I have wanted to try paper making for years. When I saw tutorials on how you can take old paper; recycled paper and mash it up then make new paper. I was like Yes, I want to do this.
Over the Summer, I purchased paper-making frames, and I gathered some scrap paper. I actually attempted this project the week school started because I had tons of scrap paper from my classroom.
I purchased a blender specifically for the paper, and then I was ready to go.
It was a big fail
and a big mess. I'm sure if I practiced, I could have gotten it just right but after a few attempts I was more annoyed by the amount of mess it was making than paper and it was not bringing me joy.
Before I can start perfecting my technique I called it quits. I had water everywhere, pieces of paper everywhere and literally just a smidgen of paper that I could barely write on.
I told myself, I'm going to leave the paper making to the experts and I'll focusing on binding.
This was an excellent reminder that just because you are interested in a lot of parts of a hobby doesn't mean all those parts are for you. I enjoy reading, I enjoy binding books, collecting different types of paper, and drawing and writing on paper. But, clearly making paper is not for me.
Is there a hobby you attempted because you liked something adjacent to it but clearly it was not for you? Share in the comments!
-Ayla.