Paper Making Inclusions

So just what is an inclusion? In paper making an inclusions can be anything from glitter, plant materials, threads, or any other materials you select  to give your papers an interesting look, color, or texture.

There are so many things that can be added to your home made papers.

 

Glitters:  Are always a great way to add some bling to your papers. The finer dust version  will  swirl, mix and blend very well into your slurry. Play with them all to see what you like best.

 

Coffee and Tea: Both of these can add color as well as texture. You can use these for coloring just by adding the drinks to your pulp, or you can add the grounds or leaves to your slurry. Doing this will add both spots of color and texture.

 

Threads:  Silk threads are very nice, embroidery threads also work well and you can find any color you wish to use. Take your time to separate the threads so that they do not clump up.

 

Dried flower petals and leaves and grasses: collect some flowers and leaves from your garden. Do not over mix these when adding them to your pulp as they will just become part of the pulp and you will not see the petals. Also when adding darker colored flowers  some tend to bleed into the surrounding paper.

Dandelion spores are completely incredible, as tiny and flimsy as they are, they can be easily seen in your  finished pieces of paper.

 

Herbs: Most of us have plenty of these right in our kitchens either growing in pots or in our cupboards. A pinch is all you need.  Lavender and Rosemary as well as other will also add a nice scent to your papers.

 

Colored papers: Punch out a bunch of small shapes with a paper punch, Cut the papers into small thin strips, or just cut up freehand into small odd shapes. It is just a great way to add some visual effects into your papers.

 

Old pieces of cloth: one way to use old cloth would be to use old jeans  by cutting them up very, very  small or by fraying them and using the strings.

 

This is just a small sample of inclusions to get you started. What can you come up with? Now this is where you get to play mad scientist, start playing with and mixing different inclusions  with different pulps and seeing what you end up with.

 

Your papers are works of art all by them self so enjoy this process and always remember to keep records of how your beautiful creations  came to be so that they can be recreated if needed.  

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your favorite inclusions are and how you use them!!!

If you have found this useful you will want to check out these other links.

Paper Making Made Easy

Basic Paper Making Terms