Long time, I know.

Well, I could provide a multitude of excuses explaining why I haven't posted in weeks, some of which include the remnants of a hurricane causing a week-long power outage, school, being kidnapped by my pets....

Anyway, here's what's been going on in the paper-making venue:

I've started making pocket-notebooks for my etsy shop. I take the white (or mostly white, as long as there's no writing or pictures) bits of the stack of office paper in my room, tear it into equal strips and fold it into single singnature mini notebooks like the little pink one on the left. (Note: a signature is one section of pages in a bound book.)

I also have started a new line of handmade paper envelopes that are larger than the originals.

I've finished one of the big custom orders that I had as of last time I posted, and it has been sent, recieved, and loved. I'm nearly done with the second order, and only have about 14 more sheets of paper to make.

I'm also trying a new couching material, or will be as soon as it is finished through the washer and dryer. A bit of paper-making terminology defined: "Couching" is when you press the piece of paper that is on the mold (part of the mold and deckle set-up) onto a piece of material (newspaper, felt, cloth, etc) to soak up the excess water.

In the past I have used newspaper with limited success. Most of the time fine wrinkles develop in the sheet of newspaper and it flaws my paper, so only a small percentage of the sheets I make are high enough quality to sell as handmade paper sheets in my shop. I'm hoping this new couching material (a torn worn out bedsheet) will reduce the wrinkles and increase the percentage of sheets that I make that are high quality.

For more information on learning to make paper, see this site. It makes things a little more specific than they need to be (honestly, I don't use the deckle portion of the mold and deckle, and it isn't necessary to use tissue paper or paper towels, discarded office paper is fine).