The Beary Scrap The BEST Tear Bear Mulberry Paper

Are you tired of looking for the BEST mulberry paper for Tear Bears and Torn Critters? Look no further... You are in the right place.

What makes our Mulberry so special? We work very closely with our suppliers to bring you the best quality mulberry paper at affordable prices. Our mulberry paper is handmade by highly skilled paper crafters in Thailand. All of our mulberry paper is custom ordered to be at a minimum 150-165gsm in thickness. This is the only thickness of mulberry paper that we carry, therefore there is no confusion when it comes time to ship your order.

As a tear bear artist myself, the quality and thickness of my mulberry paper is of the utmost importance. What I sell is exactly what I use in all of my tear bear creations. You can view some of my work in our "Beary Sweet Gallery"

Shop our mulberry paper and see why our customers keep coming back for more!

Our Mulberry Paper

We carry over 50 different colors of EXTRA THICK, high quality handmade Mulberry Paper. You can purchase our paper by single sheets, 5 pack sheets or 10 pack sheets. New Variety Packs are bing assembled. Our paper is perfect for tearing into fluffy little critters.

Paper size is A4 (21cm x 29.7cm). That is a just bit narrower and a tad longer than a standard 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Our mulberry paper is acid free and safe for your scrapbooks.

Because this is a handmade product, please allow for slight variations in color and thickness.

There may be a difference in the color of this product on your screen and the actual color of the product. Product colors may vary from one batch to another.

Where does our mulberry paper come from?

Mulberry Paper is made for the bark of the Saa Tree. The Saa tree grows abundantly in the wild all over South East Asia (Thailand) in the damp soils along the river banks. These trees are not harmed or cut down to create this special paper, which makes this paper environmentally friendly. Once a year, these trees are stripped of their bark and trimmed back allowing for a fresh new layer to grown back within a year.

How is Mulberry Paper Produced?:

Mulberry paper is produced using 2 different methods.

Machine or Milled Paper: This paper is made using classic paper milling machines. Although the same raw materials are used in creating this paper, this paper is denser and more uniform because of the drying and pressing process.
*Handmade Mulberry Paper: Perfect for creating soft and fluffy torn critters. This paper is made by traditional techniques using a bamboo deckled mold. Once the bark is collected from the Saa tree, it is soaked and boiled in water to clean and break up the fibers. The fibers are then churned to create a soft pulp which is then bleached or died to a specific color. The pulp is then poured into the mold. The amount and thickness of the pulp will define the thickness and texture of the mulberry paper. They are then lowered into a vat of water to smooth out the pulp. Once smoothed, they are slowly lifted from the water and then tapped to remove any excess water. Finally, the molds are placed in the sun to dry. After the paper has dried, it is removed from the mold leaving a characteristic deckled edge behind.

What is GSM (Thickness)?:

When it comes to thickness, GSM is a term you will commonly hear in relation to mulberry paper cardstock. GSM is a paper industry term that stands for Grams per Square Meter. Generally speaking, the higher the GSM, the thicker the mulberry paper will be. Handmade paper and Milled paper that have the same GSM weight will have a different thickness because handmade paper has more “bulk” or texture, whereas milled paper is pressed and dense.

Light Weight or Tissue Paper. This paper is anywhere from 30-70gsm in weight. This is an industry standard weight paper and is NOT ideal for making torn critters. This paper is generally used for card making.
Medium Weight: This paper is generally 70-90gms. It’s great for cards and backgrounds, but not ideal for making torn critters.
Premium Weight: This paper is another industry standard paper and is usually 90-110gms in thickness. This paper is readily passed off as “thick” or “extra thick” by many suppliers that carry mulberry papers. Although this can be used successfully in creating torn critters, you will most likely need to use multiple layers (more than 2) in order to achieve good results for dimension and fluff.
*Heavy Weight: AKA as “Extra Thick”. This IS the paper that you want to use for creating your torn critters. The thickness of this paper is at least 150-165gsm. You can get away with only using one layer when making your critters, but I personally like to use 2 or more layer for extra thickness and dimension.

Few retail craft stores carry this weight as it is generally a bit more expensive and the batches must be custom ordered and made by the manufacturers. Add the cost of overseas shipping, and the amount of product that needs to be ordered with a low level demand from customers… retail stores just don’t find it worth the hassle. Since we are a “specialty store” we are able to offer these products to other tear bear artists out there. So that there is no confusion with thickness, this is the ONLY thickness of paper we carry.

Some Textures of Mulberry Paper commonly used in Paper Piecing:

Basically, there are 2 different textures when it comes to mulberry paper. You may use any texture you want depending on the look you wish to achieve

Smooth: Flat on both front and back sides. This texture does not fluff too well.
*Textured: This type of paper is “lumpy” on the front side and smooth and deckled on the back side. This is ideal for making torn critters.