Vrenith and I have embarked on an quest.
On a whim, yesterday, I searched 'how to age paper' on Google and found several sites. After all, aged paper is pretty cool, aye? It gives way to imagining treasure maps and burnt letters...
After experimenting for a while, Vren and I settled on a way to age and yellow paper, a combination of several other ideas we have found.
SUPPLIES:
-Paper
-Coffee
-Used coffee grounds (optional)
-Some sort of pan (with 'walls')
Take the paper and stick it in the pan. If wanted, crumple the paper for a different effect. Take some coffee and soak the paper in it (whether by pouring the coffee over it or otherwise). Let it soak for a bit. If wanted, take the coffee grounds and gently rub it into the paper in certain spots, AFTER the coffee has been drained. (Too much rubbing will tear the wet paper.) The amount of grounds you rub into the paper will determine how dark the paper is. If you're looking for 'age' don't rub too much into the paper. If you are looking for really old and worn paper, rub more into the paper. Don't use too much of the grounds, or else the paper will not look realistic.
After this is done, turn the oven on a low temperature and dry the paper. Another option would be to just let it sit out on a counter for a while, where it will dry naturally. It also dries fairly fast if you put it out into the sun (a personal favorite of mine). Once the paper is dry, brush off the coffee grounds. Keep in mind that the other side of the paper will not be as dark as the front side, and there will be no 'age stains' from the coffee grounds. I like to do it over again with the other side after the front is finished. (Doing it repeatedly to the same piece of paper will darken it more, so if you aren't satisfied with the color of the paper, try doing it again.)
Keep in mind that any print or writing that is on the paper should be done beforehand. If you do have printing or writing on the paper, go easy on the coffee grounds. I learned that the hard way. :P
You should try it sometime. It really does look interesting. I 'dyed' one of my maps (a copy, don't worry) and it turned out nicely. It now adorns my dresser, with a white chunk of paper partially underneath it for contrast.
Have fun. :) It really doesn't take that much work--just some leftover coffee and coffee grounds and paper. Improvise if you are lacking in some of these materials.
--
Jake
8 comments:
@ Jake,
Nice, that would actually look quite interesting on a map specially for a book! Thanks for the great idea and I will be sure to use it sometime soon for some type of purpose...:P
~Son of the King~
Aye. Maps look VERY good when aged.
Oh this is COOL! I shall have to try it sometimes even though I dislike coffee so much I hate it...maybe this will change my mind?
Thanks Jake!
Jessica
Besides smelling, this is definitely the best use for coffee out there. Well, that and coffee cake. I'm making myself hungry.
Ooh.. haven't tried it that way yet ;-) I used to use different types of tea and paint them on with a butter brush. The different types of tea would give a nice affect. Coffee would make it interesting, though.
I used to rumple and crumple my maps, so they all looked really old, but I've never been involved enough to use coffee/tea/burn the edges with a candle. Sounds awesome, though. Will you guys take pictures so we can see??
Hmmm...that is a good idea.
One way I have done it before it to take a couple matches, light em and set fire to the corners of the paper, blowing it out in a few seconds (or milliseconds) :)
But I might have to try it this way sometime.
Thanks for the idea!
-Isaac
I did that with a copy of the map of The Realm (the Door Within Trilogy) that I drew and inked.
Post a Comment