How to Use Homemade Paper for Your Holiday Cards

Decorate paper that you've made yourself to create unique greeting cards. The paper you will make is more textured and is thicker than paper normally used for greeting cards.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brushes
• Confettis
• 8 1/2-inch X 11-inch Wooden Frames
• Acrylic Paints
• Clotheslines
• Clothespins
• Decorative Rubber Stamps
• Felt Sheets
• Flowers
• Glitter
• Large Sponge
• Old Towels
• Acrylic Paints
• Large Sponge
• Warm Water
• Water
• Blenders
• Cutting Boards
• Large Bowls
• Rolling Pins
• Scissors
• Scissors
• Envelopes
• Scrap Papers
• Stamp Pads Of Paper
• Craft Knife
• Rulers
• Water

1. Use your own paper recipe or use the following method to create several sheets of paper. This method will render sheets that are 8 ½ by 11 inches.

2. Tear scrap paper into small pieces and soak them in a large bowl of water overnight. The paper squares are finished soaking when they reach the bottom of the bowl.

3. Scoop out a handful of the soaked paper and place in a blender with 2 cups of water. Blend for 20-30 seconds until the fibers of your soaked paper have separated to form a pulpy mixture.

4. Add items to your paper mix that will give the finished product a more colorful, textured look. Glitter, confetti, flowers, leaves ' just about anything you can think of! Blend paper mixture for a few seconds longer if you decide to add any of these items.

5. Lay a sheet of felt onto a flat work surface and place an 8 ½ by 11-inch wooden frame on top of the felt.

6. Pour pulp mixture onto the felt and spread pulp evenly within the boundaries of the frame. Let water drain into bottom layer of felt and remove frame.

7. Place another sheet of felt on top of the pulp and press gently with a large sponge until most of the excess water has been absorbed.

8. Use a rolling pin to smooth out the paper by rolling top layer of felt gently and slowly. Peel top layer of felt from paper.

9. Use clothespins and a clothesline to hang paper until dry. Remove bottom layer of felt after paper has dried completely.

10. Use a craft knife, cutting board and ruler to cut dried paper to desired size. Decorate one half of the paper with glitter, acrylic paints, decorative stamps, ribbon or other embellishments. Make sure that paper is cut to a size that will fit into your envelopes when folded.

11. See "How to Hand Paint Holiday Cards" and "How to Use Decorative Stamps to Make Holiday Cards" for some ideas on how to decorate and embellish your greeting cards.

Tips & Warnings

• Use old notebook paper, computer paper, envelopes ' any scrap paper will do.
• Use any size sheet of felt you like, as long as it is larger than 8 ½ by 11 inches.
• Use a smaller or larger frame to vary the size of your paper. Adjust paper recipe accordingly.
• Make sure that the water will not harm the flat work surface you choose. Border the frame with old towels to catch any excess water.
• Try not to be too concerned with keeping your paper edges even. Uneven edges can add to the overall affect of your greeting cards.
• Try making your own envelopes out of homemade paper as well. See "How to Make Envelopes" for instructions.

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on 11/22/2005 A friend of mine in college used a similar method of making paper, but made smaller pieces for collaging purposes and small notes. Instead of using felt, she would use a bit of old screen and squeeze excess moisture out with a sponge. Then she hung the paper on a piece of nearby glass to dry. No additional adhesive or clips were needed since paper has a tendency to adhere to glass when wet.

on 11/22/2005 To make your paper a bit more flexable, try adding small bits of extra fabric.