How to Make a Paper Scroll for Props, Invitations, or Decoration

For centuries, people used paper scrolls to document information, much in the same way we use sheets of paper to document information today. Whether you want to make a scroll for a school project, for a party invitation, or just for fun, the process is super simple (and fun!). We spoke to professional arts and crafts specialists to show you how to age your paper and attach it to scroll rods to get the perfect ancient or mythical look you’re after. Keep scrolling (pun intended) to learn more!

How do you make a scroll?

Crafting expert Renee Day says you can age paper for a scroll by crumpling it up and soaking it in a tray of coffee for about 5 minutes. To finish assembling your scroll:

Dry the stained paper in the oven for 10 minutes at the lowest possible temperature.
Distress the edges by tearing, burning, or rubbing them with a dull razor blade.
Cut 2 dowel rods to be 2 in (5 cm) longer than your paper and decorate them (optional).
Roll the edges of the paper around the dowels and glue them in place.
Roll up the scroll around the dowels from both sides and tie with a string to secure.

Section 1 of 3:

Aging Your Scroll Paper

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1
Select your paper. You can use almost any type of paper to match your theme or aesthetic—colorful construction paper, drawing paper, or even plain printer paper. All of these can be aged later by soaking them in tea or coffee. If you don’t want to age your paper yourself, use a brown paper bag instead. Just cut a rectangle out of the bag, and voilà!
- Tape multiple pieces of paper together to make an extra-long scroll, if you want. Feel free to mix and match different colors, but make sure each piece of paper is the same size.^{[1]
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- If you’re feeling really fancy, try using real papyrus paper like the ancient Egyptians did!^{[2]
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- Tip: If you want to include typed text on your scroll, print it onto your paper now. You won’t be able to do it after you age your paper.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Renee Day is a crafting expert and content creator specializing in paper crafts, brush lettering, journaling, embossing, stamping, stenciling, doodling, and crocheting.

Claire Donovan-Blackwood is an arts and crafts specialist and CEO of Heart Handmade UK, a site dedicated to helping people live a happy, creative life.

Amy Guerrero is an arts and crafts specialist and owner of Sunshine Craft Co. with over 15 years of design experience in macrame, DIY crafting, and fiber arts.
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Crumple your paper to make it look wrinkled and aged. “What I find to be very helpful with [aging paper] is to crinkle up the paper, bunch it up, and then un-bunch it,” explains Day.^{[3]
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Renee Day
Crafting Expert

Expert Interview} So, spray your paper with a little water and crumple it into a ball. Then, smooth it out again. Crumple it a few more times for a more wrinkled appearance.^{[4]
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- Iron your paper very lightly if you want it extra flat.
- Stop here if you like the way it looks! If you want to stain your paper to make it look even older, keep going. (If you are using a brown paper bag, you don’t need to stain it.)
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Brew some coffee or tea to stain the paper. Age your paper by soaking it in either coffee or tea. Pick whichever one is most convenient for you, and brew enough to cover the sheet you want to age. (If you are younger, ask a parent for help.)^{[5]
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- Brew coffee in a coffee machine or use instant coffee. The darker the coffee, the better: “You really want to be generous with the coffee when you're stirring the mixture,” adds arts and crafts specialist Claire Donovan-Blackwood.^{[6]
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- To brew a strong cup of tea, soak at least three tea bags in a cup of hot water.^{[7]
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- Be sure to brew extra if you are aging multiple sheets.
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Apply the tea or coffee to the paper to stain it. “I’ll just pour [the coffee] into an 11x14 type of dish, and once I uncrinkle the paper, I’ll put the paper into the coffee and let it sit there for about five minutes or so,” Day explains.^{[8]
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Renee Day
Crafting Expert

Expert Interview} Or, you can “paint on the effect” by dabbing the paper with a sponge, painting it on with a paintbrush, or using teabags as an applicator, according to Donovan-Blackwood.^{[9]
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Claire Donovan-Blackwood
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Expert Interview} Just make sure the coffee or tea is not too hot so you don’t burn yourself.
- The paper will look a little darker when it’s dry, so stop applying the coffee or tea when it’s a couple of shades lighter than you want it.^{[10]
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- Add grains of instant coffee or flecks of tea to your paper for extra texture.
- Warning: “Make sure you don't completely soak the page, because if the paper gets too wet, it will disintegrate,” Donovan-Blackwood adds.^{[11]
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Hang up the paper or bake it at a low temperature to dry it. “You could let [the paper] air-dry, but I've found that putting the paper on low heat in the oven tends to make the coffee and crinkles more pronounced,” Day says. “I would put it on the lowest heat possible, like 170°F (77°C). Once it dries, which takes probably about 10 minutes or so, then it's ready to use.”^{[12]
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- If you’re air-drying the paper, hang it up with clothespins. If it’s nice out, hang it outside. You can also lay it flat on a clean surface to dry, but beware of staining.^{[13]
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- If your paper turns out too light, repeat the staining process until you achieve the shade you want.
- Weigh the dried paper down with a book or other heavy object if you want it flatter.^{[14]
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Distress the edges by ripping or burning them. You may want to make your paper look even older by distressing the edges. For example, burn the edges by lighting a match over a safe, non-flammable surface and waving it back and forth over the edges. Continue until you achieve the desired look, shaking and brushing away burnt edges. Alternatively, rip the edges with your fingers.^{[15]
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- Practice distressing the edges on a few scrap sheets of paper before attempting on your scroll paper. You don’t want to tear or burn away too much of the edges!
- You can also burn the edges using lemon or lime juice and a heat gun. Apply a little juice to the edges of the paper, then heat with the heat gun until you get the desired effect.^{[16]
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- Alternatively, roll up your paper into a tight scroll and brush the edges with a dull, discarded razor blade to roughen them up.

Section 2 of 3:

Assembling Your Scroll

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1
Write your message on your scroll paper. A black pen works best, especially for delicate, aged paper or paper bags, but feel free to use crayons or colored pencils if you want your scroll to be colorful! If you want to make an Egyptian-inspired scroll, consider including some hieroglyphics, the ancient Egyptian form of writing.^{[17]
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- Be careful when using paints or heavy markers, especially if you are using a paper bag. These can bleed through more delicate papers.
- Allow the ink to dry completely before moving on to the next step. After all, you don’t want to smear your writing or drawings!
2
Decorate two dowel rods to use as scroll rods. If you only want a simple scroll, just roll up your paper without rods and secure it with a knot of string, twine, or ribbon. For a more elaborate design, however, add a dowel to use as a “scroll rod” at each end of the paper (dowels are the sticks you sometimes see at the end of scrolls that make them easier to roll and unroll).^{[18]
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- Purchase two craft sticks or dowel rods from your local craft store to make your dowels. (For a small and casual scroll, you could even use chopsticks!) Cut or saw them to be about 2 inches (5 cm) longer than the width of your paper, if needed.
- To make the dowels appear older or more mythical, paint them a dark, neutral color like brown, black, or gray. Or, if you’re going for a more colorful vibe, decorate them with bright colors and glitter—whatever fits your vision!
- Decorate the ends of your dowels using ribbons, beads, or dowel caps, which can be purchased at your local craft store. Secure your decorations with hot glue.
- Let any paint or glue on your dowels dry completely before attaching the scroll paper.
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Glue the dowels to the ends of your paper. “Use craft glue, Mod Podge, or spray adhesive” to adhere the scroll to the wood, advises arts and crafts specialist Amy Guerrero.^{[19]
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Amy Guerrero
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Expert Interview} Place one dowel on the right end of your scroll, another on the left. (Make sure the side with the writing is facing up.) Wrap the edge of the paper inward around each dowel, so that the dowel is covered. Secure the dowel with your glue.
- “The issue you will most likely encounter is the paper bubbling or wrinkling,” Guerrero continues. “To avoid this, make sure to use a minimal amount of glue and smooth your paper out after you apply it.”^{[20]
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After the glue has fully dried, roll each side of the scroll around its dowel so that the two sides meet in the middle. If you aren’t using dowels, simply roll up your scroll from one end to the other, hot-dog style, making sure the writing is on the inside.
Select a piece of string, yarn, or ribbon, and tie it around your scroll. This is optional, but it can add a nice touch while keeping your scroll secure. Or, if you want to give your scroll a Medieval look, consider using a wax seal (this is especially fun to do if you’re pretending to be an ancient monarch, wizard, or high-ranking official).

Section 3 of 3:

How were ancient scrolls used?

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Scrolls were the first form of editable record-keeping texts. The ancients used scrolls just like we use books today—mainly for preserving or transmitting information and decoration. The first scrolls appeared in ancient Egyptian and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations, like Israel, Syria, and Babylon (the Hebrew Torah is an example of a famous ancient scroll). The Greeks and Romans adopted scrolls as well, but as time went on, scrolls became too cumbersome for lengthy works. This led the Romans to invent the codex (an early form of a book with separate pages instead of one long scroll).^{[21]
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- By the Middle Ages, scrolls had mostly disappeared. Short scrolls, called rolls, were still used in Europe for official treaties and international documents.
- Scrolls were also popular in the Islamic world and East Asian cultures like China, Japan, and Korea. Even after the codex was introduced, scrolls continued to be preferred for ceremonial or religious texts.

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Can I print this paper, so that it looks a bit neater, without actually writing on it?

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Yes. I you can find a template online, or go to the article, How to Make Paper Look Old, on this website.

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What is the difference between using coffee or tea during drying?

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Coffee leaves a heavier stain on the paper. Tea gives it a lighter, more elegant effect.

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Can I print on this paper using a printer?

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You can, but make sure the paper is completely dry before putting it in the printer.

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Be patient, and don't worry about perfection. Small rips, tears, or even inkblots can make your scroll seem more natural.

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Decide whether you want your scroll to look modern or ancient. For a modern look, you don’t have to age or distress your paper.

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Your scroll doesn’t have to look like the ones you see online! You can make a completely unique scroll, or combine features you like from many different scrolls.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

If you don't want to use coffee or tea, you can use water color.
Try using scissors that have grooves in them to make "tears."

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Warnings

Hot substances can be dangerous. If you are younger, have an adult help you prepare the tea, coffee, or hot glue. If you decide to burn the edges of your scroll, ask an adult for help as well.

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