Makery @ Middletown: Paper-Making

Handmade papers from a local library workshop

I have discovered yet another reason to love my local library!

The Middletown Free Library offers a full roster of Makery events, bringing the arts and crafting to our local community through free adult programming.  Recently I attended a workshop with my mother where we made our own paper.  I had tried this years ago, with all the "right" supplies, and wasn't particularly pleased with my results.  Here we used some interesting "around the house" sorts of supplies, and I really like the papers I created!

The workshop was held in the cinder-block basement of the library, with a well-tarped floor to capture our wet mess-making.  Each table held two or three large tubs (like you might use to store decorations or out-of-season clothing) filled with water.  Alongside each tub, we were provided with a framed screen, loose screen, a towel, and a sponge.

Here I am, ready for some paper-making!

For our first step, we chose paper scraps to throw into the blender with water to create our paper pulp. (We burned out one blender motor right away, and were left with a single machine to share!)

Then we dumped the blender carafe of pulp into our plastic tub of water.  The next step is to dunk our framed screen under the water, drawing pulp up onto it as we bring it back above the surface.

Pulp on the screen with petal and tea leaf embellishments

At this point, we could add "goodies" from the table up front: petals, grass, tea leaves, glitter.  By pressing these add-ons gently into the pulp, they became part of the handmade paper.

Table of inspiration and embellishments

We then put a screen over our paper creation and gently pressed the sponge onto the screen, causing excess water to fall out the bottom and back into the tub. Sometimes, when there was very little water left, I continued to press the sponge onto the screen on top of a towel to soak up the last drops.

Using a sponge to push out as much water from the pulp as possible

When we had as much water as possible pressed out of the paper, we turned the framed screen over onto an unframed piece of screen and "encouraged" the paper off of it.

Some paper required more "encouraging" than others to get it to come off the screen!

This unframed screen was then set aside onto newspaper to allow our handmade paper to dry.

My handmade papers drying on the floor of our workroom

It took a very long time for my papers to dry; they sat out on my kitchen island continuing the drying process once I got home, and I wouldn't say they were fully dry until I woke up the next morning.

And what a stack of interesting handmade papers I had to show for my efforts!

A new stash of handmade art-making materials!

I haven't done anything with them yet, but I foresee using them in my art journal, as gift tags, and as parts of upcoming collage projects.

I love that the materials we used in the Middletown workshop were all easily accessible for someone at home--no big investment in supplies other than some screening from the hardware store.

More paper-makers at play 

My mom. Those water tubs didn't stay clean for long once we started playing with the pulp!

When the weather turns warm again and we can spend lots of time outdoors, I might even tackle this project with my kids!

Attack of the Scrap Monsters!

Scrap monsters have taken over our home!

When I saw Courtney's video for scrap monsters, I had every intention of creating them on my own, and once my kids got a look at them, there was no stopping them from trying their hand at them, too.

First, I created body shapes and face features following Courtney's lead in her YouTube video.

In this totally un-staged photo, you can see the impromptu mess created by the whole process:

My daughters and I chose our favorite body shapes and covered them in decorative tapes, cutting around the edges when we were finished to get a clean edge:

I then followed Courtney's lead and outlined my monster with thick black Sharpie, though my girls declined this step (which was probably for the best, since we're talking about permanent ink here!).

The final step involves finding the face we want to match with our monster's body, and using pencils to add a little color:

Last night, we each created two monsters, for a total of six.  This morning, my girls took over, creating their own body shapes and face features, and creating even more.

They've named each monster, and created a kind of "profile" of their special talents and back stories.  They are most interested in laminating them to create "backpack buddies" (little toys and such that connect to the zippers of their backpacks), but I'm thinking they have a real future in Scrap Monster Trading Cards!  Don't you think?

I think they will make absolutely adorable stickers and journal embellishments.

The Scrap Monsters have taken over, 

and just might need their own room soon!

For more paper projects, check out my Collage and Assemblage and Paper Crafting boards on Pinterest!

Papercrafting Project: Index Card Folder



A lap full of paper crafted projects

It's a quick jump from my Book and Journal Making Pinterest board over to my Paper Crafting board, and I've been finding new projects among all of my pins there.

Most recently, I followed Amanda Hawkins' tutorial over at Ahhh Design to create this Index Card Folder.

Amanda is a maker of DIY planners and a collage artist.  She describes her style as dirty, grimy, minimal, and abstract.  Her planner pages, some of which are for sale and some of which are available as free downloads on her web site, reflect that style, and are created in a very handmade-looking fashion with a typewriter, somewhat tilt-y graphics, and random doodle-y designs. I find them kind of appealing!

Many of her planner pages are the size of 4x6 index cards, so she designed this index card folder to hold them, using binder clips to keep the pages inside and Velcro to keep the folder closed.

I jumped right in, using paper I really like, and, of course, mis-measured right out of the gate.  Taking advantage of the error, I sewed the extra paper over, and ended up with a little opening that is the perfect size for a little golf pencil!

The folder, as you can see via Amanda's tutorial folds out into three sections.  You can put whatever papers you like inside.  I put her month-at-a-glance planner page to the left here, and her week-at-a-glance planner page in the middle, so you can see how the folder might be used with Amanda's own designs.

This is what the folder looks like when you fold the left-hand flap over:

You can see the two pieces of Velcro, above, that keep the folder closed.

In her tutorial, Amanda uses two pieces of scrapbook paper and sews them together so that there is a pretty pattern on both the inside and outside of the folder.  For the second folder I created, I used a piece of double-sided scrapbook paper.  It made for beautifully coordinated colors, but I'm not sure if the single layer of paper will hold up as well to wear-and-tear as the double layer.

 This folder follows Amanda's design without my added slot for a little pencil.

I thought the paper made it perfect for holding recipes.  I could keep the week's menu plan on the left, and clip in the recipes I need to use right in the middle.  Handy, right?

For my third index card folder, I went back to stitching two pieces of paper back-to-back, and I think the two layers will definitely hold up better.

For this one, I show some business cards clipped in on the left.  I could see this working as a handy little purse planner!  It is extremely downsized from the planner I currently use.  I wonder if I could get used to something so basic and stripped down from my current notebook planner?

I was also thinking that different folders could serve different thematic purposes.  For example, I like to keep track of books that I want to look for on my next trip to the library.  Why not have an index card folder specifically for books?  I could clip in lists of book titles that I want to check out, library slips with due dates, and even an ongoing list of books I have read. 

My daughter came in to check out my projects:

 You can see why "wear-and-tear" are on my mind!

So here is the final result of my paper crafting playtime:  three index card folders that can be used to hold planning materials, recipes, book lists....what other uses can you think of for these fun little folders?

Making Mini-Books with Pamela and Lowri, Part 2

In my last post, I showed you a mini-book I made by following Pamela's tutorial over at Cappuccino and Art Journal (one of my very favorite blogs to visit, by the way). 

Today, I am showing you another version of this mini-book, also created from a 12x12 piece of scrapbooking paper, and combining Pamela's design with Lowri's over at PaperVine.

In this version, the mini-book has pockets like Pamela's, but regular pages like Lowri's (as opposed to an accordion fold). 

You can also get a peek at the goodies I've stashed in all of the pockets.

And for good measure, I made a second book of the same design at the same time:

Another top view:

And a peek at the innards:

Who knew that I would be laid low by a stomach bug just a few hours after posting my first mini-notebook on Saturday afternoon?  Age appears to prevent me from bouncing back from such things quite as quickly as in my youth, so I am only now on Wednesday feeling 100% back to my regular, healthy self.  My trip to the PO was delayed by the bug, but I will be getting these three books off to blogging friends by the end of the week.

If you would be interested in doing a "stuffed-pocket mini-book swap" with me, just let me know in the comments or by email to aleakaskey@yahoo.com!

And it has been fun to see all the new people following my Book and Journal Making board on Pinterest.  Don't be shy!  Leave a comment on my post to let me know that you've been by.  It's just a fact:  comments make bloggers VERY happy, and I am no exception!

Thanks for visiting!