How to Make Your Own Maple Leaf Paper

Materials:

Stainless steel stock pot
Soda ash
Stir stick
Digital scale
Papermaking mold and deckle
Large basin
Cloths

Step 1:
Grap a bag. Go outside. Collect some leaves! A grocery bag full will yield about 5 thin sheets of paper.

Step 2:
Weigh leaves to determine the amount of soda ash needed. The amount of soda ash you need is 20% of the leaves' weight.

Step 3:
Calculate the amount of soda ash you will need.

Step 4:
Fill pot with water (enough so it won't overflow when you add leaves), and add soda ash to water. Bring to boil.

Step 5:
Add leaves. Poke the leaves into soda ash solution with the stir stick. Let leaves simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Open windows for ventilation.

Step 6:
After an hour of simmering, the water will be dark and thick. Drain and rinse. Rinse until water runs clear.

Step 7:
Put something good on TV. Start beating the leaves into pulp. It needs to be beaten to separate individual fibers. I've spent about an 1 hour beating. To test if pulp is ready, pinch off a bit of pulp and put it in a jar filled with water. Shake the jar. If fibers are not "clumping", your pulp is now ready for papermaking!

Step 8:
Set up your "drying area" by stacking up a pile of clothes. This is where you'll be removing excess water from your paper later.

Step 9:
Fill basin with water and add pulp. Agitate the water to spread the pulp evenly. Dip mold and deckle into vat, and slowly lift up. Let excess water drain.