Making paper look old n crumbly?

Question

Ok, for a school project i need to make this journal and make it look like it was like from the 1800s or so. Whats the best way to make the paper look old n crumbly like? But still be able to write on it. I remember something about putting paper in water then letting it dry or something like that. Forgot what type of paper it is. Btw, what type of paper should i use?

Answer 1

Before you write on it, soak your paper in tea and allow to dry (you can use a blow dryer to speed up the process) After it is dry and you have written on it, use a match or candle to singe the edges for an antique look. (Be extra careful with this part!) Finally, when you are finished, you can crumple the paper into a ball and smooth it out again. The combination of tea, burnt edges and crumpling can make for a very distressed and old-looking paper.

Answer 2

Newsprint can be made to look old with little effort. Start by wadding the paper up into a ball. Spread the paper out again; try not to smooth all the wrinkles out. Thin down light brown, antique brown, or black acrylic paint with water in a shallow dish. Using old rags or a sponge brush, cover the crumpled newsprint with the paint. Do this lightly and wipe away any excess paint. The paint will make the paper look old and wrinkled. Let dry and then use as needed. You can even smudge the edges of the paper with a brown pigment ink pad. A little goes a long way. Play around with different colors and different techniques on scratch paper until you get the effect you want. You can even use solid brown/black shoe polish to get an aged look. I don't know if the poster board could be balled up enough to make it look old but maybe it will work with some practice. Good luck.

Answer 3

hmm...
well if you are typing it up then i suggest you type it on just a regular printer paper first. idk for sure but printing on it might not work bc the paper gets harder and not smooth after the tea bag thing- making it harder for it to go through the printer. but if you plan to use like a ink pen and write it by hand then definetly make it look old and crumbly first. bc u dont want the ink to run.

ok make tea. take a tea bag and boil it in water so the color is distributed evenly. and then spread the water out in a pan that you paper can lay flat in. and pour the tea into it. then lay the paper flat and press it inside so the water is completely soaking it. let it rest for like 10-15 mins and then pour the tea out. (dont drink it...its just gross. lol) this is where its better to use a thick paper bc when you take it out you have to be careful not to rip it bc the paper is "weak". let it dry over night or put it under a lamp or something. i didnt blow dry mine bc...well idk why but i just didnt. u can try it out i guess. then if you want you can burn the paper at the edges. or just leave it yellowish.

hmm...now that i think on it i have some cranberry tea that turns red when you put the bag in water. i wonder what would happen if i used that. and it smells nice...

Answer 4

If you wet any common type of paper,then dry it,it will wrinkle and appear older.A small amount of bleach in the water will make it crumbly...Then you can soak it in diluted coffee to give it an aged look.Scorching the edges a bit will help too.

Answer 5

parchment paper? that always looks old.... how many papers do you need? if you only need a couple then if you crumbl up a paper then uncrumble it an repeat the process a few times.. then iron it out with a iron on a low setting... it will look yellow an old... if the size doesnt matter fold the papers in half for a small book. seems old books can be small anyway

Answer 6

my daughter had to do this too.
she crumbled up paper and then flattened it out.
i made a pot of coffee and poured some into a cookie sheet.
we laid the flattened paper in the cookie sheet for about an hour, and then let it dry naturally.
the papers came out perfect.

Answer 7

Write on it first, then expose it to sunlight and steam it, there's lots of ways just experiment, irons are usefull so's a lighter get the flame close but don't let the flame touch the paper that will create colour change on the paper. Try using different inks as well, I forget the name of the Idian ink thats best.

Answer 8

Scrunch up some resume paper that's ivory in color (make sure it doesn't have a watermark in it, the ivory will make it appear as though the paper has aged over time). Burn the edges slightly using your stove, match, or lighter.

Answer 9

parchment is actually animal hide actually back then they didn't use much paper they mainly used animal hide so if your going for forgery you would use animal hide not paper and id stain it with some very strong coffee with cream then leave it out for a week outside you should make several copies of the thing choose the one u like best and burn the rest

Answer 10

You can soak in tea or coffee before you write on it. Then, once you've written on it, you can crumple it up a little, and even burn the edges with a match...just don't let the whole thing go up in flames.