Want to give some white paper an antique makeover? This post is going to walk you through all of the steps on how to make paper look old with tea.
Whether you are making a vintage craft project, helping your child with a school project, or just getting creative this is a fun way to design with paper.
Supplies needed to make paper look old with tea
This tea stained paper craft is easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of expensive craft supplies – in fact, you probably own these items already!
- White paper
- Black tea
- Plastic or metal basin
- Towel
- Paintbrush (Optional)
For the photos in this post, I used thin white paper, like printer paper. However, you can also use other types of paper like cardstock as well.
How to make paper look old: 3 easy steps to make this tea stained paper craft
1. Brew some tea
The first step in how to make paper look old with tea is to brew the tea! Black tea works the best for this tea stained project because it will give the best vintage color.
Boil 2 cups of water and steep 2-4 black tea bags for about 5-10 minutes. Once the tea is done steeping, pour it into a flat plastic or metal basin where you can soak the paper. You’ll want to find something that is big enough for the paper to lay flat inside. I used a Tupperware container I already had around the house, and it worked great!
To avoid making a mess, I also recommend putting a towel underneath the basin to protect the table or workspace you are using.
2. Soak paper in the tea for desired time
The next step in how to make paper look old with tea is to soak the paper in the tea. The amount of time you soak the paper is directly correlated with how dark the paper will be. So if you want a slight vintage tone, soak the paper for a few minutes. If you desire a darker look, increase the amount of time.
Here is an example of the difference between soaking paper for 10 and 20 minutes:
While the paper is soaking, you can use the paint brush (or another utensil) to move the paper around inside the tea and make sure that it is completely submerged the entire time.
3. Let the paper dry
Lastly, you will let your tea stained paper dry. There are a few different methods to dry the paper, and each one will give the craft a different effect.
Paper drying technique #1: Air dry
One option is to let the paper air dry, which will give it a naturally vintage look. Set the paper on a towel or paper towel to dry – flipping it over halfway through so both sides can air dry evenly.
Paper drying technique #2: Press the paper flat
Another option is to press the paper flat by putting it between two towels and setting a heavy book on top. This technique will make the paper look smoother.
Paper drying technique #3: Crinkle dry
And then the third option is to crinkle the paper while it is still wet and unfolding it once it is dry. This technique really adds a vintage touch to the paper. Biggest tip for crinkle drying is to be careful when you unfold the paper to avoid ripping it or damaging it by accident.
This photo will give you an idea of what each paper drying technique will look like:
Other techniques you can use to make paper look old with tea
The steps above will give you great results for dyeing paper with tea, but there are also some additional techniques you can use to make the paper look antique.
Ripping the edges of the paper will help add that old effect and make it look like this paper has been around for a long time.
Or, if you are looking to get a more yellow tone to your paper you can add spices to the tea before soaking the paper for some extra pigment. For example, adding curry powder before soaking the paper will help make the paper look even more yellow.
Lastly, you can also soak different parts of the sheet of paper for different amounts of time to give it an ombre or varied look. When the color intensity isn’t evenly distributed across the paper it can look even older. Another way to do this would be to use your paintbrush to paint the tea on to the paper in different amounts.
Can you dye paper with words or designs already on it?
A common question when looking at how to make paper look old with tea is whether or not the tea will ruin any words or designs on the paper already.
Yes, you can dye paper that has words or designs on it, but you’ll want to make sure that it’s permanent ink and test a small piece. And of course – if it is an irreplaceable piece of paper, proceed with caution.
For example, in the photo above there were already words written in pen on the paper before soaking it in the tea and it did not run or come off in the process.
That is how to make paper look old with tea!
Now that you have your tea stained paper, you can use it for whatever tea stained paper craft you’d like. Follow the steps in this post and you’ll have some antique styled paper in no time.
Comment below with your favorite techniques to make paper look old.