Two crafty how-tos: homemade recycled paper & monotype prints

I love people like Brenna Zedan: people who are creative and who give freely of themselves to the world around them. Ms. Zedan has quite a few artistic talents, judging by her Flickr photosets… and even more generosity!

She kindly provides detailed photos and thorough, step-by-step instructions on a couple of really cool, crafty projects.

How to make paper
Believe it or not, you can use household items (and a screen made from a couple of inexpensive items readily available at hardware and feed stores) to make your own beautiful, recycled paper. Brenna explains exactly how to do it, and her smart photos illustrate every step of the process.

I’ve run the gamut of art and craft projects - I could open a store with all the supplies I have around here! However, papermaking is one of the crafts I have never tried. It’s something I assumed would be very involved and difficult; but Ms. Zedan’s photo tutorial makes it look… well, maybe still a bit involved, but not so difficult! I can’t wait to try it, and of course I’ll report back here when I do.

How to create a monotype print

A monotype print is made by pressing paper onto a painted or inked surface. It is essentially a printed painting. This one, I have done, and it’s terribly fun. The monotype print is pretty easy to create, and the end result is a unique, often painterly, work of art.

Brenna notes that the most difficult supply to find for this project is a piece of plastic or plexiglass. You can find various sizes of plexiglass sheets at Home Depot, and they are relatively inexpensive. I think I paid 3 bucks or so for a sheet of 11″ x 14″ plexiglass recently. I use glass for printing and haven’t tried plastic or plexiglass for this purpose, so I can’t offer any personal experience there. I’ve had the sheet of glass forever, and it was purchased specifically for the purpose of printmaking. Honestly, my “art time” is so limited these days, I haven’t made enough prints to comment on it!

I highly recommend Dick Blick Art Materials for all your art and craft supply needs. They have good customer service, fast shipping, great selection, and the best prices. Speedball is pretty much the brand to look for in printmaking supplies; I use their barens, brayers, and water-soluble inks for block printing. For monotype prints, you’ll need to use a different type of ink, as Ms. Zedan’s tutorial notes. Check out Createx Monotype Colors at Blick.

It’s not a necessity, but one of my favorite printmaking tools is this little gadget from NASCO.

Recommended reading on monotype printmaking:

• The Instant Printmaker: Simple Printing Methods to Try at Home (Watson-Guptill Famous Artists)
• Monotype: Mediums and Methods for Painterly Printmaking
• Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate

Photos Copyright 2006 by Brenna Zedan