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Aging & Antiquing
Technique And Tips
Supplies Needed
Paper
Antiquing Gel: This is a liquid that is brushed on and then rubbed off leaving a thin film that makes an object look older. There are a variety of colors from white to black.
Steeped Tea: Place several tea bags into a bowl and add hot water. You want at least 3 tea bags to each cup of water. In other words, you want a strong batch of tea. Avoid teas that don’t give rich color like green teas.
Chalk Inks: A pigment ink that is usually light in saturation and hue.
When dry, it leaves a chalky like finish. Usually lightly sponged onto
antique a paper.
Acrylic Paints: Watered down to an inky consistency. Colors of dark blue, patina green, rust, black and burnt umber work best on light color paper while white, light gray and light blue work best on dark colors. Plus an old hard bristle tooth brush.
Fine Grit Sandpaper or Emery Board
Step-by-Step
6 Ways to Age, Antique or Distress
- You can ball up the paper and then smooth out. The more you crumple it, the more aged it will look. You’ll have a paper with a fine webbing of age lines. For a more polished look, iron the distressed paper.
- Spray a mist of strong tea onto the paper and iron it. The straining will make the paper look old. Repeat misting until the paper is aged to your perfection.
- Use fine grit sandpaper or emery board and sand lightly over different areas of your paper.
- Lightly sponge chalk ink over paper in aged colors like mustard, brown, rust, black or patina green. Keep adding color until happy. Light layering of color works best. A final dab of metallic ink adds richness to the antiquing.
- Lay background paper or scrapbook page on newspaper or other work surface covering. Dip old toothbrush into watered down acrylic paint. Flick toothbrush with your thumb and this sends a fine mist of paint over the paper. Repeat until you are happy. This technique is called speckling paper. Most craft acrylic paints are acid free.
- For hard surfaces like charms you can age the item by using antiquing gel. You will rub or brush on a small amount of the gel and then immediately brush the gel off with a paper towel. The gel will stick in the cracks and crevices to give the item an antique look.
Maria Nerius is a Professional Crafter, Author, and Contributing Writer and Columnist to industry trade journal, Craftrends.
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