Ageing Paper

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  Step 1

  To begin with you need your paper, Instant coffee ground down to a fine(ish) powder (you can do this with a spoon or your fingers) and a bowl with hot water and tea bags in (let the water cool before you use it).

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  Step 2

  Take a tea bag, squeeze some of the water out but not all and DAB it onto the paper (don't drag it or wipe it across the paper because it will rip it and if you have something printed on it, it will smudge it).

  You should end up with a mottled brown effect.

  I forgot to put newspaper down before this step!!

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  Step 3

  This next step needs to be done quickly before the tea soaks into the paper.

  Then sprinkle the coffee grounds over the paper. This creates age spots. Try to be sparing with the coffee otherwise it ends up sticky.

  Feel free to go over the coffee with the tea bag if the paper has dried a bit.

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  Step 4

  Next, blot it with the kitchen roll.

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  Step 5

  Peel off the kitchen paper carefully. And leave to dry a bit.

  (This one has a picture on!! So you can see it doesn't smudge)

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  Step 6

  While its still damp... Screw it up!!

  Be careful not to rip it though :D

  (My lovely ironing board that I got Bondaweb stuck to... lol)

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  Step 7

  Then as stated above... being careful not to rip it open it up again.

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  Step 8

  Place the iron onto it and iron flat but try not to iron all the creases you just put in out again.

  Now you can leave it there or you can move onto the next step to make it even more old!!

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  Step 9

  BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS NEXT STEP!!!

  Taking a lit candle burn round the edges very very carefully!!

  Just a touch until it catches then blow it out.

  Its a very time consuming process as you can't rush it or you'll set yourself or the house on fire :D

  You can also hold the paper above the candle till it starts to brown in spots for bigger age spots.

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  Step 10

  You can varnish round the edges if they're brittle (I use clear nail polish).

  But that's it!! How to make paper look old without having to scrabble in the dirt :D

Comments

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Pearle D. · Corpus Christi, Texas, US · 12 projects 1st September 2011

Awesome, thanks! I've been trying to find a nice easy way of aging paper.

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neverfly27 · La Cañada Flintridge, California, US · 6 projects 3rd August 2011

that's awesome i do this for history projects but instead of using a candle or fire i use a pastel i rip then color in

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Conn · San Francisco, California, US · 134 projects 3rd August 2011

Cool! Once, my friend just soaked the entire piece of paper in coffee and let it dry so that it became wrinkled automatically. Nice method!

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