the vat with a scooping motion (toward you) to capture the pulp on top of the mold screen. Do this in one continuous slow motion. When the mold in on or near the bottom of the vat hesitate briefly.

Lift the mold very slowly allowing pulp to be trapped on the screen and allowing excess pulp and water to drain. You will feel a slight suction on the mold as it is pulled from the vat. A thin layer remains on the mold.

You should be able to pull three to five sheets of paper from one vat before adding more pulp to the mixture.

THE POURING METHOD

You will need a deckle box. This is the best way to get a uniform sheet of paper or a thicker sheet.

Add two or three quarts of warm water to your dishpan as before.

Blend the pulp in the blender as before.

Place the deckle box in the warm water of your dishpan or vat.

The water should come at least halfway up the side of the deckle box. Be sure the mold is completely covered with water water.

Pour one cup (or more, depending on the paper thickness you desire) of the pulp mixture from your blender into the deckle box.

The pulp will spread out in the water, but you can use the whisk to help it and to evenly disperse the pulp.

Lift the deckle box out of the water.

Remove the lid and check the paper. If you're not happy with the results, try again.

COUCHING AND DRYING THE PAPER

You will need couching cloths at least 1" larger on all sides than the sheet of paper you're making.

On a flat surface next to your vat, lay a folded towel to absorb excess water.

Place a couching cloth on the towel. Place the mold on the couching sheet, screen side down. The couching cloth will become damp or very wet depending on the consistency of your paper sheet. Use a sponge to absorb water from the couching through the papermaking screen.

Push the sponge down to absorb the water. Squeeze out the sponge into the vat and repeat the blotting until very little water is absorbed by the sponge.

The paper will stick to the couching cloth.

To remove the paper, lift one corner of the mold and gently separate the paper from the screen. Use your fingernail or a spatula to just begin separating the paper from the screen. Carefully lift the mold from the paper.

Place the couching cloth with the paper sheet on a sheet of felt, or on a cookie sheet that won't rust, to start your stack of paper sheets.

Felts and couching cloths should be used only once, then washed.

If necessary, press (with cool iron) to remove wrinkles. Pellon sheets can be rinsed, used again, and don't need to be ironed.

DRYING

Sheets may be dried in several ways. Air drying is the slowest. Paper sheets may be dried in a low temperature oven, while you continue to make additional sheets. (Oven temperature about 250 degrees.)

Place on a cookie sheet that won't rust on the middle rack. Drying time will vary.

Check regularly - you'll need to put the bottom onto the top occasionally to dry evenly. The top and bottom sheets will dry faster and will need to be removed from the oven. If they are not dry enough then iron them between two sheets of couching cloths.

Iron drying is faster, about 5 minutes a sheet. No matter how you dry the sheets the appearance remains the same.

DO NOT DRY THE PAPER IF YOU PLAN TO PUT IT IN PAPER MOLDS FOR 3-D ITEMS.