April 24th, 2024 is World Stationery Day!

World Stationery Day is a reminder of the importance of handwritten communication and the role stationery plays in preserving our personal and cultural heritage. It also fosters creativity and self-expression through artistry and writing. So, instead of sending the same old text or email, take advantage of today and send a personal handwritten message to someone you care about.

Here are some ways to enjoy World Stationery Day!

• Support your local businesses by shopping for some unique stationery and/or writing supplies.

• Have a stationery swap. Invite some friends and family over and ask everyone to bring one type of stationery (enough for each person attending). Then, have everyone trade. Everyone will then have a cool new set of different kinds of stationery. Serve snacks and write some notes to friends!

• Learn some new lettering styles, like calligraphy.

• Try out different types of writing utensils.

• Consider giving stationery as a gift.

• Make your own stationery: you can make this a small family activity, or invite friends over!

• Make some recycled paper to use as stationery.

How to make recycled paper

Supplies:

• paper that you want to recycle (old mail, newspaper, paper bags, etc.)

• plastic storage tub (needs to be big enough for your mold and deckle to be submerged into it laying flat)

• blender (not used for food)

• sponge

• scraps of cotton cloth bigger than your sheets of paper will be (old cut up sheet or pillow case)

• paper towels

• mould & deckle**

Instructions:

• Rip up the paper into small pieces.

• Place the paper into a container with lots of water and allow it to soak for 10-12 hours.

• Place 2 large handfuls of wet paper into your blender and add more water.

• Blend until smooth and pulpy (no hard pieces).

• fill plastic tub 1/3 to 1/2 with water and pour paper mixture from blender into tub.

• NOTE: The thicker the water mixture in the tub, the thicker your paper will be. You may need to experiment a bit with this step if your paper is too thick or thin.

• Mix up the water in the tub well (no large chunks), then lower your mould and deckle straight down into the tub (flat) and raise it back up. Move the mould and deckle from side to side gently as you raise it back up.

• Allow the water to drain.

• Gently lift the deckle off of the top of the mould.

• Tilt the mould slightly to let the rest of the water run off.

• Carefully flip your mould over onto one of your sheets of cotton and press down firmly on all sides of the mould.

• Use the dry sponge on the paper to soak up the extra water by pressing it into the paper several times. Be sure to go around the inside edges as well.

• Then press down once on the corner of the mould that you are going to lift up, hold the cotton sheet down tight and then gently lift up the mould. The paper sheet should stick to the cotton.

• Let your paper dry on the cotton sheets completely before carefully separating them.

• If you wish, you can stack books on the paper to make them more flat.
  

**Mould and Deckle: You can purchase these at your local craft store, online, or make your own!

You need 2 same-sized picture frames with everything removed (you just need the wooden frames). The size of your frames will be the size of your sheets of paper.

For one frame do nothing else- that is your deckle.

For the second one (the mould) cover with mesh or screen and secure it to the side or back of the frame with staples or small nails. Make sure the screen/mesh is tight across the front when you secure it. Cut off the excess. The finer the mesh/screen you choose, the smoother the paper will turn out.

---