Herbal Paper

My daughters both love Sage and Rosemary. We have a few very happy plants growing outside this year and both girls love collecting a few pieces to smell. Lilly was extra excited to do some harvesting and was in the mood for art, so we decided to make some herbal paper. It was a hot day outside, so a project involving water was extra perfect.

Supplies

Paper making screens
Dish tub (shallow but at least 6 inches and larger than your screen)
Old paper to recycle (shopping lists, junk mail, finished worksheets,…)
Blender (standard or immersion)
Felt pieces
Empty 3 ring binder-any size
Herbs- choose your favorites

Step 1

Shred up the old paper, tearing it into the smallest pieces you can easily manage, and add the pieces of paper into a tub with some water. My girls both enjoyed this part, enjoying the coolness of the water and feeling of the paper as it got wet.

**keep a close eye on your toddler’s hands, they will keep trying to put this new discovery into their mouths!**

Step 2

Run your wet paper through a blender in batches, or do what I did and grab an immersion blender and blend until a smooth paste forms.

**Don’t forget to put your hands in and see how it feels, Lilly was captivated by this unique texture.**

Step 3

Add your herbs, chopped or torn into small pieces, into the paper pulp. We used our favorites Sage and Rosemary, both aromatic herbs with rich green colors. We also tossed in a few red rose petals for contrast.

**Our herbal message could be read as “We love (rose) you, and we remember (rosemary) you. We overcome/clear (sage) the obstacle of distance with this gift we send.**

Step 4

Slide your screen into the pulp mixture and gently shake covering the top with paper pulp. Pull the screen straight up out of the water and allow the extra water to drip back into the tub.

Step 5

Place a piece of felt on top of the paper pulp. Place the binder on top of the felt and flip over the assembly. Allow to partially dry, about 10 minutes in the sun, longer if working inside or on a cooler day. When ready the new paper will begin releasing from the screen, gently lift the screen to test. Lift off screen and lay paper still on the felt in the sun or somewhere safe to dry.

Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you can no longer cover the screen in pulp.

Step 6

Allow your new paper to dry for several hours or overnight, then gently remove from the felt. This type of paper gets wet and tears easily making it a poor choice for markers, paints, and pencils. It does a wonderful job with crayon and pens or looks really cool when cut and glued as accent elements.