With the end of the school year and just the general accumulation of used paper, I have built up quite a collection of notes, worksheets, and misprinted pages. But it’s such a waste to just throw it all away! (and there are only so many scrapbooks and paper mache bowls I can make) Recycling paper is a wonderful alternative that is surprisingly easy to do and is eco-friendly (We’re all friends of the planet here). There are loads of different methods to make paper but the method that is most common (and easiest) is soaking paper scraps overnight, blending the paper into a pulp, and then using a mold and deckle to create sheets of paper that are pressed onto an absorbent surface (fabric) to dry. It's pretty approachable to get into as most of the materials can be found around home or a thrift store. Plus the paper evokes big cottagecore vibes, so it's a win-win situation.
What you'll need:
2 picture frames (alternatively you can make a mold and deckle out of wood)
Window screening or some kind of netting material (I’ve seen pantyhose and bug netting work really well)
Stapler/nails/duct tape
A tub
A blender
Fabric
Sponge
Paper (the old, used, going to be thrown away variety)
Optional: Acrylic paint/colorants, flower petals, glitter, leaves, add-ins
The first part of recycling paper takes place the day before actually making paper, so keep that in mind.
Step 1: Gather and cut up, shred, tear apart, or otherwise decimate your old paper into 2-4 inch pieces and fill a tub, leaving room for water. (The smaller the paper the faster it will soften)
I cut up about 60 pieces of paper and ended up with this
Step 2:
Fill your tub of paper cuttings with water, making sure that all the paper is fully submerged.
Step 3:
This is my favorite step because you do nothing. Just leave the paper to soak overnight or until soft and can be pulled apart easily.
Step 4:
Meanwhile, while your paper is soaking: Make your mold and deckle. This is probably the most involved part of the process but there are some really helpful tiktoks (namely nevermindlisa's tutorial). This is the part where you’ll use the 2 picture frames, stapler/nails/duct tape, and the window screening.
The shape and size of the picture frame determine the shape and size of the paper. So you can make circular paper if that is what your heart truly desires. I only had boring old rectangular frames.
Step 5:
Take the glass and backing out of the picture frame so you’re left with just the wooden/plastic/metal part. Your deckle is finished so you can just put that empty frame (deckle) aside for now.
Step 6:
Cut the screen to the size of the other frame leaving about 1 inch of excess screening or however much is needed to wrap around the side.
Step 7:
Staple or nail or tape the screen to the flattest side of the frame, keeping the screen as tight as possible. Trim any excess netting. (my staples were a bit wonky and my screen wasn’t entirely taut, but it worked just fine).
The last picture is the mold with the deckle on top and the first one is just the mold by itself.
Step 8 (optional):
Duct tape around the edge of the frame to seal it better and make it a bit more comfortable to hold.
Step 9:
When your paper is all nice and softened, add about 2 handfuls of paper to a blender and add water. The ratio of paper to water isn’t all that important, just make sure all the paper is blended into a homogeneous sludge and there are no distinct pieces of paper left (unless you want some of the old paper to be visible in the final product). I would say the texture is most comparable to cottage cheese. Mine turned out a blueish-grey because of the black ink, but that also doesn't really matter. The process is pretty forgiving.
Step 9.5 (alternative to a blender):
If you don't have a blending device, chuck some softened paper into a bottle with some pebbles (or some other hard abrasive) and shake with all the wrath of your ancestors until the desired consistence is reached.
Sick, now you have paper pulp that you can either color or leave as is! Since I was using the same bucket that I soaked my paper in, I blended all my paper and put it in separate containers to be colored.
Step 10:
Add acrylic paint or other colorants (like coffee, dye, or natural pigments) and mix well. Make sure that all the paper sludge is colored so that when you squish it between your fingers, there is no grey/white left. Also! Very important! The paper will dry lighter than the color of the pulp so it's hard to get really dark, rich colors.
I made 4 colors this go about but this is just the blue one.
Step 11:
If desired, add in various and sundry tidbits such as flower petals, thread, seeds, other pieces of paper, foil, some biodegradable confetti and/or glitter, etc to the pulp or tub of water.
Step 12:
Fill a tub that will fit your picture frames (mold and deckle) with new water and prep to actually finally make paper (lay down scrap fabric, get a sponge, et cetera et cetera).
Step 13:
Take the blended pulp and mix thoroughly into the tub of water until you feel no more clumps. Again, there isn’t really a ratio for this, the more pulp you add, the thicker the paper will be, so experiment to find the pulp to water ratio that suits your paper needs best.
Step 14:
Place the deckle over the mold and hold firmly. Slide the mold and deckle under the water and give it a little shimmy shake to evenly distribute the pulp over the screen. Pull the mold and deckle out of the water, making sure to hold it level and flat as the water drips off.
This one is the brownish paper I made that I colored with coffee.
Step 15:
Remove the deckle and place the brand new sheet of recycled paper face down on a piece of fabric. Before removing the mold, press a sponge all along the screen to remove as much water as possible from the paper. Slowly and carefully remove the mold, leaving the sheet of paper on the fabric.
Also the brownish one.
Yipee kai yay you made paper! (now's the time to add specific paper decorations like placed flowers or leaves to the wet paper).
Step 16:
Let the paper dry completely before removing the sheet from the fabric. You can cut the fabric to the size of the paper and hang it or just dry it on the ground, whatever works best.
(This is the blue color from earlier all dried out)
Step 17:
If desired, flatten the paper under some heavy books or weights.
Step 18:
Repeat steps 9-17 until satisfied with the amount of paper created.
I ended up with 54 sheets in 4 different colors! The blue, green, and pink I colored with acrylic paint and the tan/brown was colored with instant coffee. (although ngl, the blue one looks like shop rags).
All in all, once the mold and deckle are made, making paper is pretty easy and repeatable and only gets better as you figure out the best ratios, colors, and add-ins. You can even make paper out of old rags and plants (here’s a link to a website with more info on that (https://www.paperslurry.com/2014/04/28/papermaking-infographic-the-basic-idea-behind-making-paper-by-hand/). Don’t stress about making perfect paper or printer paper, that’s not really going to happen with this method. It's just about having fun and experimenting! Now you can actually use the rebirthed paper to like, write letters or something, or just look at it, that works too.
-Anna Thomasson
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