Words Look Wiser on Old Paper

I do love old things. My house is decorated with 15 century maps and photos of Eugene Atget. Below you will find how to easily put text on old paper. Start with the text and background.

Create new layer below text layer (Ctrl-Shift-N). Use selection and paint bucket tools to fill layer with desired color (but leave some margin).

use distortion filters to slightly distort the edges. I use EyeCandy ( http://www.alienskin.com ) Jiggle filter, it produces more hand-made looking results.

add some noise (filters > noise > add noise).

time for another filter. Go to filters > sketch > water paper and adjust its settings carefully so that original brightness of our paper is preserved. After filter is applied, press Ctrl-Shift-F (fade) and set filter opacity to around 50%.

The paper will look much better with some layer effects (double-click layer or go to layer menu > layer style > blending options). Shown here is the following style: * global angle = 90 degrees * outer glow = overlay 75% black, size 5px * inner glow = overlay 33% black, size 18px * gradient = linear burn 20%, black-to-white, reflected, angle 90

...and a small final touch to the text layer itself. Applied layer effects are: * general blend mode = overlay * outer glow: overlay 50% black, size 8px * color overlay: black, linear burn 33%