How to Make Paper Look Old

The old, brownish, crumpled look on the paper lends it an aura of something traditional, something unique and something which has stood the test of time. A paper with an old look can be used in a variety of ways such as to make greeting cards or for scrapbooking. It is a preferred choice of people who want to create some vintage designs. Given below are some of the easiest methods that can make paper look worn and old.

With Tea Bags
Prepare tea as usual and afterwards, take out the tea bag. Next, keep the paper that has to be stained on a flat surface. Now, take the tea bag and smear the paper with it. If the tea bag becomes dry, dip it again for some time in tea and repeat the process, till the entire paper gets a yellow tinge. In the end, keep the paper for drying. Remember to keep it under some weight otherwise it can become distorted. When the paper is completely dry, it will give the perfect old, light brownish look that you want.

There is another method of making paper look old with tea bags. Take a shallow pan which is slightly more in size than the paper. Add water to the pan and soak the paper in it. Next, add around eight to nine tea bags to the water. Keep on cooking till the paper gets the right color and look.

With Coffee
Start with making a strong black coffee. Put around six times more coffee than you normally do while drinking. Next, take a flannel and dip it in the coffee. Squeeze out some of the coffee from it and now rub it against the paper that needs to be stained. Follow this up by keeping the paper in an oven for about four minutes. Next, dampen the paper a bit. Now, take a match and hold it right under the paper. Keep the lighted match under the paper, till the time you get the burnt look.

Burn Paper
Burn the paper to make it look old. Hold the paper on top of a candle flame. Make sure that there is a difference of at least an inch between the paper and the flame otherwise it will catch fire. Move the paper back and forth over the flame. This method gives a kind of dark, damaged look to the paper. To make the paper appear even more appealing, dampen its edges a bit and burn it with a lighter. However, see to it that the edges do not catch fire.

Use Lemon Juice
Take a lemon and squeeze out its juice. Next, apply this lemon juice on the paper that needs to be stained. Take a heat gun and with it heat up the paper. The paper will soon start getting a brownish, old look. In case, you want a darker color, continue heating.

With Crumpling
Take the paper and crumple it. Next, flatten it and again crumple it. Repeat the same process a couple of more times. In the end, take an iron and flatten out the paper again. The paper will get a unique old, crumpled look with this method.

One last advice on this paper craft activity before I sign off - if you do not get satisfactory results with any of these methods initially, do not feel disheartened. Keep practicing till you get the desired effect on paper that you are looking for!