YOU WILL NEED:
- Used sheets of paper (you can use scraps of printed paper, news paper, magazines, paper towels, etc.)
- A blender or stick blender or a potato masher
- A large basin (a roasting pan works well)
- A mixing bowl
- A wire coat hanger
- Pliers
- Pantyhose
- Water
- Clean sponge and teatowel
- Food colouring if desired
- Tear your used paper into small strips and place in your mixing bowl, cover with water and soak for at least 2 hours.
- Taking your wire coat hanger, use the pliers to bend it into the shape you would like your paper.
- Slide your coat hanger inside a leg of pantyhose and pull tight. Tie the pantyhose and cut off the excess. This is now your screen.
- Place your soaked paper in the blender, top up with water so that there is at least twice as much water as paper.
- Blend to a pulp.
- Fill up your large basin with about 15cm of water (adding food colouring, if desired), then add the paper pulp mixture and stir.
- Lay out your clean teatowel on a flat surface.
- Now taking your screen, slowly dip one end in the basin and move so that eventually the screen is fully submerged and at the bottom of the basin.
- Carefully lift the screen, making sure it is level. When out of the water, hold it above the basin and allow the excess water to drain off. You should be left with an evenly spread thin layer of paper pulp on the screen.
- Once drained, transfer the screen to the tea towel and carefully sponge off as much excess water as possible.
- Leave to dry, and then peel the new sheet of paper from the screen.
