Receipe for Handmade Paper

Something to keep in mind when making paper:
A sunny day is best.
On Monday, I made a batch of paper. For the first time in my making paper in many years, I used paper that would have been recycled or trashed. The first ingredient was paper towels used in dyeing Easter Eggs. The paper had been in the bottom of the paper bucket. Next, I added paper bags and receipts from my trip to Asheville. I even included the envelope and insert from a poem in your pocket. The red came from a piece of red tissue paper I decided to add right before I put everything into the blender.
How to Make Paper
1. Gather paper such as bags, receipts, envelopes, paper towels
2. Place in a bucket.
3. Add water
4. Let it sit for at least a day.
5. Using gloves take a handful of the paper and place in the blender.
6. Add 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water.
7. Blend adding a piece of colored tissue paper.
8. Put all your pulp into a large container with lots of water.
9. Stir it up.
10. Using your screen, lift up pulp onto screen.
11. Place on felt. For this I have flower petals on the felt then press the wet pulp
into the dried petals. The top sheet I sprinkled with hummingbird flower seeds.
12. When all the pulp has been placed on your felts, I take it all outside.
13. Hang the felts on a clothes line, choosing a sunny day to make paper.
14. When the paper is dry, carefully remove from the felt.
15. I place the pile of paper under a heavy object to flatten it. I use a large
box filled with dichroic glass scraps weighing about 13 pounds.
16. Enjoy your paper. Plant the paper if you added seeds.
If however, it rains, be prepared to have a back up plan. I found this incredible octopus hanger at IKEA. It holds several sheets of paper and can be hung over the sink or the shower head.
This latest batch of paper is not as fine as the paper I usually make, but I enjoyed the process of using paper that would have been recycled. I do not use newspaper because of the ink.
Having an Open Studio tomorrow with the lastest batch of hummingbird, flower petal, recycled paper available.