Experimenting with Dryer Sheets & Paper Creations

Hi all!  Never underestimate the effects of down time on a mind that tends to wander.  We had a snow day a couple of weeks ago during which I caught up on laundry.  As I started throwing away the used dryer sheets I was hit by a thought...what would happen if I used the dryer sheets with paper pulp??  Would it bond with the paper?  Would it peel away??  Would it give the paper more strength?  Only one way to find out...start experimenting.

The first thing that flashed in my mind was a comic strip bowl.  I had to wait for the Sunday funnies to try it.  I cut out one of the comic strips to be used whole.  The rest of the comics were shredded to be turned into pulp.

Following the instructions with the Papermill Pro, I assembled the deckle box with the support grid and Papermaking screen.  On top of the papermaking screen I laid 2 used dryer sheets side by side.  Then I placed the cut out comic face down on the dryer sheets.  Holding it in place, the paper pulp was poured slowly until the comic & dryer sheets were covered.  Remove the deckle box.

I used the press bar to remove a lot of the moisture before turning it over to check the dryer sheets.  Would they be bonded with the pulp?  Would I be able to read the comic strip through the dryer sheets?  Let's see....

Can't read through the sheets, but I can see it.  Maybe after removing more moisture using the couch sheets, the result will be different. 

 

After pressing the sheet between couch sheets, I draped it over a glass bowl with the dryer sheets against the bowl surface.  The edges were carefully pleated and rippled and molded around the bowl.

The bowl (on top of the glass "mold") was placed in the oven and baked at 275 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Once quick dried, the paper bowl can be lifted from the glass and turned over.  A quick check of the dryer sheets revealed that they peel away easily from the paper bowl. 

I decided to peel both sheets away.

The comic strip bonded perfectly with the paper pulp.  Interesting effect: the inside of the paper bowl feels much smoother than the outside of the bowl. 

 

Well that was fun!  I may have to try it again...maybe I will put the dryer sheets on both sides of the paper pulp next time!  What can I say?  Big fun in Virginia :-)

See you next time.