Papermaking and kidney stones

It seems I'm going down for the third time.  The kidney stones are winning.  So for some strange reason I'm choosing today to play with water.  All the paper scraps that were leftover from die cutting hearts were begging to be soaked and become something special.  Hopefully I won't disappoint them. 

Papermaking is not a mainstream hobby but a few years back it had a brief renaissance and the supplies were available at Michael's.  They were kits by Arnold Grummer with a Napalese style frame which is easy to use.  Until finding the kit I had made frames with the help of my boyfriend.  I really like the Napalese style of frame because the pulp is poured into the frame.  The style I used before calls for a large container that is stirred to agitate the bits of paper.  Then the frame scoops up the material to form a sheet.  Because the pulp is poured directly into the Napalese style frame it is easier to control the thickness.

So far the red and white paper scraps were torn into smaller than an inch size.  They are sitting in water to break down.  I am hoping for a nice pink paper and I have yet to decide if I want to put anything else in or not.  I am thinking of multicolored silk threads or maybe some white cotton threads.  Maybe I will do both!  That will give me some cute paper for ATCs.

Here is a picture of the scraps and soaking paper.

They look lovely already.   Tonight I will die cut some more hearts out of white paper and the scraps will lighten the color of the pulp.  I also need to look for any water colored paper scraps and add them too.