DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper

DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper – learn how to easily turn regular paper into antique paper without using any special tools, only a few easy distressing techniques and an everyday heavenly scented ingredient!

Hello, friends! It’s time to get creative with another DIY project, this time I will be showing you how to make your own DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper! We will be turning regular paper into amazing antiques using one special ingredient and a few distressing techniques. I will be sharing all my secrets on how to give paper that old, distressed look (and feel) that we all love.

Even if you already have a favorite technique of distressing paper, I highly recommend trying my method too! ;) Why? Because the attention that we’ll be paying to all the small details, will converge into making a gorgeous, super authentic looking antique paper.

Yes, we could definitely say that this project is all about the details! But it’s also about having fun, enjoying the whole process and most importantly, learning how to reveal the true nature of your paper. It might sound like an overstatement, but experimenting with these easy distressing techniques will help you create DIY Antique French Ephemera paper … with character! :) It’s like breaking the personality (fiber in this case) of regular paper, then trying to discover what each piece wants to be :)  They will all be truly unique, that’s for sure and you will help them reveal their true personality – one could be simple and lovely, one could be more on the rebel side and one could be really stubborn. There will be moody ones too! :)

I wanted to try using a natural ingredient to keep things even more authentic and went with coffee as my distressing agent. There are a few things to keep in mind while you prepare your coffee, but also while you dilute it afterwards. It’s all about the small details, remember?

Your house will smell simply divine while working with all this coffee! That’s another great thing – involving as many of our senses as possible in everything that we do! This will ground us into the present moment even more and will make us appreciate this whole process on a greater scale. I have this problem sometimes, when I’m not really present in what I’m currently doing. Does this ever happen to you? I always feel like I have 1 million things on my mind – new projects, everyday chores that need to be done, to do lists on top of to do lists, food that needs to be prepped. I’m sure you know really well what I’m talking about! :) So I believe it’s really important to acknowledge this whole ‘where my mind actually is’ situation in the first place and try to find things that relax, but also anchor you. Things that help you take your mind off of all the tasks that need to be completed and bring you back to the present moment, where REAL life actually happens.
A lovely project like this can do that for me, especially one that gets me really involved and allows me to experiment. And have fun! :) And I found that when you try to be more present in the moment, you are even more appreciative when you see the final results.

Speaking of coffee, have you tried a French press just yet? I bought one a few months and I’m loving it! The truth is I actually bought it to see if I could make … frothy milk for my lattes! :) And it works, the froth turns absolutely AH-MAZING! Every single time!

I also love using it for steeping tea, but the coffee is pretty awesome too, so I ended up using the French press a lot more than expected.

DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper

Anyway, let’s get back to our beautiful project! :) Of course you can use my distressing technique on every type of paper that you have around.

But a free printable is always a good idea! :) I went with a few French ephemera postcards, two blank backgrounds and some French checks, all from the Graphics Fairy, as always.
And after performing all my distressing tricks on them, I was 100% convinced they were THE PERFECT choice! You will find a link at the end of this post that will take you to the free printable and the step by step instructions to make the project.

This magical elixir that we call coffee really managed to highlight all their amazing details, you will find yourself admiring them over and over again. You simply won’t believe you actually made these DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper beauties from regular paper!

regular paper | laserjet printer | coffee | French press (optional)| scissors | brush | paper towels| heat gun (optional)

You can choose to use the antique paper on so many different projects, I’m sure you already have quite a few in mind! :) Besides the obvious junk journals, art journals, backgrounds, tags or other distressed embellishments to include in your art work, I actually love using these ‘antiques’ as props in my photography! They make a great job in adding a little bit of a vintage flair here and there!

Here is a small before and after. Quite a transformation, don’t you think? :)

The best part about this project is that you get to experience how the paper metamorphoses right before your eyes – this is when the magic happens – so I would say that this is one of those projects that really fill your heart with joy! You will be in control all the time and you’ll be able to actually dictate your own terms when it comes to choosing your preferred distressing level. You can start with a light distress or go as crazy as you want, it’s all about experimenting and finding that sweet spot where paper`s true personality shows through.

Want to know the levels of distressing? :) Here they are:
1. Fairly cute but modest
2. Adventurous but not quite there
3. Crazy bold gorgeous and fearless

Now there is only ONE question remaining – which one would you choose? :)

I’m sharing the free printable and the step by step instructions on how to make these gorgeous DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper postcards and checks on The Graphics Fairy, as part of our collaboration ♥

Click HERE to learn how to make the DIY Antique French Ephemera Paper!

Don’t forget to smile,
Diana

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This post contains affiliate links so you can easily find the products I love.
See more of my favorites {HERE}.

~~~~~~~
Now you can also check my new Amazon shop –>click here
for more DIY, home decor & kitchen essentials, healthy stuff and more shopping ideas,
Dreams Factory’s style!
~~~~~~~~~~~