recycled

for the past week or so i have been making recycled paper with the kids at work. my co-worker found a paper-making kit at savers (the australian name for value village-- its the same company, same font style and colour on their signs, same price tag design, their gift vouchers actually say "value village" and have the u.s. company info on them). funny thing about the kit is i think it's the same one i tried to buy at the same store about a year or so ago but i put it back on the shelf while i tried a couple things on and one of the 3 other customers in the store must have grabbed it. i'm pretty sure its the exact kit and not just the same kind of kit (a weird mark on the box and the contents were still in excellent condition just like the one i missed out on). i think after 2 batches of paper i've got the process down to an art form and batch 3 (which is soaking overnite and will be formed into paper sheets tomorrow) is gonna be pretty close to perfect (i had trouble getting all the paper sheets to be "paper thin" but i think i've figured out the trick). i'm impressed with most of the results so far. much better than anything i've made on my own before (with d.i.y. paper making equipment-- although i now know what to change on my homemade kit to make it work better in the future). i think i'm gonna keep making paper with the kids for the rest of the year. it's a good activity, they're learning lots and we get to have good chats while we sit there tearing used paper and old magazines/newspapers into little pieces (and of course they all love just playing with the pulp we make before turning it into sheets of paper).