DIY: homemade scented paper

homemade paper is easy to make, beautiful, and you can customize any color or scent you want! once you have made the paper they make great cards, announcements, or you can even use them to make crafts or collages. i made lavender, cinnamon, and grass paper. here are the instructions so you can do it yourself too:

supplies you'll need: 

a blender or food processor

window screening

a frame

white felt

a sponge

scrap paper or newspaper

lavender, cinnamon, grass, etc. (optional)

starch (optional)

dye or water-soluble paint (optional)

step 1:

tear up the paper to be recycled into small pieces. i used cardstock, construction paper, and newspaper.

step 2:

fill up the blender about halfway with the desired paper. 

step 3:

fill up the blender with warm water, also adding lavender/cinnamon/grass if so desired. 

step 4:

blend the mixture. slowly at first, and then speeding it up until the pulp is smooth. 

{if you want to use the paper to write on add 2 teaspoons of liquid starch to the pulp to prevent the ink from soaking into the fibers. if you also want a certain color added you can mix in water-soluble paint or dye}.

step 5:

prepare the screen and frame mold. before you pour in the pulp mixture place your screen over the sink {i got mine at lowes for a few dollars, but an old window or door screen would work- if it is too big just wrap it around a frame that is the right size and staple or tack it}. get an old frame {i bought mine from a local thrift store for a dollar} that is the size you want the paper to be. it works best if the frame can lay flat so that the mixture can be spread all the way to the corners. {optional: have something to spread the mixture handy if it doesn't cover the entire surface. i used i sponge roller. the spatula can work, but i found that the pulp stuck to it too much}. 

when you are ready, pour the pulp mixture into the mold, making sure that you evenly pour the pulp across the screen so that it also reaches the sides and corners of the frame. {after this smoothing it down is optional, but it does help get rid of extra water. just be careful not to disturb the pulp surface too much. if you do mess up the surface just place the pulp back where it goes and push it in}.

step 6:

after the pulp mixture is flat and in position, take the frame away and place the felt on top. once you have done this, you need to squeeze out the excess water, or soak it up. i used the roller sponge first to go over the felt to push out excess water and flatten it, but a regular sponge or even your hands will work just as well. once most of the water has been squeezed out, use a regular sponge and dab over the felt to soak up the water still in the pulp, wringing out the sponge when needed. keep doing this, you will notice that the felt becomes a lighter color from being drier. if you have done this right the felt will be able to peel from the paper cleanly. if it does not, keep dabbing it with a sponge until it is dry enough for them to pull away from each other. {be careful when helping it to come off, because it is easily tearable at this point}. 

step 7:

i placed the felt back over paper, carefully flipped it over, and took it off the screen. {if it is having trouble coming off, lightly tap it}. if you are not planning on making more paper you can always just let the paper dry directly onto the screen {this method is probably faster}. next i placed the paper & felt onto newspaper to dry. now just let it sit! if you want to speed up the drying process you might be able to blow-dry them or something similar, but i have not tried this so i don't know how well it works.

enjoy your scented, homemade paper!