Tremont 4-H Club Makes Paper

By Kristina Fink, age 14

Most paper these days is factory made, but at our 4-H Arts and Crafts Project meeting we used recycled paper to make Mother’s Day cards. It is messy to make paper like this, so we made it in a big barn where we could be messy and drip water. It also gave us enough room to let it dry in place.

The first step was to shred old magazine paper into strips. Then we put the shredded strips of paper in a blender with water. When we turned the blender on, the paper became a pulpy mush.

The next step was to put the paper mush into a big tub. We had to wear plastic gloves to protect our hands. The dye used in the magazines could hurt our skin. Of course we wore our old clothes too.

My dad made wire framed screens that we dipped into the tub of paper mush. After the excess water drained back into the tub, we pressed the mush to get more water out and make it flat. Then we turned the drained paper out of our frames onto a table layered with old towels. The paper will have to stay on the table for about a week to dry.

The paper now has a texture that is neat to decorate. The paper could also be used for stationary and art work. At our next meeting, we will have even more fun decorating our paper into Mother’s Day cards.