Hello MOCA Fam!
We hope you enjoy this series of Fun Fridays, at-home arts projects that will pull inspiration from contemporary artists, techniques, and accessible art making.
Handmade paper is a great DIY project for you and your little ones. Use this paper for scrap booking, personalized cards, or journaling during our time indoors.
This at-home DIY method doesn’t require a deckle and mold, however I recommend you check out the Arnold Grummer kits. We purchased 10 kits for the Teen Art Force as well as the MOCA Maker workshop led by the artist Shawna Moulton, so check her out too!
What you’ll need:
· Construction paper or printer paper (We were able to find some at CVS)
· A bowl
· Two trays, one slightly larger than the other
· A blender
· A strainer (flat or bowl, doesn’t matter)
· Water
Steps:
Choose paper of colors that go well together. In this case, I chose warm colors like pink, orange, yellow, and white.
Rip these papers up into little pieces, and soak them in water for about 30 minutes. In this case, I left one piece of the pink paper out, I’ll rip it up later to create larger pink chunks, I love pink!
Put the soaked pieces of paper into a blender with plenty of water and blend into a pulp. If it’s not blending, add more water.
Make sure your pulp is very well blended, then pour it out into the first strainer and bowl
Transfer it to the two trays to squeeze some of the water out by pressing down firmly, tilt the tray and pour out the excess water.
Transfer your pulp to a flat splatter screen, you can put it either over the tray or over a towel to soak up the water. Press gently.
Leave your paper to dry, and check on it the next day. You can trim the funky edges or leave them, it’s up to you! Enjoy your handmade paper once it’s all dry!