Just for Kids
You can make 100% recycled paper at home. Here’s how!
- Old newspaper to tear up
- Blender
- Wooden frame or needlework hoop
- Nylon fly screening
- Water
- Large plastic basin
- Sponge
- Iron
- More newspapers for drying
- Kitchen cloth
- Staples
- Flowers, leaves, fruit peels (optional)

- Make a mold for the paper by stapling the nylon fly screening tightly to the wooden frame or securing it in a needlework hoop.
- Build a drying pad by folding and stacking newspapers about two inches high. Cover the stack with a kitchen cloth.
- Tear the old newspaper into small pieces and soak them in hot water for about 30 minutes.
- Put the wet newspaper pieces in the blender and blend it until it has a mushy consistency. You can add flowers, leaves or other decorations to the mixture.
- Using a mixture of about 80% water to 20% pulp, fill the large plastic basin with water. Add the pulp while stirring. The particles should be floating in the water.
- Dip the paper mold in the water from the back and bring it down so that it is under the water. With a scooping motion gently lift the mold out of the water.
- Allow the water to drain and carefully turn the mold over unto the drying pad (screen on top).
- Use the sponge to absorb the excess water. The pulp should become dry enough to separate from the mold.
- Lift off the mold and put another stack of newspapers on top and press down firmly. Allow the sheet of new paper to dry thoroughly.
- Iron your paper with low heat to create a smooth finish.
- Use your 100% recycled paper for note cards, as frames for pictures in a scrapbook or for any other craft projects you can think of!
Would you like to learn more about recycling?
Check out our great list of books for everyone!
Interesting Facts
- Before the U.S. become a country, we were recycling paper.
- In 1690, William Rittenhouse started the first American paper mill near Philadelphia, PA.
- Both William Penn and Benjamin Franklin supported early papermaking projects.
- Paul Revere is known to have engraved plates for “money paper” sold in 1776 by Stephen Crain.
- The Crain Company, of Dalton, Massachusetts, continues to manufacture the “money paper” used in the U.S. today.