How to tint book pages a darker color?
by
Pam Lane
+10
It's me again. Thanks to your help, I've figured out how to manipulate book pages to make these. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to darken (tea dye?) some of the books' pages so I have some of these that are darker, for contrast as shown in the photo. I hope what I'm asking is undstandable...
You can use coffee or tea. And different teas will create different shades of color.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLI_MKRGpqQ
Did you try coffee? That is darker than the tea.
coffee stains very well. soak each page in coffee in a cookie sheet then dry well before rolling, I have done this for many projects similar to this one
I am not sure that I would submerge the flowers. I would worry too much about the flower loosing its form. Make your coffee dye in a dish and then use a paint brush or stain sponge and apply it to the book flower. BTW that is beautiful!
I'd love to see photos of what you've done!
Wow, that is beautiful! I would imagine it takes you quite a while to do. I would try aging the paper prior to doing the beautiful shapes. Also lightly wetting some sheets then putting them out in the sun may darken them a bit. I think you just experiment with tea and coffee...
Maybe you could put the tea/coffee in a spray bottle?
I made a strong tea solution and immersed my "book flower" for about five seconds. I then let it drip for a minute and placed it on a cookie sheet in the oven. I "baked" it for 40 minutes at 225 degrees, then set the cookie sheet on the counter so the "book flower" could continue drying. It has been almost 24 hours and it is not yet completely dry. I stuck a the handle of a long-handled wooden spoon in each "petal" group to open them and separate the pages. Feedback?
I'm glad your project worked! I think you did a great job. Maybe you could try a very light stain like you would use on wood or even stain paint (I have some and it just stains not really colors whatever I use it on) and either lightly spray it or use a brush. Try it on a piece of newspaper first. Also, if you don't want to use the oven, try drying it with a hair dryer. Congrats....looks great!
Have You tried the Ranger Distress Ink Pads and a Brayer......Antique Linen,
Frayed Burlap, Walnut....these are just a few of the inks I use regularly to age My Greeting Cards. You have control of the strength of the ink ( full/rolled off a bit on scrap paper). It is a very easy and pretty application to paper that does not require soaking it and potentially destroying something really special.
Just a thought......
Blessings on this lovely long weekend,
Michelle