How to make paper at home from recycled paper

The goal

is to make white or off-white paper, which will make it easy to use in multiple ways, including bookbinding, origami folding, making stickers, stamp printing, etc. 

The ingredients

• White recycled paper – uncoated white recycled paper, such as old bills, bank statements, and office paper.
• Wheat starch sizing – a glue-like liquid that strengthens the paper and gives it some water resistance.
• Tap water (used to process, removed later)

Dig deeper into each ingredient here.

Materials and tools

1. Recycled paper. Focus on recycled office paper or copy paper, such as old bills, credit card offers, bank statements, and notices. The fewer pictures on paper, the whiter the paper will be. The more pictures, the grayer. (See the exact paper I use.)
2. Blender – be sure not to use it with food. The more powerful, the easier to blend. I use Ninja Professional Blender 2.0 1200 Watts.
3. Mould & deckle – to shape and filter paper. I use an A5-size set.
4. Sponge – to absorb excess water from the deckle. The more absorbent, the better.
5. Container – to store paper pulp after blending
6. Cotton sheets – to carry paper sheets once shaped and filtered. This is a key tool to help make a smooth paper sheet. 
7. Large tub/vat to mix and shape paper – make sure your mould and deckle fit in there with a bit of extra room to move them around. I use an aluminum turkey baking pan (like this).
8. Strainer – to transfer the paper pulp once blended. Don’t use it with food.
9. Drying rack – to hang the sheets. I use this.

Steps to make paper

1. Gather scrap paper.
2. Shred the paper manually or use a paper shredder. The finer, the easier to blend.
3. Blend well and finely – until you see no trace of paper shreds left, but smoothie-like or slurry pulp. The finer you blend, the smoother your paper becomes.
4. Shape and filter with mould and deckle (14.26 – 16.52) – mix the pulp with water in a tub and start shaping paper sheets
5. Absorb each sheet with a sponge to remove as much water as possible.
6. Hang them dry overnight. I like to use a fan to speed up the process (18.20). Usually, they need 10 – 12 hours to be completely dried. 
7. Harvest the sheet from the rack (1.20). Peel the paper sheets carefully from the fabric sheets (2.23). Keep the fabric sheets in a clean, dry place, free of dust, dirt, or pet fur.
8. Press the dried sheets with a bookpress or heavy stuff like books or bricks to flatten the sheets (7.38). Give them a day to be flattened.

And that’s it. That’s how you can turn recycled paper into handmade, beautiful paper! Try this at home or give my paper crafts a try! You can check them out here.