Handmade paper has a beautiful old-fashioned quality to it, and can add a personal aesthetic to your correspondence.
Craft lovers of all ages can find enjoyment in paper-making, and it is a great way to recycle unwanted paper scraps. You can use practically any paper type. You could use newspaper scraps to make grey paper, old magazines for dark coloured paper, and tissue paper for delicately fine paper. Here are some steps to take for simple paper-making. These are the basic steps involved in making your own paper:
- Tear up scrap paper into small pieces.
- Soak the paper in warm water.
- Press the paper scraps in a wire paper-making press, and leave to dry overnight.
A pre-made paper-making press will streamline the process. Otherwise, you can make your own press by stretching an old window screen or fibreglass screen across a picture frame, and stapling it in place. By adding liquid starch to your paper mix, it will create a smoother finish, allowing you write on your paper with greater ease. Some recipes recommend to add gelatin to your mix to ensure that ink doesn’t bleed on your finished product.
