Making paper from sea oats
We begin with sea oats collected from the sandy beach:
which we cut up and boil for a couple of hours
then let stand in the pot for several days, soaking. Next we add some dryer lint
then load the mix into the blender with some water
which made too-fat pulp
and so we scale it back a bit
shape it, drain it, and place it on a towel,
layering it in the towel on the window sill to dry for several days.
Once dry, we modge-podge it to assist in holding it together while also sealing it
The final product: two fat crosses and a thin one
Would I do it again? It’s nice for sentimentality—paper made from sea oats collected from the beach my family has loved since I was in the 11th grade. It’s also time intensive. Plus, it’s more sculpture than paper. I could have used a caustic substance to degrade the fibers more completely and ensure thinner paper, but I didn’t want to. Next time I may add baking soda at the boiling stage, baking soda being a caustic agent but a mild one.
So, yeah. It was fun, and I like the results of this, my first attempt to make paper from plants, something I’ve been wanting to do for ages.
handmade paper, handmade paper from sea oats, making paper from plants
Joe Hawes
It is only fitting that someone who writes as much as you do should make her own paper. This raises your level of creativity dramatically.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
I took a class on “handmade paper,” but really it was just rearranged paper (you shredded magazine pages, blended them, and dried it into paper). I wanted to try real handmade paper. I think, though, I selected the toughest fibers in these sea oats!
joe Hawes
If you can make paper you can write on from sea oats, it will probably last forever…
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Hmmmm, maybe I should try writing on the thinner pieces
Luanne
Beautiful, Ellen! And now for a nice green smoothie.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Yeah, if I do this again, I’m buying a cheap, designated blender for the blending phase. 🙂
Luanne
Good idea, especially if I come to eat at your house ;).