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The flowers are collected from the outdoors surrounding my home, where they grow wild (without planting) in the spring and summer. I use a variety of flowers, which gives me a wide range of color. They are not pre-dried, but are actually collected while the paper is being made. The flowers are mixed into the paper and dried, not pasted on top. The flowers tend to float up to the surface, and occasionally you can see one from the front through the back of the paper.
The paper that I use to display and preserve the flowers is made from recycled household paper of my family and friends. I have used everything from recycled junk mail, to wasted computer paper, to dryer lint.
I can control the color of the paper I want for my end product, by mixing certain colors of paper together. For instance, if I want a white base with a scattering of pink color for my background, I can use primarily white paper with a small portion of pink paper. I can also influence the color of the paper depending on the type of water I soak it in. If I want a white paper, I will use rainwater. If I want an earth-tone paper, I will use pond or mud puddle water. After processing, the paper is a heavier stock and has a softer texture than it did before.
The process for making the bookmarks starts with the collection of the paper. The first step is to hand shred and soak the paper. The fibers are then separated with a common kitchen blender and the resulting soup poured onto a screen. While it is soaking, I collect the wildflowers and plants and add them to the paper soup. I then allow the paper and flowers to dry in the sun, on the screen. Once dried, the final step is to cut the new sheet of paper into bookmarks, which I do with a standard roller blade cutter (used in quilting) and then package them for sale.
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