What is the Best, Safe and easiest way to make a Letter look old and burned?

Question:I have to make a letter look old back from 1917. I was planning to take a wet tea bag and tap it on the paper and for the side’s burn it, what else can I do?
T.!! I need your advice on this one, it’s for the Battle of Vimy Ridge project! ;-)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have to make a letter look old back from 1917. I was planning to take a wet tea bag and tap it on the paper and for the side’s burn it, what else can I do?
T.!! I need your advice on this one, it’s for the Battle of Vimy Ridge project! ;-)

Well I would take a pair of kitchen tongs and if you have an electric stove or hotplate, ELECTRIC, not gas, you heat the element until its red, then turn it off, as the flashpoint of paper is really low, with the tongs hold the paper about 2-3 inches over the hot buner until it starts to brown, if you add a tiny bit of milk or lemon juice on the paper near the edges it should even "toast" while doing this.
EXPERIMENT on a few pages of blank paper first!!!

Tear the sides, then dip the whole paper in tea. Allow to drip and air dry. Then take a paper towel dipped in strong tea, and run it along the sides, to give the sides a darker color. You can also iron the sides of the paper with an iron, just use the tip, so you dont end up with the circular steam images. Try a few versions with plain paper with no text on it. Then use the tea on the paper.

Walnut Ink makes old/vintage looking paper. You can get it at most craft stores or scrapbooking stores.

http://thepaperquilter.blogspot.com/2007...

get some brownish rubber stamping ink and like a dense sponge or a stenciling brush or something... test on similar paper to the letter... i would try ripping the corners a little and/or curling some of the edges, or something, maybe cut or rip some corners off or something... take your stamping ink, and whatever you're using to apply it, dab it in the ink, then dab most of it off on a papertowl or whatever to where you're just basicly using the dry-brush technique to rub the light layer of ink on the edges of the paper... as the ink on the brush gets lighter and lighter, you can even use it to blend the lightest of the ink all over the page... if you fold or wrinkle up the page a little you can also run the brush over that and it will be a little darker in those areas making it look more worn... i don't know if you were really trying to go that far, but i would suggest practicing with similar paper, once you feel like you've got the look you want, go ahead with the letter. :D Hope this helps