Two shelves of paper scraps now beautiful handmade paper.

For more than a year, bags filled with shredded paper scraps—torn envelopes, leftover wrapping paper, and spent printer sheets—sat crammed onto two shelves in my gift closet.

They were supposed to become handmade paper.

Someday.

I needed the space. 

Out of hiding the bags came. Onto the countertop they went, where no one could pretend they weren't there.

"Pulling" paper is surprisingly easy, wonderfully messy, and deeply satisfying.

Best of all, every finished sheet has its own texture, character, and personality.

No two are exactly alike.

Here's the short version of how it happens:

The scraps are sorted by color, then torn into small pieces. I avoid paper with printing because the ink can muddy the finished sheet. The paper pieces are soaked in boiling water until the water cools, then blended into a smooth, milkshake-thick pulp. That pulp is swirled into a water bath, where a deckle and frame scoop up a thin, even layer of paper fibers.

Lift.

Drain.

Then flip.

The wet pulp is transferred onto a towel covered with a sheet of fabric. Water is pressed out with a sponge and squeegee, and the fabric holding the fragile pulp sheet is set aside to dry undisturbed. 

Once dry, the paper releases easily from the fabric when one pulls the edges of the fabric in an outward motion.

A warm iron gives each sheet a final pressing.

And just like that, a brand-new sheet of handmade paper is born.

The process is repeated over and over until there is no more paper pulp left in the water bath—or until I decide I have made enough for one day.

In one afternoon, I can pull approximately thirty sheets of paper measuring 5½ by 8½ inches. The size of the sheets of paper depend on the size of the deckle and frame one uses. 

And now they are ready for their next transformation.

Perhaps a handmade greeting card.

A journal cover.

A piece of mixed-media art.

Or maybe something none of us have yet imagined.

Sometimes the most beautiful possibilities begin with the things we almost threw away.

Follow along as the Wonder Vault fills with one-of-a-kind creations, unexpected stories, and ordinary materials transformed into something extraordinary.