Examples of good papers to use:

• Resume paper from outdated resumes.
• Art papers that you messed up (old drawings that didn’t work out, etc.)
• Pages from old books can be good to use, depending on the book.
• Old stationery can be good too.
• Scrapbooking papers that have become too creased, crinkled or damaged to use in your scrapbook

In addition to lots of papers to recycle, you will need:

• A blender
• A mold and deckle (usually these can be found on ebay by searching "paper making kit")
• Optional: Additional interesting bits to add to your paper such as glitter, seeds, dried flowers, confetti, small paper punchies, or little bits of thread (cut threads into tiny pieces- about a quarter of an inch long or less.) Be creative! You can probably think up many more interesting additions.
• A Dishpan, Shallow Tub or similar item. It comes in handy to have more than one.
• Pieces of Felt that are slightly larger than your mold & Deckle. Wool felt works best.
• A sponge
• Material that can be used as a strainer- nylon pantyhose, cheesecloth fabric or something similar

How To Make the Paper:

1. Tear the paper up into small pieces. Ideally the pieces will be smaller than 2 inches and roughly square.
2. Add some water to the bottom of the dishpan and have it handy for when it is needed.
3. Put a small amount of the paper in the blender along with some water. About 10 parts water to one part paper is a good ratio to go by.
4. Your enhancements (glitter, dried flowers, etc) can be added at this stage and blended in if you wish, or you can wait and add them later.
5. Use the blender’s lowest setting to blend the mixture for 5-10 seconds or so. Your paper’s appearance & consistency will be affected by how long you blend for. I have achieved some really interesting effects with 5 second blends starting with papers that had lots of text on them. The end result was that some random letters, which had not been obliterated by the blending process, were irregularly scattered over the surface of the finished paper. If you prefer not to have that happen, blend your mixture a bit longer so that the writing on it will be obscured.
6. If you haven’t already added your enhancements you can add them now.
7. Position the mold and deckle horizontally, inside the dishpan so that they are just slightly in the water.
8. Pour the paper pulp mixture into the mold and deckle. Pour slowly and as evenly as possible so that the paper pulp is evenly distributed. Make sure to hold the mold and deckle steady and keep them together and horizontal.
9. Lift the mold and deckle straight up out of the dishpan and allow the water to drain. Be patient, because it will drip for awhile. You want to let as much of the water drain out as possible.
10. Carefully remove the mold from the deckel without removing the paper. Your new piece of paper still requires some attention. It is in fragile condition, so be careful with it. Set it down on a horizontal surface.
11. Carefully place one of your pieces of felt overtop of the paper.
12. Use the sponge to press down on top of the felt and blot out as much water as possible. You might need to wring out the sponge several times before you are finished this part of the process.
13. At this point you can attempt to remove the piece of paper if you wish. You might not want to remove it yet if your papermaking kit allows for oven drying- if so, you can just follow the directions for your kit and put it in the oven for the specified amount of time. I prefer not to oven dry my paper, so I usually remove mine at this point. In order to remove it, all you have to do is carefully peel up the wool felt, making sure that the paper is attached to it. BE VERY CAREFUL, or you will rip the paper.
14. You have several options for drying the paper. You can dry the paper with a hot iron- do not use steam. Many papermakers recommend that paper be dried under pressure. You can sandwich it between pieces of felt and then put it under a stack of books, or a press. If you don’t dry the paper under pressure you will need to flatten it later. A printmaker’s press is ideal for flattening paper, if you have access to one.
15. Cleaning up: there will be leftover paper pulp in your dishpan. Do not pour it down the drain! Instead, strain it into a ziplock bag and refrigerate for using later, or properly dispose of it.
16. Allow the paper to dry for at least 24 hours (longer under very humid conditions.)
17. Use and Enjoy! This paper works better for some things than it does for others. It is wonderful for printmaking. It is not recommended for watercolor painting or for use with any paints that require a lot of water. I like painting on these papers with lumiere metallic paints by Jacquard Products. They are also wonderful to collage with and to used in altered art or mixed media pieces.

Here are some pictures of art projects that I have made using handmade / hand recycled papers.

The piece above is entitled "Mixed Up Memories of a Colorful Life". It incorporates my handmade papers. It also features  found papers which I hand painted, and vintage buttons which I purchased on ebay. I created this piece for a swap that I participated in with one of my ebay groups. There are lots of wonderful ebay groups for artists and crafters, and if you need more ideas for what to do with your handmade papers, your fellow artists in the ebay community can be an outstanding source of support.

The pink paper in the background of this small original art piece is handmade paper that I created using the method described above. It also incorporates small wooden pieces, metal eyelets and a leather cord for hanging. I created this art for Valentine's day of 2005. It sold a long time ago, but I have lots more original art in my ebay store if you are interested in purchasing a similar piece.

Here is another small work of art. This one is a painting on handmade paper. It is made with lumiere metallic paints layered on top of my handmade paper, so the surface is an interesting contrast between shimmery and textural matte. Both this piece and the one above are ACEOs (Art cards editions and originals, which are small works of art measuring 2.5" x 3.5". ACEO is also an art group available through the eBay community; all interested artists are invited to participate in the group.)

The handmade paper in the piece above is the textural orange background of the collage. The title of this piece is "Impulsive". It is part of a series of similar works exploring the topic of "Youth". Quite a few of the pieces in this series incorporate my handmade papers, as well as various other elements.

This piece is called "Grape Fizz". It is hand painted on handmade paper. This paper incorporates tiny dried botanicals, and it was a lot of fun to make. The painting was done with lumiere metallic paints. Close-up photos are posted in my ebay store if you are interested in taking a better look. This original abstract artwork  is available for sale; it is item # 7390733033 .

Additional Resources:

Hopefully these give you some ideas of what can be done using handmade papers! If you want even more inspiration, there are lots of books about handmade paper that are sure to give you some fabulous ideas. I also recommend Somerset Studio Magazine which is dedicated to paper arts and rubber stamping. Somerset Studio occasionally has articles about handmade paper and papermaking techniques, and many of their projects could be made using handmade papers. Lastly, searches for handmade paper in the Self-Representing Artists category and in the handcrafted items category are sure to inspire you also. (Please be sure to respect other artists' copyrights by not copying their works- create your own, don't copy theirs!)

All artwork shown in this guide is copyright Amy Solovay and should not be reproduced without permission. Thanks for understanding!

I hope you enjoyed this guide and that you will be able to use this information to make lots of beautiful handmade papers!