Paper making, Anient China

Paper-making

Paper making supplies

We have been studying ancient China. In our studies we learn that the ancient Chinese made paper. So guess what we did. YES!! We made paper. I have been saving tissue paper from gifts for, well, forever it seems. We dug into to that pulling out different colors of paper.

Digging in the paper tote.

Once we had all the paper picked out, we started tearing it into 1 inch-ish pieces. We mixed these pieces with water and, in steps, put them into the blender.

It was pureed until it became a slurry of color.

Bits of colorful string and yarn were added along with wild flower seeds. Once all of the paper was “slurried” it was placed in a tote up in the bath tub.

Tote with paper slurry in the bathtub.

With a screen covered frame, we sloshed the frame under the floating paper, swished the frame back and forth until an even layer filled the screened in area.

Wet paper in the frame.

Texture of the paper.

The paper was left to dry in the frame. Once dry, the paper was taken out of the frame. 

The paper is a beautiful shade of purple. It has a bumpy texture from the string and the seeds. For mother's day, we used a die cutter in the shape of the heart to make cards for grandmas. They loved them (although I forgot to take a photo of the cards, darn)!! Yes, they could be planted and the wild seeds would grow, which makes this and awesome and quick gift tags, etc.

Dried paper out of the frame.