Friday, January 2, 2015

New for 2015: second on the 2nd

Once a month, on the second (2nd), I will show a piece of art I have created in the past.  It's a second look at a piece of art I am proud of, or created before anyone knew my blog existed.  I welcome you to join me.  If I get a good response, I will add a Link so everyone can visit your second on the 2nd, too.

For my first second on the 2nd, I actually consolidated two posts and recreated it below.  Please be aware, these were taken with my old camera, so the resolution leaves more than a little to be desired.

Making Paper From Day-Lilies
Parts 1 and 2

I've made paper for quite some time, now, but it has always been with paper pulp. Today  (September 23, 2007)

I experimented using plant pulp. The supplies I used are (from left) Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (which can be used in place of soda ash), plastic spoon, a stainless steel pot dedicated to crafts, hot plate to cook the lilies outside, kitchen shears, and a scale.

The first thing I did after I picked the day lily leaves was put the pot (dedicated to crafts only) on the scale

and set the tare to zero.

I cut up the leaves to about half an inch using the kitchen shears.

Once the leaves were cut, which I thought was the most time consuming, I weighed the cut greens. I had to do that because I needed to find 20% of the dry weight. That is the amount of washing soda I needed.

After setting the tare of the spoon to zero, I then weighed the soda ash and added it to the pot.

Finally, I added water to the pot and set the temperature on "medium." I checked after two hours and the leaves didn't look like they had done that much, so they are still cooking away. I've been told that after they cook and are cleaned, they will last in the refrigerator for about a week.

This is what I had after the day lilies were completely cooked. Don't let the height of the cooked mixture in the pan fool you. It's mostly water, as you can see below (I showed these images on my blog on October 9, 2007).
 
Yep, you are seeing correctly. That's all the "pulp" I got from the cooked and cleaned lilies. Speaking of cleaning!! That entails washing the slimy lily leaves until they were no longer slimy. Good for everyone, as well as my camera that I didn't get pictures of that step. Take my word for it, cleaning the cooked leaves is probably the nastiest part of this process.

I placed the pulp and water, along with some tissue paper for strength, in my second-hand, retro, handmade paper (hmp) dedicated, industrial strength blender. Sadly, that was all the pulp I had.  Remember, items (including the blender and the cook pot) are never used in food processing once they have been dedicated to the craft room.

After all that work, I only got ONE page in the traditional manner, which is dipping my mold into the watery pulp. I had to pour the second and third pages. Pouring is hard for me, because I don't get an even pour, which means some areas of the paper had more pulp than others. The edges weren't as smooth, either. As you can see from the picture above, I only got two sheets from this batch.

The third page was a bust. It was too thin in most places, and only yielded a small strip of paper, which I used on a page in my Asian AB. 

I hope you enjoyed this look back at my first second on the 2nd.  If you would like to join me, please let me know in the comments.  If there is enough interest, as I mentioned before, I will create a Linky you can use to show yours, too.  Thanks for looking at this post, and I'll try not to be so windy next month.

14 thoughtful remarks:

Nancy said...

How impressive!! I've never tried making my own paper.

Krisha said...

Well, I took your challenge and posted something from the past.

It definitely is not handmade paper......LOL That is just a little too much work for the final product. I tried that many years ago, before Blogging was even thought of......LOL

~*~Patty S said...

Paper making is so much fun...it's been a while since I've done any and I never tried your great plant way of doing it E!
Your papers are beautiful and I really like the uneven edges alot.
You used that strip for a very nice collage too.
Second look on the 2nd is a fun idea. With the holidays (Mr M off work) I can't get it together for this month but maybe next month.
oxo

massofhair said...

You are so clever Elizabeth, i wouldn't make home made paper, you are indeed brave and clever. Fabulous to see the finished paper being used :-) xxx

~*~Patty S said...

OK you inspired me so before Mr M and I head out for a walk I did a quick search back to January 2008 and found this to share:

https://bitze.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/second-on-the-2nd/

Having a once a month challenge fits in nicely with my word for the year SIMPLIFY :-)

Thanks for your fun idea Elizabeth!
oxo

dawn said...

What a fun idea this is! WOW, homemade paper, yay! Love the outcome!

Will have to keep this in mind for next month. I didn't do anything till after I started blogging though but it will be before I found you and shared here. Hard to believe I never did any art my whole life or crafts or anything of the sort. Now it's all I want to do.

Awesome cards below and your calendar review was delightful. Yep, going to be throwing my OLW around a lot this year, or for now at least, lol. Just did a post on it too.

Happy weekend, stay warm and healthy.

AlteredAddict said...

I have always loved your homemade paper and learning how to make it was even more fun. I haven't tried this one before but I have tons of homemade paper from napkins downstairs. I think of you every time I use it :)

(((hugs)))
T

voodoo vixen said...

I think this is a lovely idea, revisit something that people may have missed first time round and your home made paper is awesome when ever you make it, I know, I have some that I keep squirrelled away!!
Happy new Year to you and the cats!!

Craftymoose Crafts said...

This sounds like a fun idea! It certainly was and will be fun to see some of your posts before I found your blog! I saw this late so I will hopefully join in next month.

Anonymous said...

Great idea. I saw Patty's as well. I shall cheerfully watch from the sidelines. I've set up a full plate for 2015 already. xox

johanna said...

hehe, the green Pulp in the mixer Looks like spinach... the results of the self made paper are gorgeous! i never made paper myself, this is very Special.
maybe i can come up with something for a second look in february...

TwinkleToes2day said...

A very fascinating post. I've often wondered about making paper and only vaguely remember having a go at school using waste paper, shredded into water and then squished flat onto some boards. Like papier mache but without the glue I guess. A very messy process if I remember rightly. But these days I don't have room for such things. Hey-ho.
I look forward to your next second on the 2nd :o))

Halle said...

What a great idea....2nd on the Second.
Love the Asian theme page you created with the paper.

pearshapedcrafting said...

I used to love making paper although haven't made any for ages -this looks really interesting and I think your idea of second on the 2nd is a good one - I'll try and join in whenever I can! Chrisx