Today, I have a gift for you: a unique blog page. You won't find it anywhere else! I spent hours searching and testing everything I'm sharing with you for a super simple, relaxing, and super fun paper DIY!

Written by Julie Maron

I'm pleased to invite you to dive into a creative and sensory experience with a zero-waste DIY, easy to make with very little material. Imagine yourself with your hands immersed in soothing textures, sharing this precious moment with your friends or even your children, while instilling in them the values ​​of responsible consumption. Papermaking is often seen as an activity for children, but believe me, you'll be amazed by the intense pleasure and satisfaction it provides.

Are you ready to immerse yourself in the magical world of paper? I hope this page will awaken an unsuspected passion in you. If, like me, you love creating with your hands and exploring fascinating worlds, you've come to the right place. :)

Creating paper is a creative and eco-friendly adventure. Each unique sheet is a surprise to discover after drying. You can personalize your paper by adding touches of color, seeds, dried flowers, glitter, colored shavings, fingerprints, strings, and more. The possibilities are endless, limited only by your imagination. Do you understand now why this activity can become a passion?

Play with the shapes of the sieves: large, medium, small, or even envelope-sized. You can create textures by mixing colors. Adapt your materials to your project and what you have on hand.

With your handmade paper, you can create classic or decorative sheets, hanging pieces, notebooks, cards, bookmarks, banners, and more. Once again, the only limit is your imagination. You are the artisan of this raw material, free to transform it as you wish.

The result of this handmade paper is simply magnificent. Often, we hesitate to write on it because it's so beautiful. But what's even more magical is the process of creating it.

Even before admiring the final result, what I love most is feeling the paper pulp between my fingers. The gentle sound of the water drops connects us to our creativity and transports us to a moment suspended in time. You really have to try it! Many of my workshop participants have become addicted to it, but in the best way!

I'm going to share with you lots of tips to enhance your creative moment and achieve perfect results. Of all the art forms I've explored, this one took me the longest to master. Not because it's difficult, but because I sought to achieve the perfect result at every step. I experimented with various techniques, materials, drying methods... And I'm here to share with you the fruits of my many trials and errors. Papermaking EASILY and BEAUTIFULLY!

As a bonus, you will also find ideas for creations to make with your paper!

How to Make Paper - Everything You Need to Know.

To make paper, I offer you 4 options

1- Make your own sieve and cut the drying fabrics following the instructions below and the tutorial.

2- Get our sieve and its frame, or even seeds or dried flowers at this link , by following the free tutorial.

3- Get the complete papermaking kit at this link (including all the materials ready to create with paper shavings as well as seeds and dried flowers). You can always come back to this blog page if you have questions not answered in the kit.

4- If you live in Montreal, come make your paper in the workshop and meet me at the same time! It's an immersive creation workshop, because I offer you lots of different paper baths to make and we take care of the drying for you! Then I also offer a second associated course which is an introduction to bookbinding and making greeting cards which evolves according to the seasons. It's cool, yes I know :P

Bonus option: I offer illustrations for all tastes to print directly onto your paper with a home printer. Spring card illustration set / Set of summer card illustrations.

For the first two options, I invite you to follow the instructions below.

The steps of paper creation:

  1. Gather the materials and set them up.
  2. Have paper or cardboard to recycle.
  3. Shred paper or cardboard.
  4. Prepare the paper bath.
  5. Make the paper.
  6. Place it on release cloths.
  7. Press the paper.
  8. Put it to dry.

Option 1: Make your own sieve and cut the drying fabrics

Make your own sieve

To create your sieve, you'll need two frames identical to the ones in the photo. Use picture frames or canvases, removing the canvas. The important thing is that both frames are the same size and fit in your sink or a plastic tub where you'll be making your paper bath. I use 20.5 x 25.5 cm frames to get 16 x 21 cm sheets.

The first frame will be used as a sieve and the second will remain as is to mold your sheet of paper.

Next, you'll need aluminum mosquito netting. I've tested a lot of different materials, and to prevent them from stretching in the water or getting damaged, aluminum is by far the best choice. Plus, aluminum doesn't rust, and you can find it by the meter at any hardware store.

Cut a sheet of mosquito netting 5 mm smaller than the frame all around. For me, it's 20 x 25 cm. Secure it with a flat stapler to the frame as shown in the photo.

Note: If you have frames larger than 25 x 25 cm, you will need to double your screen with square aluminum mesh. First, staple the mesh to your frame, then staple the aluminum mesh. This method will allow your screen to remain taut and flat despite the weight of the paper.

Lined sieve, mesh sheet and mosquito net sheet, both made of aluminum.

Demolding and pressing

Now that your sieve is ready, let's see how to lay down your paper and press it.

Release fabrics

To lay your sheet of paper once it is ready (3:30 of the tutorial), you will need sheets of fabric, also used for drying.

In the tutorial and kit, I use microfiber sheets. They are washable and reusable. If you don't have any on hand, use old sheets that you cut up. Cut your fabric so that it is about 10 cm larger than your final sheet of paper. For example, my sheet measures 16 x 21 cm, so I cut the fabric to about 35 x 40 cm. Prepare as many sheets of fabric as sheets of paper you want to make.

Pressing fabrics

For the first pressing (3:40 min of the tutorial), use a sponge. For the second pressing (4:30 min of the tutorial), I recommend my amazing pressing cloth ( sold with the sieve if you choose this option). In the tutorial, it's a textured pink bouclé cloth. It allows you to press your paper while keeping it intact under the roller and gives it a beautiful texture.

If you didn't do this step, your paper would still have too much water and would not stay flat when drying and or would take too long to dry and risk rotting. So this is super important. Also, the fabric adds a beautiful texture to your paper. If you don't have any textured fabric at home (it could be a coarse cotton tote bag fabric for example, I'm sure you have plenty!), use one of the sheets of fabric you cut out to lay your paper on.

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