DIY: How to Age Paper

Hello there.  😉
Today, I'm going to give a tutorial on how I age paper.  There are a few ways of doing this that I'll talk about, but I'll focus mainly on my method.
First off, the paper itself!
My paper of choice?  Doodle paper.   You know, that thin, off-white, tissu-ey paper you probably got when you were a kid?  That stuff.  I was surprised how well it actually worked, since it seems so fragile.  Printer paper doesn't work well- it rips and falls apart too easily.  Construction paper works all right, but, for whatever reason, it crinkled up as it dried and was unusable for it's intended purpose.  Poster board works pretty well.  It's thick which makes it harder to work with, but it takes age pretty well.
Medium of choice?  Coffee.  Alternatives include tea and dirt.  I haven't tried the dirt method, but apparently you bury the paper for a few days/weeks and then dig it up and boom!  Aged paper!  Coffee, obviously, is quicker, and so is tea.  Coffe turns out more brown, and tea is more yellow.
Alright, now.  You'll need-
Paper
Coffee/Tea
Two coffe filters (if using coffee)
A cup half filled with warm water
A tub, sheet pan, sheet of aluminum foil, or something to keep the coffee/tea from going everywhere
WARNING: avoid carpeted areas while doing this project!
(ask me how I know...)

Ok, so looking through the pictures now, they're terrible.  Oh well.  I want to get this post up finally, so picture free it is!
If using coffee, put the grounds into two filters and tie off with a rubber band.  Now, put the satchet in the water.  You're basically brewing a really, really, really cruddy cup of coffee here.  Let it "steep" for a minute, then start dabbing it on your paper, which should be in your container of choice.  You don't want a ton of just brownish water.  I find that squeezing the darker "coffee" out of the filter itself stains better.  
Now, this is what I do, though it does create a rougher finish- before aging the paper, crumple it into a ball a few times and smooth it out.  You'll get a nice texture this way.  You can also do this while the paper is wet, but it's going to be more prone to tearing.
You can also replace the coffee with a tea bag, and the procedure is the same.  The result is definitely yellower though.  

Hopefully you can see the difference- the tea stained paper is on the left, and the coffee on the right.  I have to say, the coffee staining is my favorite.  I use the paper for bookmarks, maps, card, decoupage, etc, etc, etc.  Be creative with it!!

See you soon!  👐💓😏😕😾😰😞