Tea Dying paper

[Grammatina]

Has anyone had luck making paper look old by tea or coffee dying it? I have some primitive stamps that I want to put on a more "aged" background. I used to do it on fabric but never paper. Any help would be appreciated.

[Dorie95]

I'm not sure about making your own tea died paper but Tim Holtz Distress Ink works by sponging it on the paper. I use the Distress Oxide "Vintage Photo". Normally I sponge around the edges of the card or image but surely you could use it anywhere on the paper.

[Cook22]

I've certainly dyed lace with tea. Check out the coffee painting tutorial...it shows using a weak dilution of coffee for a background wash. It won't be archival since coffee is acidic, I think, but for cards that's not an issue.

Coffee Painting Tutorial - Splitcoaststampers

[Grammatina]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the coffee painting tonight and if that doesn't work will look for the Tim Holtz when I get to a store.

[cookie1031]

I've done cardstock and tags with coffee and tea. When I've done it I've let the paper or tags soak for a day or even just overnight. Then just lay out on old towels to dry. Turns out great.

[contrapat]

Found this online- looks interesting:

How to Age Paper Using Tea (with Pictures) - wikiHow

[Conniecrafter]

Thank you Contrapat for that link, I have always wanted to try this

[poppydarling]

I have just taken cotton or a paper towel and dabbed cold black tea onto the paper and dried with my heat tool--really like the look of it and it's much easier!

[dmcg]

Thanks for the link, contrapat! I was just wondering how to do this when I was making Christmas cards. I ended up blending a couple of Tim Holtz Distress Inks and spritzing it on the paper. It worked well enough but I want to try this technique and see how it works out.

[stampin stacy]

It occurred to me while reading thru this thread that something I saw while shopping might help those who want to dye several sheets at once. I saw a plastic tub/container at a TJMaxx/Marshalls that has a sink style drain in the bottom of it.

You could fill it with coffee or tea, lay your papers in it and when done dying them just reach underneath and pull the drain stopper to let your "dye" drain out through the bottom.