Creating Art with Tea Bags

As summer approaches and the sunshine is plentiful here in the 
desert southwest, I drink a lot of this...


Making sun tea here only takes a short time.
I've been using 6 regular size tea bags for the above container.
(I like a pretty strong flavor) 
You can add sugar or not, I enjoy it with a little mint leaves & lemon and 
sometimes an added sweetener. 


I started having so many tea bags and I've seen my friend Kimmie 
create art with them, so I thought I'd give it a try! 


I just let the bags completely dry, 


remove the tag & staple then open them up carefully and empty the tea.



Open the bags at the seam line and this is what you have, 
beautifully tea stained papers for collage, sewing, etc. 


Here, I used old dictionary book paper to create my flower design on water color paper.


 I painted the flowers with watercolors. 


Collaged torn tea bags onto the background, then stitched around 
each flower for dimension. 


This book mark I made using watercolors, stitching and a 
tea bag as a backing. 
I was inspired by my friend Linda
she recently posted about the beautiful lilacs growing in her garden. 






On this piece I only used watercolor.
Here, I was inspired by another blog friend, Pamela
she had lilacs she cut from her garden and placed them 
in a beautiful vase. 


I don't think lilacs grow very well in the desert, so I decided to just try to "paint" them. 


Thank you for all the beautiful inspiration out there!

Once again, I feel like I am getting behind in visiting all of you lovelies! 
I'm glad it's finally the weekend and I'll have a couple of days to myself to enjoy. 
So, I'll be by for a visit soon, and I'll bring the sun tea OK? 

Becca 

Comments

Anonymous said…
They're gorgeous! And what a lovely way to re-use and recycle.

DI
Anonymous said…
Great and very creative work!
Have a nice weekend:)
Lisa Gordon said…
And to think I have been throwing my tea bags away all this time! Truly you are so amazing Becca. Gorgeous, gorgeous work.

You have a wonderful weekend!
Pamela said…
Oh Becca I LOVE this !!! You painted my lilacs and jug so beautifully!!! You are so sweet to mention me!!
This is so creative and love the printed word in the flowers.
I'd love to have some sun tea with you...i will just add a tad of sugar please!!!

I am trying to recover from my shift last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are so beautiful. Love the colorful flowers.

hugs
Sissie
Susan said…
Very creative. I made sun tea today, so will try and see if I can save the bags for a project. Happy National Iced Tea Day!
So clever, Becca. Love it..
Neat idea Becca! I have tea dyed material using tea but never used the bags. Gorgeous.
Catherine said…
I like it! And well of course you know I like my tea so add that with a craft ~ well what could be better then that??

Very fun!

Happy Weekend Becca!
xo Catherine
Karen Larko said…
What a cool idea! It's beautiful!
Lynn Stevens said…
What a great use of the empty bags, you can also use the leftover tea to dye fabric, though you probably have already done that. Beautiful creations full of inspiration.
hugs Lynn

Enjoy your tea!
Awesome! Your projects are adorable and I love the recyling!
Aged so naturally, brought back some old forgotten ideas. Enjoy the weekend
Justine said…
wow that is so brilliant! how clever you are and I love your finished works, what a great idea. You can make mint tea by just adding mint to hot water.
andrea creates said…
these are beautiful! i always hate throwing out those bags~
we have some mint growing out in our garden -i think i'll make some sun tea ;)
Unknown said…
What a wonderful idea! You make it all look so simple, I just love the textures and your flowers against that stained background are so incredibly effective, just fabulous.
Unknown said…
What great how-to on the tea bags Becca! I have been too lazy to go into much explanation :) don't you just love the colors you get with the tea stains? And the paper is surprisingly strong too ..... You have a beautiful variety of results here .... Looks like you really got to PLAY!!
lilylovekin said…
It looks like a lot of work re-using tea bags, but well worth it. I love the lilacs you painted. They always remind me of growing up in Michigan, no they would not do well in the desert. Enjoy your week-end.
Judy S. said…
What a neat use for teabags! As for the contents, we went to a Georgian museum once in Bristol where they said the gentry let the house staff eat the used tea leaves on toast!? Your lilacs are beautiful and look nicer than our real ones do right at this moment. BTW, would you think harder? Our weather is back to cold and rainy. LOL
GardenOfDaisies said…
Becca, your tea bag art is really beautiful!!
Becca, that is such a seriously great idea! I've gotta try that one day. I've tried using crunched parchment paper soaked in strong tea, but what a lovely idea to not let the teabags go to waste. Those bookmarks are just gorgeous!
Brianne said…
Becca, You have inspired me to make sun tea again and to keep the tea bags to make for the collage pieces. My sister told me she had seen an art quilt from the same concept using tea bags. I love the idea of smaller pieces. Your burlap accents are sweet. Here's to being lost in creativity!! Peace. Brianne
Unknown said…
You are so clever my friend.. I just love all the wonderful creations you made here.. I bet you enjoyed yourself also.. Like someone once said to me.. Tea; its not just for drinking anymore.. Hee Hee..

Hugs, Linda
Unknown said…
Sounds wonderful my friend..
Tracy said…
These are so pretty, Becca! I especially love your lilac-themed bookmark. I've just begun playing with tea bag "cloth" too... as a lover of tea, I like having even one more way to recycle the tea bags--into art! Fruity teas bags give interesting results too. I just got a jar of gel medium--I'm thinking tea meets canvas. ;o) Happy Summer Days ((HUGS))
Jillayne said…
What a great idea - and how beautiful they look. I am always amazed at the variety of things you create Becca - so multi-talented!!
Caterina Giglio said…
wonderful!! I love the silk bags too...
Becky Shander said…
Beautiful artwork Becca...I like how you combined pops of color with calm (from the tea bags.)
Judy said…
I love, love, love this! oxo
Judy said…
I love, love, love this! oxo
Anonymous said…
These are simply spectacular, love the reuse and the creative burst! xox Corrine
ELK said…
this is a stunning way to recycle the lowly teabag..i will start using them in my art as well ..very inspiring ~~
Steph said…
I am so in love with these Becca!!! STUNNING!!
Georgianna said…
You're so clever! I wouldn't have even though of such a thing but what a lovely result. Thank you for the tutorial! xo – g
Linda Vincent said…
Beautiful pieces of art....and great close-ups!

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