Making handmade (recycled)

Flower Seed Paper

To begin, you will need to make your mold (deckle).  This will take a little time, but you only have to make it once.   If you have a deckle from the store, you can skip this step.

Purchase or make 4 frames like the type you would stretch canvas on for painting.  The inside diameter of the frame is the approximate size your finished paper will be.  You do not need the canvas on these, only the frame.  Stack 3 frames and attach a piece of Velcro (loop side) down each of the sides, Nail the Velcro to each of the frames to secure together.  Take the 4^th frame and nail a piece of the hook side Velcro to the side of the frame, in the same location as the other 3 frames, long enough to reach all frames.  Nail this hook side in, so Velcro will stick to itself.

On the bottom frame, take a piece of window screen and cover this front and back with a fine weave fabric.  Keep in mind that if the fabric has a texture, this will transfer slightly to your finished paper.  Staple, glue (waterproof), or nail this 3 ply (material-screen-material) to the bottom of your base frame.  Bring the material up the sides somewhat to ensure paper pulp doesn’t escape. 

Now you have a finished deckle mold.  This is what you will pour the paper pulp into. 

Gather:

used paper

large waterproof tub (I use a Rubbermaid blanket tote)

sponge

blender

absorbent material (terry cloth, cotton, etc…)

something to use to press paper.  This can be a flat piece of 2 X 4 wood, (the new plastic wood works great). Anything that is appx 2-3” X 3-4 “  and hard plastic, wood, etc…  Be certain it is smooth. 

Another piece of window screen slightly larger than your deckle mold.  (appx ½”)

Annual Flower Seeds ~¼ tsp / sheet of paper –Poppy, calendula, bachelor button, alyssum, viola, coreopsis, marigold, petunia…

Optional:  flower petals, corn silk, grass clippings, leaves, small pieces of thread or ribbon (cut to under ½”) tissue paper, crepe paper, colorful wrapping paper, light foil paper ie candy or gum wrapper…

Interesting flower responses. - red rose petals give off a blue halo when dry,  Yellow marigold turn green,  Corn silk gives great texture, I love using fresh poppy or tulip petals, they blend up stringy, but dried petal results are not as good with these two types.  Stay away from very fleshy flowers as they don’t generally respond well, and tend to gum up your screen.  A very small amount (just a couple of petals) is usually better than many. 

Begin:

Instructions for an 8 ½ X 11 Sheet of paper –adjust paper quantity as necessary.  The rest of the directions remain the same.  If you want paper that is the thickness of cardstock, use 3 sheets of copy paper (or equivalent weight). Rule of thumb, 2-3 X regular weight paper per sheet of handmade paper equal size.  If you go much thinner, your paper will have holes, and much thicker, and it will be more like cardboard than paper (desirable in some cases). 

Pour ~4” water into tub.

Put recycled paper into blender.  The color of paper can be adjusted by the recycled paper you use.  Inks used on the print will slightly change the paper color as well.  If you want a darker, richer color, try using a small amount (no more than 4” square) of colored construction paper.  or tissue paper.  Black construction paper goes a long way toward darkening your paper, so use sparingly.  Construction paper is very course, and will not make good paper if used alone.  The fibers will not adhere well to each other.  

Step 1: Fill blender 3/4 full with water.  Blend for appx. 15-40 seconds.  The more time it is blended, the finer the pulp will be.  Turn off blender.  If you want to add flower petals, tissue paper corn silk, etc, now is the time.  This will take only a second or two to blend.  If you blend very long, you will loose the color and texture.  Remember, a little goes a long way. 

Add ~ ¼ tsp of the flower seeds and quickly turn on and off the blender, just to mix the seeds in, but not blend them. 

Step 2:  Velcro the frames together with the screen on the very bottom.  Place in the tub of water.  Pour paper pulp into the mold.  Some of the seeds will try to attach to the sides of the mold (they float),  gently scrape them back into the mixture.