How to Age Paper
You can make new paper look old using the following techniques.
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Transform boring sheets of paper into simple and fun craft projects.
You Will Need
- Paper
- A used tea bag
- Coffee grounds
- Lemon juice
- A flame
- An iron
Steps
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Step 1
Use tea
Drag a wet tea bag across the paper. The tea will stain the paper, giving it an aged appearance.
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Step 2
Use coffee
Place wet coffee grounds on the paper; then shake them off. The coffee will turn the paper brown and give it an aged appearance.
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Step 3
Use lemon juice
Cover the paper with lemon juice, and then expose it near a flame. The longer the exposure, the darker the paper will become.
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Tea, coffee, and lemon juice are all acidic, and will decrease the life of the paper.
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Step 4
Burn the edges
Tear the edges, then wet the inner borders slightly to keep from burning more of the paper than you want. Then burn the paper's edges.
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Step 5
Crumple the paper
Carefully crumple the paper a couple of times, and then iron it.
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Did you know? There is archeological evidence of people consuming tea leaves steeped in boiling water as many as 500,000 years ago.
