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Make Your Own Recycled Paper
Materials Needed
- Used (post consumer) paper, collected from school or home
- A "deckle" (a 9" x 12" piece of stiff screen, or a flexible one stapled to a wooden frame)
- A basin (big enough to fit the deckle laying flat)
- A blender, a sponge, dishtowels or newspaper, and an iron
- Tear paper into small 1-inch pieces. Soak the paper in hot water in a large container for at least 30 minutes or, if you can, overnight.
- Fill the blender halfway with warm water and then add a handful of soaked paper. Blend it until the pulp has a soupy consistency.
- Pour the mixture into the basin and then fill it halfway with warm water, mixing thoroughly until the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
- Slide the deckle into the basin. Put some pulp onto the screen and, still holding the deckle underwater, gently move it back and forth to get an even layer of pulp on the screen.
- Lift the deckle out of the mixture and drain off water. Press the pulp gently to squeeze out excess moisture, then sponge off the bottom of the screen.
- Place a dishtowel (or newspaper) on a flat surface and turn the screen paper-side-down on the cloth. Lift the screen gently, leaving the paper.
- Quickly cover the paper with another cloth or piece of newspaper, and iron it on a medium setting. When the paper is dry, stretch the cloth to loosen the paper and gently peel it off (the paper may need 24 hours to dry completely).
- When you're finished making paper, don't pour the left over pulp down the drain--compost it, or freeze it for future use.
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