Creating Prop Crates

Artist Paul Roman Martinez shares how he created some very nice prop ammunition crates.

"Then I needed to make the label look like it had been sitting on the crate for decades. I printed out the label on presentation paper. Photo paper would fall apart in the next step and regular paper wouldn’t have provided a clear image. Then I boiled some water and put some tea bags in it, getting it nice and dark. Above are the tools I used. A blow dryer, a couple towels, tea, and a wooden spoon. I dipped the paper in the tea and as I held it for a couple seconds I could actually see when the tea began to be absorbed. I pulled the paper out of the liquid and blotted it dry then dried it for a few seconds with the blow dryer. Not all the way dry, just not soaking wet. The reason for that has to do with the next step."