Teeda, I too have heard of using Mod Podge with pigment added. I would guess using a bit of water based craft paint would work to tint it just a bit. You could experiment on something similar before you actually used the print itself. Mod Podge is meant for decoupage so you shouldn't have to worry about it ruining the print.

I hope the person, or persons that have done this before see this and help you out. I remember reading it here too, but don't remember who it was that did it.

~Becky

Tea has been used to antique things also.

Here's one link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Tea Staining Technique

I really wouldn't recommend anything very watery - like watercolor, way thinned paint, or tea. Really truly. There is no telling how much the cardboard will soak it up, or if it will permanently and nastily warp or buckle.

The tinted modge podge would be fine, or, what I do is just put the acrylic medium (doesn't have to be Modge Podge, any acrylic gloss or matte or gel medium will work) straight on the cardboard itself, then when it is dry, paint it with thinned out paint - so you can wipe it off to get the look you want. This will give you more control over the final result, more even staining, and it protects the cardboard from warpage. I've done this a lot on everything from altered books to paintings on wood. If the cardboard warps, just give the back of it a coat of the medium also and it should level out.

Alternatively, the acrylic medium base plus a few spritzes of walnut ink works too, if you have access to any. A little bit goes a long way, so the little spritz bottle of this stuff has lasted in my classroom (I'm an art teacher) several years.
Good luck making your antique!

I just did this. My MIL sent me a print of a Basset Hound wearing a hat. (I'd actually been wanting an oil painting of a Basset set on a black backdrop, but she came *really* close, bless her heart!)

It too came in a cheap plastic frame, and had a plexiglass "glass" cover.

I bought a frou frou frame from Hobby Lobby and Mod Podge specifically designed to make prints look like oils. I actually just painted the Mod Podge over the details of the painting to give it some variation.

It still doesn't look like an oil painting, but it's 10 times better than what it was, and it'll do until I can find an actual Basset oil!

Reno Fan -- Excellent job!!! Quite amazing!

Jan

Teacats, I take that as quite a compliment from you! Your home and artwork are among my very favorites.

I did what Reno fan did.....just use a paint brush and "paint" the Mod Podge on the "canvas", following the lines and curves of the already painted lines, etc. I didn't color the Mod Podge (after all, the color is already there in the print).

I couldn't find a frame I liked and therefore never hung this project. Mostly it was an experiment because I'd heard about it and had all the materials to try it, including the cheap picture.

{{!gwi}}

WOW --- some gorgeeeeous examples in these photos!!!

Over the years I've experimented several times with 'aging' a cheapy print.
The technique I ended up liking best (and was the easiest. lol) is the one using clear spray sealer.
Please, please keep in mind ----Below might not be the proper way but for me, after experimenting, I found it to be the easiest and most consistent-looking.

I used a box cutter and cut a couple large pieces of cardboard then taped them together, quite a bit larger than the print. Now I had a large flat surface where I could use bulletin board push pins to secure the four corners of the print.
(My last print had been rolled up so long that I ended up having to re-roll it in the opposite direction and leave it wrapped with rubber band for a couple days.)

I used Krylon Clear Spray and lightly, very lightly went over the whole print, holding my hand/spray can a little over a foot above the print and using a sweeping motion with the spray.
Once dry I went over it very lightly a second time.
This seals the print, keeps the colors from running when combined with a water base antiquing, and really helps with mistakes if you've put too much antiquing on an area of the print---it's much easier to wipe off with damp cloth.

Any brand 2 oz. Acrylic craft paint in brown---depending on the aging you want you'll get a lighter or darker brown.
Any brand 2 oz. sealer in Matte or Satin (sealers will look white in the bottle & no higher than a Satin sheen as anything shinier will show every boo-boo)

Mix one part brown to 3 parts sealer in paper cup.
With a chippy brush do a slip-slop stroke and brush the brown onto the print.
With a damp terrycloth rag, start wiping off the brown in either a wiping/cleaning form or a pouncing form. Pouncing will give you lots of faux 'texture' and wiping will give an all-over aging appearance.
If you want more of the aging removed, go over it again with a cloth that is a bit damper (damper? lol).

For more 'texture' I used Liquitex Matte Gel Medium--adding a blob of it to the paper cup and instead of slip-slopping the mixture on the print I used brush strokes, like using crayons to color in the lines.

Let the print dry completely while it's still attached to the cardboard (I left mine a whole day on the dining room table)
Because you added the brown craft paint to a craft sealer there will be no need to seal the print after the aging has dried.
Done.

Wonderful tips above! I have sealed, then create the brush strokes on the detail with ModPoge one outline at a time to build the depth, then a thin coat of crackle followed by a tint or metalic rub in the crackle. Have fun with it!

Thanks so much for the advice, everyone! Reno_fan, that Basset Hound "painting" is incredible! I love looking at anything you create--you are one gifted lady! Tracey b, your painting is lovely too. Hope you find a frame someday so you can hang it.

Amity, I think your technique is exactly what I'm looking for. In addition to texture I also need to "darken" this print a bit. It was obviously "lightened" in the printing process, probably to work better with the antique white frame that it came with (the framed print is from 1969). I'm trying to make this look like an old oil landscape that would benefit from a cleaning (the few old oils that I do own have this look, LOL!). Thanks especially for providing the exact materials needed. This will be my project this week. I will post the before/afters (assuming it is successful).

Seems like there is hardly a decorating question that ever goes unanswered on this board!
Teeda

Oh, Reno, I loooove that pic!! Your MIL gets an A+ in my book!

What Amity says. Although I never mixed proportionately as she has recommended 3:1 ratio which sounds good. I just "dinked" around with it. Now that formula sounds good.

Also, please use a GREAT paintbrush. I ruined an authentic presidential inauguration invitation by using a cheap brush. I could never get the brushies out of it. It just looks like a homemade job, which it was but I had not intended it to look that way.

Reno, great work and great MIL.

I added water based stain to a water based poly, and it worked and looks like brush strokes. A half-and-half mixtue of glaze/stain would work the same.

I LOVE the Basett portrait! I have a collection of 'dressed' dog pictures i'll be hanging in my new house. Do you know if this one has a name, and is it signed by an artist?