How can I make paper look old ?

Question

I have a school project where i have to make a colonial newspaper. First, i was thinking of making white posterboard look old, and then printing out news articles on printing paper and then making that paper look old. Then i'm going to glue on the articles to the old posterboard. How can I make white posterboard and white paper look old?

Answer 1

I would try dipping the paper in tea, and then letting it dry. You could dry it in the oven too if you are careful! :)

Answer 2

I'm an interior designer and have actually done this many times. Print the info first, but best to use a laser printer or the print will "run" and smear when you make the paper look old. Make a cup of strong tea and use a small piece of towel to dip into it and blot onto the printed paper. You can crumple the paper to create fold lines which will soak up the tea more than the flat paper. Make sure you vary the intensity of the tea stains. If you want to create edges that look old, while the paper is still wet from the tea, tear portions around the edges of the page (the wet paper will sort of "feather" where torn. I've even see people take a candle and lightly singe the edges (be careful not to let it catch fire) while the paper is wet.

Answer 3

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 4

First i would crumple the paper up to give it a distressed texture. then i would dampen it with a solution of tea, ( the stronger the tea the darker the color will be) then use the tea bag to blot darker pigments here and there on the paper, so its not just one uniform color, the wrinkles will also collect more pigment and become slightly darker than the other areas giving you some contrast. then a good way to dry it is to lay it out on a screen, just pop one out of a window for a day lay each side on a few stacked books or something to elevate it while leaving the screened area open in the middle so the air can reach both sides surrounding the paper so that it drys quickly and evenly. If you want the edges to appear tattered u can pick and rub at them while the paper is still wet. And making areas of the edges darker than the rest will also help add to that aged and distressed look. Oh and be sure to give the screen a quick wipe w a damp rag as they tend to be dusty or dirty. Good luck...

Answer 5

I did this in high school for a report on the constitution.

Lightly dampen the paper with strong coffee, then put the paper in the microwave on a low setting until the corners start to curl just a bit. Let the paper continue to air dry for an hour or so, and then put the paper in the oven on a low setting, perhaps 200 degrees or so, for just a few minutes. After that, lightly and quickly hit the edge of the paper with an iron on a very low setting. This will yield a near perfect aged-looking paper.

Answer 6

Ok, since it posterboard paper, you cant really crinkle it up, but i have a good idea.

Wet a few tea bags, and gently rub them on the paper. It should leave light tan brown color behind. If you want, lightly burn the edges with a lighter. you can even rub it with sandpaper if you want;, lol.

Good Luck! i used those methods for a project and my paper turned out looking authentic and old. Hope I Helped!

Answer 7

I did a project like that. I had to make a diary of an old explorer. This is what i did : Basically you can make a pot of tea or coffe and put it in a large pan like a cookie sheet or something and then soak the paper in there. That way it gives it the old color look. Then take the paper out (one by one) and use a hair dryer on a low setting and dry the paper. That makes it a lil wrinkled to. Then you can take a lighter and burn like the edges (lightly) dont hold the lighter there. You can kind of use the lighter to also make holes in it in certain places. Mine turned out great. good luck!

Answer 8

first put some lemon or lime in the edges of the paper then with a lighter passed under the paper an is gonna turn brown
another good way to do it is with coffeee yes coffe, put in one of those foil paper trades some coffeee ( make it in the coffe maker or buy one on the gas station or McDonald's) any way then make the paper get wet and let it dry you r gonna have an antique look paper

Answer 9

1.) use an ivory (not white) colored parchment paper that you can find at an office depot or office max.
2.) you can burn the edges, but then it just looks like it went through a fire and isnt necessarily old. go with business boy - try staining just small parts of it with cola (i was going to say smoke and blow the smoke all over it, but you're probably not old enough and it would probably just make the paper smell and give you cancer before it made the paper look old). be careful not to use too much because then it will just become warped and gross.

Answer 10

One trick used by counterfeiter: take thick paper , crumble it, and than throw coffee and coffee grind on it. Let soak for a few minutes and than wipe the grind form the paper and let it dry. With a bit of practise this can produce very convincing results.

Answer 11

use a tea stain.
brew a very strong pot of tea (depending on how dark you want the finished product to look 3-8 times the amount you'd use for normal cup of tea), and brush this on the paper. let dry completely.

for an added look of old, crumple the paper first, or, crumple it, then soak it in the tea, then unfold and let it dry.