Annie introduced me to the blog Unplug your kids recently and I am now hooked…
Each week there is a theme and then you blog with a craft/post with that theme… and then leave a comment with your link…
I am definately going to try and keep up with this…
This week’s theme is “Square” and it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do and then yesterday I got an idea… I have been wanting to make paper again with the boys and I just needed to make it square to fit!
First I needed to find a frame… and since square frames are not too common, I went to the hardware store and got one quickly made which put me back 4$… I stained it last night and let it dry…
then this morning I got a piece of a screen and stapled it to the frame…
and then a little duct tape to keep the water out and to keep it neat…
the boys and I then ripped some paper that would have otherwise headed into the recycling…
next was to put water in the blender and add the paper…
and pulse until a smooth pulp…
paper making time!!
dip the frame into the bin with the pulp water…
turn over onto a towel (with newspaper underneath to soak up the water)
and with another towel, cloth or sponge press the the excess of water off on the opposite side on the frame…
carefully peel away the paper from the frame… and cover with another towel, or fold over the excess towel and press the water out (we had seven layers or towel, newspaper and our paper and then put a cutting board ontop of it all and then sat on it.. )
Then I took each piece and put it up on the window to dry…
our own homemade paper!
Oh I remember doing this at lunch time during environment week – it definitely takes longer than we but it’s so much fun! I haven’t had the heat to cut into the pieces here.
That’s a good idea you have there – hanging the finished art up in the window. When I tried this we used an iron but since all the towels were wet it was rather useless. Nice towel by the way – I’ve got the same one in my swim bag!
i remember making paper when i was little! looks like they had fun!!!
Oh Pax! That’s so great! I can’t wait to do this with the kids. Thanks so much for your informative post.
We had a kit for paper making when my daughters were little. Your way looks easier and is much cheaper.
Hey there! I totally don’t want to sound like a wet blanket here, but I just wanted to let you know that whenever I made paper I had a specific blender for blending the paper (as opposed to the one I use for food). The ink in the paper can be toxic, (though some are soy-based, I just don’t know if the ink in the paper you’re using, is)
Not that you also wouldn’t clean your blender, …I digress 🙂
lol… thanks for the tip… 🙂
i am pretty sure that it is not soy based…and I did use my normal blender and I did make sure to wash it well… Maybe I should pick up an old blender one day if I make it more often…
fun! i’ve been wanting to make paper with my 2 girls again maybe this spring!
welcome to the unplugged challenge. I know I have been to your blog before…someone recommended I come read a post here once before…glad to see you again through the unplugged project.
I remember making paper when I was in high school – it was fun. I like your drying technique…that would look great on our currently curtain-less windows.
I bet LittleA would love a stack of these sheets to make a book with.
Thanks for the idea. I look forward to stopping back again soon.
Your paper looks beautiful up on the window! We once did this using a food processor and I had to bleach the thing about a million times before I dared used it for food, but I didn’t put enough thought into what paper we put in it. Has anyone tried doing this with a hand blender? They are a bit cheaper!