A few weeks ago we did a paper making workshop with children ages 4-7. They thought it was really funny that we were making paper from paper. Why bother? But just look at how beautiful and rustic these papers are. They are so textured and thick. We even added seeds to some of the paper so all you have to do is plant it in a pot of soil, water and the paper acts as fertilizer for the seeds. You could write a wish on the paper before planting or a message to a friend and let them plant it to watch it flower.
In order to make paper you need
- frames (I bought small 5X7 frames from a thrift store for a $1 a piece).
- screens ( from your local hardware store)
- felt sheets a bit bigger than your screen size
- used paper ( the inks or drawings on the paper can add color flecks to the paper)
- seeds
- a large tub
- a blending device
I cut the screen the size of the frames and stapled the screen to the frame. That's it. We are now ready for the kids to arrive and ready to make paper.
Fill the tub with water. Rip up the recycled or used paper. We used white, red and orange paper for one tub and white green and blue paper for the other tub. Pulverize the paper in the blender with some hot water, then pour into the tub of water.
You just drop the screened frame into the water and lift out. Here is what you get.
A beautiful thick paper.
Sprinkle some seeds. We chose between cat grass, California poppies, corn flowers and lavender.
Turn the screen over immediately onto the felt and shake it off. The paper dries directly on the felt.
What a fun afternoon!
