Making paper is a new gift idea

Homespun gifts are often most treasured — the afghan your grandmother knitted or that lop-sided pottery a child made in art class. A central Iowa environmental education coordinator is teaching a new craft — hand-made paper.Patrice Petersen-Keys of the Polk County Conservation Board says there is a trick to it.The process? Shred paper, add water, put in a blender to make a mush, then turn onto a screen to squeeze out excess water before leaving it to dry. Dyes should be added when the paper mush is in the blender. Petersen-Keys says hand-made paper’s not for wrapping gifts because it is thicker than wrap. She says it can be used for greeting cards.Petersen-Keys will lead a “Papermaking Basics” workshop on Thursday, November 29th. It’ll be held at the new Jester Park Lodge.