When I was a kid, my mom and I made handmade paper out of used paper we had around the house. I don't know why or how, or even quite when it was, but I have always held that memory dear. There is something about creating something using what you have on hand that seems magical to me. Taking trash and turning it into something beautiful and useful; that's magic. I started making handmade paper again when I realized just how much paper recycling we accumulate in our household. Junk mail and office papers that weekly fill the shredder over and again.

One day I decided to explore zero-waste in regards to our paper and challenged myself to use, repurpose, or recycle all the "waste" paper that was going to have to be loaded up and hauled to the recycling center (we don't have curbside service in our rural area). The memory of making paper with my mom was the first thing I thought of and the first experiment I tried. What followed was a glorious binge of creating handmade paper (and honestly a big ol' mess in my laundry room).

I started with a couple of picture frames and some old window screen that I found in the garage in a pile called "It will be good for something if we never use it" and since have built myself mould and deckles from scrap lumber and other household discards making this handmade paper truly a zero-waste endeavor.

The paper is rough edged and of various thicknesses. Tinted a very, very faint blue, it is likely to have visible bits of letters or numbers that survived the pulping process. Some papers have imprints from the drying rack or are not quite square. This is what I love about it...the organic process that yields sheets that are each unique, no two exactly the same.

These sketchbook/journals include: five signatures of with 16 use-able pages of Strathmore 400 sketch paper, hand torn. Three of the signature are bound with handmade paper, the remaining two are bound with Strathmore watercolor paper. Each book is hand torn and hand folded, then hand sewn using linen thread and fabric strips. A ripped scrap of fabric is used to tie it closed though it will stay closed as it is. The back is stamped with "Owl Tree Farm Handmade". It measures roughly 5 inches by 7 inches. (Please note that these are Perfectly IMperfect with ragged edges, bits of strings, etc.)