How to Make Yellowed Paper

Make a sheet of paper look aged with tea bags.

Over time, the chemicals in paper begin to break down, causing the paper to become yellowed and brittle. If you want to re-create this aged effect, you can use tea or coffee to make paper yellow and an oven to make it brittle. Write what you want on the paper before you begin aging it, so you won't damage the paper.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Oven
• 1 cup of tea or coffee
• Cookie sheet
• Instant coffee (optional)
• Spatula

Instructions

1. Write or type on your piece of paper before you begin the yellowing processes.

2. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

3. Make a cup of strong tea. You can do this by leaving the tea bag in a mug of hot water for 10 to 20 minutes or squeezing the wet tea bag into the mug to release as much tea as possible. You can also use green tea bags for a lighter effect or a cup of coffee for a darker effect.

4. Place your sheet of paper on a cookie sheet.

5. Pour tea over the entire sheet of paper, making sure it is saturated on both sides.

6. Sprinkle a small amount of instant coffee on the sheet of paper. This create darker "age spots." If you don’t want the darker spots, you can skip this step.

7. Rub the edges of the paper with your finger to create a worn effect, if you wish. Because the paper is wet, it will fray and tear easily.

8. Place the cookie sheet in the oven until the paper has dried. This should take about 6 minutes.

9. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven.

10. Remove the sheet of paper from the cookie sheet using a spatula or other thin, flat tool.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different types of herbal teas for various color effects.

References

• ARTcare; Why Does Paper Turn Yellow?; Laura Stirton Aust
• Me vs. the House: How to Make Paper Look Old by Aging It With Tea