How to make do-it-yourself recycled paper with… garbage

Just a few basic ingredients, a little of your time, resourcefulness and good will, and that's it!

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Do you want to try your hand at a work of recycling do-it-yourself area of paper and produce cards, letter sheets, invitations and anything else giving free rein to your creativity? Well, the American site The Dayly Green explains how to do it, accompanying the instructions with a very useful video tutorial.

Just a few basic ingredients, a little of your time, resourcefulness and good will, and that's it!

What is needed

• Frame
• Fabric thin, for example of the set or old ones bib tights
• Tape or stapler
• Container of plastic o box of cookies tin (the important thing is that the chosen container is larger than the frame and that it is deep enough to hold all the water needed to cover it)
• Mixer
• paper used (old correspondence, bills, catalogs, post-its, magazines ...)
• Form
• Cloth o towel
• Drying plan

Procedure

1. To build the filter which will serve you as mold for paper, take one old picture frame and adhere your silk fabric or the old ones bib tights on the outside of one of its sides. The fabric must be well fixed to the frame and form a uniform base, so that thewater cannot escape from the edges and corners of your filter. Keep in mind that the characteristics of the paper you will produce will depend on the type of fabric used: so you can have fun experimenting and creating multiple effects by preparing filters with different fabrics.
2. Recover paper for recycling: you can mix sheets of different types, colors and textures, to produce different effects and create original and personalized paper.
3. Break up your paper and blend it with water: you can obtain mixes of different consistencies by varying the speed of your blender.
4. Take the plastic container or tin and fill it with water. Make sure that the amount of water is sufficient to cover the entire filter.
5. Place your filter in the water of the container (the fabric part is facing downwards) and then pour your mixture over it.
6. Spread the mixture on the filter until it is completely covered.
7. Once you have spread all the mixture as evenly as possible, lift the filter from the water and hold it still for a few moments, letting all the water drain away.
8. Place the filter on the drying surface and use a sponge or towel to remove the residual water. If you notice that your paper has "holes", you can add some compound to cover them.
9. Place the cloth over the filter and press down, so that the fabric adheres to the sheet you are making.
10. Turn the filter over and press on its surface, on the opposite side to the one where you placed the mix, so that the paper you have produced begins to separate and fall on your cloth.
11. Let your paper dry: the drying time depends on the thickness of the sheet created.

Lisa Vagnozzi