Making paper is considered a very safe and enjoyable activity. However, like any craft, there are some dangers that can always be present. It’s important to take precautions before embarking on any new activity. Here are a few tips to do that when making paper.
Use caution when handling your screen. Remember, it’s made of wire and can cause a cut. If you make your own screen, you might even wish to wear protective work gloves until its edges are finished. (more…)
Paper can be used for just about anything. From scrap booking paper to gift cards, jewelry boxes to lamp shades, old paper can always be put to new use if given a little tender loving care.
Two citizens of Pune, India have been putting it to an even bigger use. The printers, Anil Gujar and Sunil Juneja, both of Pune’s leading printing press company, Inkfloat, are using discarded paper to create furniture. (more…)
From pilfering hotel shampoo bottles to using single squares of toilet paper at a time, we’ve all heard some pretty interesting, creative, and sometimes slightly unhinged ways to save money these days. At The Daily Green, handmade paper is considered one of many ways to re-localize the economy and go green.
They recently featured a piece on Adina Levin, the co-founder of Collab. Collab is short for collaborators, and is a Manhattan based company that plans on re-localizing the economy through helping designers, writers, artists, musicians and other creative people collaborate together to form a more sustainable world.
By enabling these innovative minds with the tools and space that they need to collaborate together, Collab hopes to get them inspired and working together, which will hopefully yield environmentally-friendly products and processes to help create localized economy.
One sustainable practice that Levin advocates–and is knowledgeable in–is making homemade paper. Levin uses a very similar process to the one posted here at Paper Making. She also promotes a messy, hands-on approach, often touching the paper pulp and getting very involved in the process. Her video and instructions are perfect for anyone who isn’t afraid to get messy and produce some truly amazing results.
Would using handmade paper really support a more local economy and a sustainable world in general? In a word, probably. By using 50% less energy and 75% less water–as well as creating up to 90% less wastewater and 70% less air pollution–than paper made from unused fibers, it definitely has less of an environmental impact.
Another fun use of recycled paper is paper mache. Paper mache is a great method of making three dimensional paper crafts, such as masks, ornaments, and figurines.
First, select your paper. Feel free to use any paper you’ve made for this project–or simply using any paper currently in your recycling bin. Newspaper is considered an optimal choice.
Tear (don’t cut) your paper into thin strips. One to three inches is a good measure, but you can vary the size however you like. (more…)