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Making Paper

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Our family had a blast making paper using a Paper Factory kit we were sent by ALEX Toys!

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First we had to tear the paper. Anna was our best paper ripper – this is one of her favorite everyday activities, so she was thrilled to be able to do it without being stopped!

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Once the paper was torn, we put it in our blender and added water. It was looking less and less like paper!

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Pureed newspaper isn’t very attractive, but it is very easy to work with! You can add construction paper to make it more attractive, or add decorative bits of colored tissue paper or crepe paper at the end (that’s what we did this time).

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The kids spread the paper pulp across the screen as the water drained out. Spreading it across the screen is a little bit tricky!

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Once the pulp was spread, we added some colorful decorations to make it look prettier. You can add paint, too. A second screen is added on top so you can get the last of the water out. You can see here and in the next photo that we did spread this particular sheet of paper a little bit too thin, and there are a couple of small holes – but not as many as I was expecting! The piece at the top did not have any holes.

We laid our paper out on a plastic cutting board to dry. The kids liked how our paper curled a bit after it was dry, but if you want it completely flat just put it under a heavy book for an hour or so!

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The bits of colored crepe paper make all the difference in beautifying this paper!

Have you ever made paper? Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns published a post on paper making yesterday!

I blog for ALEX Toys and receive products from them, including this one. All opinions are my own.

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

18 thoughts on “Making Paper”

  1. I had a friend back in college who made paper -beautiful paper. She was kind enough to teach us one Saturday morning. It was super fun. The one thing I distinctly remember her saying was that she used a “paper specific blender,” not her kitchen blender. I think she picked one up on the cheap just for paper.

    So fun,
    Laura

  2. This looks like such a fun activity! We haven’t really done much arts and crafts with our son yet as he is only three months old, but we did go to a local pottery where we got him to do paint footprints on various things (mugs, wall hangings) that we painted and decorated. Absolutely loved it!

  3. Elisa | blissfulE

    Very nice! I especially love the part where Anna gets to rip paper as much as she likes! It’s cool how you can kind of see through it while it’s wet. I remember seeing a museum exhibit on Egypt when I was a kid about how they made paper from papyrus – paper making has fascinated me ever since!

    1. Paper making really fascinates me, as well! My parents live near a paper mill in Florida, and it was amazing to see all the trucks bringing trees in.

  4. Hey Mama!

    This is something I never ever thought about doing. I think we did something like this in Elemtary or Jr. High school? I can’t remember.

    At any rate, it looks like a lot of fun. I wonder if that would work if you put it on a window – to make decorative art? Maybei it’s not transparent enough.

    At any rate, Prgamatic Mom had a great idea. Frame it! It’s beautiful!

    Thanks so much for sharing!

  5. What a funny coincidence :) Alex kit looks pretty good – my homemade screen didn’t have the other frame, so we had to sponge the water off. Our paper also kind of stuck to the board, probably because I added a little starch to the mix. I am hoping to try this craft/experiment again soon!

    1. The Alex kit is very easy to use. Our paper also stuck to the cutting board, even without starch. We had to pry it off gently (that’s how it got bent, actually). I’ve been trying to work out a solution to that before we make our next batch.

  6. I had been thinking of making paper with the kids in our camp. Do you know what materials to use if you don’t feel like buying a kit?

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