How to harvest used Tea bags

I love using tea bags for all kinds of things. I paint on them, embroider on them, or use them in junk and art journals. Next I want to try and use them in paper mache as accents and I even saved the strings for funky doll hair maybe?

They have a ton of uses.

Since I have been asked, I thought I show you how I harvest the tea bags for use.

A few things first: after brewing your tea, pop the used bags on a little plate and let them dry for a few days. There are three reasons for this.

1. The paper of the bags is sturdier when dry. (Have you ever ripped a tea bag in the cup? Yeah...)

2. It's way easier to dump and brush out the tea when it is dry.

3. Letting it sit and dry results in some really cool staining.

So. The tea bags are dry. First you have to remove the tag and the string. Hold the bag on the little staple and simply pull the string out. It comes off easier than you think. If you don't want to keep the string for things, you can skip this step.

Next you cut the top off the bag. It's easier than trying to unfiddle the staple. And you really don't lose too much paper. I cut it right under the folds.

A tea bag is basically a long folded tube. Unfold it and empty the contents into a container, or the trash. Then carefully rip along that seam in the middle. It comes apart really easy right there.

Now brush off any leftover residual tea crumbs as best you can with your fingers and presto! Paper square to be used at will.

Decoupage them onto boxes, glue them into sheets and use as pages in journals, or embroider on them.. i found it is easier to lpin them to scrap fabric if you want to sew on them. They won't rip as much if you go through the bag and the fabric.. you can leave the fabric after,, or cut it away. Depending on what look you are going for. You could leave the tea bag in the tube stage. I have stuck flower petals and stuff into them before and used it in junk journals. So many possibilities!

Go have fun! ❤

Xo

B. 🐝

You can see the staining in the tea bags, where they were sitting while drying and got an extra dose of dye.