Things You'll Need:
- pressed flower petals
- dried flower petals
- mold & deckle (or two small window screens)
- shredded paper or cotton linter
- blender
- tub or sink big enough for your mold to float in
- several towels, scraps of flannel
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Step 1
Put shreds of paper in a blender with water and grind to make a pulp. You can't use too much water here, be kind to your blender. Making handmade paper shouldn't ruin your next smoothie.
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Step 2
Pour the blended mixture through the mold to drain the excess water and place the handmade paper pulp in a large bowl.
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Step 3
Fill a sink or tub with water and dump your handmade paper pulp into the tub. It will look like it's disappeared.
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Step 4
Practice lowering your deckle and mold into the tub of water and bringing it up. You will see the paper that is being formed. Once you're comfortable with the thickness and texture of your handmade paper, you can move on to the next step.
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Step 5
Sprinkle the flower petals on top of the water and bring up your mold and deckle as before. This time, you will see that the flower petals have embedded themselves into the paper pulp and are now part of the paper.
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Step 6
Remove the mold and deckle from the water completely and separate them so that the handmade paper is lying on top. Lay a piece of flannel on top of the paper and press out as much moisture as you can.
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Step 7
Remove the sheet of handmade flower paper by slowly turning it over onto a piece of dry flannel. Continue "couching" or drying your paper by layering it between flannel or towels and pressing.
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Step 8
Try drying your handmade petal paper on a window by simply sticking it to the glass. When it's dry it will have a very smooth surface and fall off of the window.
