How To Age Paper

Have you ever felt nostalgic for the “good, old days” where quills ran over parchment that was preserved for centuries? Or have you wished to create a document that has the look and feel of another age? The good news is that it is possible to artificially “age” paper so that it ends up looking crisp, brown, and fragile. The following tips will help you get a rustic, brown effect to perfectly new paper. All you need to do is to make your choice from any of the following ideas. As for the type of paper to be used, it would be preferable to go with any good quality bond paper. With a little time and practice, you can become an expert at ageing paper.

How To Make Paper Look Old

The Coffee Trick

Prepare half a cup of black coffee without any sugar, milk or cream.
Dip the paper in the coffee and let it soak for a minute.
Hold up the paper carefully (in order not to rip it) for a second so that the excess coffee drips off. Transfer it on to a clean tray.
Remove any excess coffee that you find dripping off, with paper towels.
Create tiny holes in the paper either with a spoon or with your fingernail, and drop these little bits back on to the paper.
Put the paper into an oven and heat it at 200 degrees till it dries, for a really ancient-looking parchment.

Try It With Tea

Prepare a pot of tea without sugar, milk or cream, and save the tea bag.
Take your sheet of paper and smear the tea bag on it to give it a yellow look. If the tea bag dries out when smearing the paper with it, dip it into the teapot again.
You could let the paper either dry naturally or you could try drying it with a hair dryer for a nice, old look.
Crumpling the paper up before soaking it in tea will also give good results when it has been dried.

Heat Things Up

Try this out near sink since there are chances that the paper may catch fire.
Light a candle and hold the paper about half an inch above it. Move the paper back and forth. This will darken the paper and give it an old look.
To make the paper look even older, you could try burning the edges with either a lighter or a candle, without burning up the entire paper. To be on the safe side, wet the edges before burning them.

The Big Squeeze

Crumple up a sheet of paper.
Sprinkle it with plain water.
Crumple the paper some more and shape it.
It could be left to dry in natural light. If you don’t wish to wait for it to dry, put it in the oven for not more than 30 seconds. You will know that the paper is ready once you notice that it has started curling up at the edges.

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