Silk paper making class

Last night my friend Christine and I went to a class on making silk paper. I was amazed at how simple and quick the process really was, and not at all messy like making felt. First we covered out net with silk, then added bits of cotton, and covered with another layer of netting. Then we wet it with a mix of dish washing liquid and warm water, making sure it was all wet on both sides.

This is Christine painting on her Jo Sonja's textile medium. We brushed it on to both sides of the netting. This is the glue which holds it altogether.
With this sheet of silk paper I added a couple of old dried leaves in order to make a print in the paper when dried. In future I would try a fresh leaf instead of a dried one. The dried one was hard to get off the paper.
Here is another sheet, I added a little green. When I got home I peeled off the top layer of net and scrunched up the silk paper. It is screaming "garden" to me! Can you hear it? It has dried with lots of bumps and ridges.
Here they are drying. They were all dry this morning and now ready to use.
This bottom photo is especially for you Dad if you're reading this! For those of you who have no idea what this, it's a flounder. Flounder are bottom dwellers and are usually found in the shallows of mud flats near river mouths. It was caught at the Foxton river mouth, and is pictured frying in butter! Mmmmmm!
Well it's Friday night, woohoo! Hope you all have a fun weekend! See you all soon!
Carole