04 May How to Create a Paper Sloyd Blotting Pad

When my daughter and I initially sat down to do Project #13 from the 3rd year from the book, Paper Sloyd for Primary Grades, I may have inwardly groaned. Even my daughter, astutely expressed what I was thinking: “Is a blotting pad something we would ever use?” By this time, we all know that our arts and crafts should have some use, and when using a book published in 1905, you are bound to come across some projects that have no practical application to our world today. We giggled a little together at the thought of making something so useless, then we agreed to proceed in making our paper sloyd blotting pad. Each time this has happened, we have learned an additional skill or technique that we would find use for elsewhere.

What is a Blotting Pad?

Blotting pads were first introduced in the early 19th century as a way to remove excess ink from paper. Before the invention of blotting pads, ink was often smudged or smeared, causing messy and often hard-to-read handwriting.

The first blotting pads consisted of absorbent paper that was often sprinkled with sand to help soak up the excess ink. Over time, the sand was replaced with more refined, specialized paper that was designed specifically for blotting and absorbing ink.

During the early 20th century, blotting pads became a popular accessory on writing desks. Many of them were very beautiful and ornate, printed with decorative designs, making them a fashionable as well as useful item.

Today, we were happy to learn, blotting pads are still occasionally used for their original purpose of removing excess ink, but they are also used for a variety of other purposes. You may see artists using blotting pads to remove excess watercolor and ink in their art. Or you may find them useful in cosmetics to absorb excess oil on the skin. It seems like they have evolved into a versatile product for anyone who may need to absorb excess liquids.

Materials Needed

• The book, Paper Sloyd for Primary Grades by Ednah Anne Rich
• A pair of scissors
• A compass
• A pencil
• A ruler
• Glue
• Bristol Board for the back
• Manila Drawing paper to cover the back (we used black construction paper)
• Blotter paper
• Royal Melton or cardstock paper for the corners (we used black construction paper)

Happy Handicrafts Video: How to Create a Paper Sloyd Blotting Pad

We got a little stuck on this project because of all of the different papers and layers. This is how we ended up interpreting the instructions:

• The back should be fairly firm. The book suggests Bristol Board.
• We made the corners out of black construction paper. Glue them on to the back.
• We also made the cover for the back from black construction paper. Turn the back over, with the front of it on the table, and glue the cover for the back onto the back, which will protect and cover the corner tabs.
• For our blotter, we used an absorbent-type of paper, which you can slip into the corners and change out as needed.

The final product will look like this:

The great news is we found a great use for our paper sloyd blotting pad! Luci found that markers, paints and inks were leaking from one page of her Nature Notebook to another. This blotting pad was the perfect size to insert into the notebook to prevent this.

I hope your find a great use for this project!

If you’ve just found us, don’t miss our entire paper sloyd adventure! Start at A Practical Guide to Your First Year of Paper Sloyd. We make our videos especially for homeschooling families who could use a little help in the arts and crafts department. Come and craft with us – it’s our favorite thing to do!