Making Homemade Paper

One day this week I used my new 8.5" x 11" pour handmold to make recycled paper. I made about 12 sheets in 4-5 hours. You can left click on any photo to view a larger image.

The box of shredded bills, ads, recipts, etc.

My papermaking supplies set up (taking over the eating area):

The pulp (recycled paper plus party napkins for colors beyond grey and I also added some mica flakes which don't show in the photos) in the handmold:

The wet pulp formed on the screen and the wooden mold removed:

The paper after the initial removal of water (several sponge-fulls):

The completely dried paper (after hours between couch sheets and under heavy weight):
[the photo shows a lighter hue than it actually is]

I also played around with additives to make the paper more interesting.

Using dried flowers:

Gold dust (hard to photograph):

The tan (left) has scrubbed corn husks and cotton pulp added. The red in the middle has some flower petals. The blue on the end has some sparkle fibers (hard to photograph).

The purple on the right has iridescent flakes (hard to photograph).