What do u have to do to make a piece of paper to look old?

Question

I’m doing an assignment in history, when u have to do diary entries in world war I.. it’s got to be realistic.. I tried to soak paper, in coffee, so it’ll turn brown, it didn’t work.. what should I do??

Answer 1

I think it is more the kind of paper than anything. I just looked a couple of old book copyrighted in the 1930's. They are both is very good shape and probably haven't but once or twice. You can tell they are old books because the printing is different, the edges are colored different, and the cover just doesn't modern. However, I can't tell that they have aged at all.

On eBay you can buy an old leather bound diary. If you really want to get fancy, buy some parchment paper and have it rebound. That may not be expensive.

Better yet go to antique stores and old book stores and ask for old diaries. Some will be mostly blank pages and it is also possible to remove the old ink with a type of bleach or ink remover. Then you will have an old authentic blank diary that you can fill out.

Finally, just buy an old diary from WWI, it will already have the entries in it. For example, this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/World-War-I-Diary-by-Red-Cross-Worker-in-France-a_W0QQitemZ300136057975QQihZ020QQcategoryZ13976QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

Answer 2

Use the tea if that suits you, but having done this, I found that squeezing a lemon and letting small drops fall here and there on the paper and then place it in a hot oven just long enough to let it turn colour to a convincing shade of brown. Not too much or it will become impossibly brittle. It is the acid in the manufacture of paper that turns it brown and makes it brittle. Cheap paper (paperback books) turns more quickly. Even very old books, if done on good quality paper, are very little affected by age.

Answer 3

tear the edges of the paper...use old tea bags to set on the paper to make it look old...then crumple it you can also take a match and singe the edges to really make it look old...make sure to have the tea bags sit on the paper and different amounts of time so that some places are lighter than others so it really gives off the effect...You can go to the craft store and buy a piece of paper or how many you need as well if this doesn't work the way you want it too.

Answer 4

Burn the edges with a lighter and stomp it out before it gets the whole paper. Crinkle it up a few times, maybe try soaking it in soda instead of coffee.

Answer 5

I discovered while experimenting for a project that if you soak paper in just enough lemon juice to get your paper wet and to slightly cover the bottom of the pan for about ten minutes and put in the oven at 350 for about ten more minutes the paper looks old and it gives the edges a slightly charred look.

Look at this site for more tips:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper-Look-Old

Answer 6

Crumple the paper really well, then flatten it out. Mix up some ammonia, bleach, and alcohol in a pan, then soak the paper overnight in this solution.

Answer 7

make some strong tea, not coffee, and lay the piece of paper in the tea and then take it out and hang it up carefully and let it dry. another option is to go to the office supply shop or craft shop and just buy some ecru coloured parchment paper; that stuff already looks old.

Answer 8

take a pretty thick piece of paper, and i put it in the oven low for a couple of minutes, then take a match and burn the side up a little bit. Hope that works!

Answer 9

oooh!!put it in some coffee beans to make it a lil brown then get the lighter and burn the edges of the paper make sure yu blow it out b4 yu burn the whole paper good luck!

Answer 10

How old?

Try burning the sides, it'll look really dungeonish, don't use white papers. Use dark brown papers if you have them.