M.O.P.P.

I got to attend a Paper Making class the other day and had such good fun. It’s something I’ve been interested in doing for quite a while now, so I was very happy when I found that our local Art Café was going to offer up a class. The class was small enough that we all got some one-on-one time with the instructor, and each of us got to make several sheets of paper together.

The instructor was very good at explaining all of the steps, even though we didn’t have time to actually do them in the classroom. It’s a 2- or 3-day process, so she had all the steps made ahead of time, letting us do the work, then set aside our results in order to continue on with her steps as if we had waited the time required. She even had some botanicals that we could sprinkle into our papers: I chose to work with some lavender, some tea, and clover leaves. I’m quite pleased with the results and think perhaps I can do something with them in my card making efforts.

A couple of days after my class, I was at work talking to my supervisor about this & that while waiting for some tourists to decide if they wanted a tour or not, when suddenly, I had an idea! I could make paper out of MUSK OX POOP!

Dani was excited about the idea, so once I got home, I started doing some research to see what I’d need in order to give it a try. All of the articles I found said that poop from any herbivore could be used, so why not!

First, I made a list of the tools I’d need:

• A big tub for water
• A pot to boil things in
• Some pillowcases to filter the fiber out of the poop
• A blender
• The frames, sponges, and felt pieces to make the paper
• Botanicals to add in for color
• Towels to dry the paper on

I’ve been gathering flowers and dehydrating them to use as a splash of color:

• Chives gave me a soft purple
• Vetch gave me a pretty blue
• Rose petals gave me a nice deep red

I have plans to pick some dandelions for yellow and will use some of their leaves for green. I’m having some difficulty finding dandelions, however – everyone keeps mowing their lawns and cutting them all down before I can harvest any!

I went to Bishop’s Attic and Facebook Marketplace to get most of the other items I need. My partner sacrificed one of his totes for me and swears that he doesn’t mind if I boil musk ox poop in one of our kitchen pans (I’m hesitant about that one) so I think I’m ready to begin my experiment. I even came up for a name for my end product: M.O.P.P. (Musk Ox Poop Paper) !!

I’ll let you know how it goes!