Monday, April 7, 2014

T Stands for Six Days Till Tuesday


I've done a daily tea post twice before, but never during bEARTH month.

I even started out on the wrong foot by setting things up at my dining room table.

One thing I chose carefully was my choice of teas.  I was tired of drying green tea bags that were pale, so I purposely chose black teas this time.  While the water was boiling, 

I had time to get a piece of 110 lb. card stock (CS).  However, after looking at what I'd had to live with for seven days, I decided this was NOT the ideal setup.

That's when I had to rethink my initial decision to leave my setup for seven days, so I quickly moved to my writing desk.  I could live with this setup, because it was not intrusive like the dining room setup would have been.  To make sure my desk was properly covered, I laid scrap paper under the CS.

I laid the wet tea bag on the CS and proceeded to drink the rest of my tea.

However, after seeing how quickly the tea buckled the CS and how quickly the CS started turning to "mush," I once again had to rethink the project.  So I swapped out the CS for some 140 hot press watercolor paper.  I like the texture of the hot press paper for this project.  This was NOT the way to start a long term project, though.

Does Day 2 look like Day 1?  Yep, it's a repeat, because I thought the tea was so good.

I switched gears for Day 3, and really wished I hadn't. 

Although I fell in love with the tea bag tag indicative of Yogi brand teas, 

I am not fond of chamomile, which just happens to be the first ingredient in this tea blend. 

Thankfully, the licorice and hibiscus helped mask the flavor of the chamomile.

For Day 4,  I'm indulging in this wonderful tea

my dear friend Voodoo Vixen sent to me.  I try to parse it out, because I like it so much.  I also like the little envelopes it comes in, which can hold hidden messages in an altered art piece.

Not only does it taste fantastic,

the tea bag exudes the most beautiful color.

I'm a big fan of licorice, so this one made me smile.  Of course, that oh-so-true tag saying will also find its way in some art, too.

For Day 6, I thought I was opening a special package, because this tea bag was wrapped up like a gift.

The  scent of the tea was wonderful,

even before I dunked it in the scalding water.

I liked the color, and the room smelled wonderful.  Even better than an air freshener.

Six days, six tea bags, six marks on watercolor paper.

So, what about today, which is T day?

I'm afraid I'm all tead out, so I'm drinking freshly ground French Roast coffee with half and half.

What is your drink of choice this week?  Is tea your preferred drink, or is there something else you like better?  Regardless, show us your T inspired post this week, and Bleubeard and I, along with other T participants, will be by to visit.  And thanks for reading and staying with Bleubeard and me through this very long, convoluted post.



Today is Day 8 of my attempt to recycle art.  What better way to recycle old tea bags than to dry them on watercolor paper.  In the past, I've placed them in a bowl to dry, but now I know there's one more step I can take to recycle these beauties.

Steps to take:
1. Dry tea bag on watercolor paper.
2. When completely dry, remove tea from tea bags.
3. Use tea bags in art.
4. Recycle spent tea in compost container.

21 thoughtful remarks:

Craftymoose Crafts said...

Those are going to be some very colorful tea bags! Of course, the watercolor paper will find its way into one of your projects, too. I really like how you don't waste anything...now, what did you do with the coffee grounds? I think they color paper even better (darker) than tea. Happy Tuesday, and thank you again for hosting!

Krisha said...

ALL your lovely tea looks delish this week. Oh I am sure your paper will be beautiful once it's finished soaking up all the tea stain. I agree, I bet the coffee grounds would be a good choice. It always does a good job when I spill it on my clothes...LOL

Oh yes! A play date would be just SUPER.....maybe one of these days.

Rebeca Trevino said...

HA! you had me going there!

i think the tea bags are going to beautifully color the paper. cannot wait to see what you do with that.

dawn said...

Happy T Day!! What a neat idea and I like where you have it set up too. Can't wait to see what it looks like when your done, that red one does look pretty!

Have a wonderful day!

~*~Patty S said...

Tea dyes (and coffee too actually) are so rich and lovely...
Fun time you had and I really like how you've tucked the tea bag bags in a fanned row...
I always enjoy the added bonus of the quotes on the Yogi tea tags :)
Hope we get to see your finished tea bag paper...140# hot press paper is one of my favorites with its smooth and rich feel
Happy T Day to ya...I am up early this am
oxo

Anonymous said...

Did you put the spoon on the paper to make a coffee mark???
You've got some rich varieties of stains going on there. Very impressive teas, I might add.
Happy T to you!
~Dawn

Divers and Sundry said...

they say, "variety is the spice of life," and you've had tea variety this week! i'll trade you all my licorice for the chamomile ;)

Hettie said...

You have some super teas there. You have a good selection and some I would like to try. I shall have to keep an eye out. Some of the tags are great.
I look forward to seeing what you do.
Sorry I missed last week.
Hugs
xx

Linda Kunsman said...

What a really enjoyable post Elizabeth! I loved seeing the varieties of teas and their colors and ingredients. However, as you don't like chamomile I don't like licorice so I'd pass on that one:) I can honestly say I've never died papers with tea bags but have dyed fabric and lace, and have used the actual tea bags for art-once I took out the grounds, rinsed and dried them. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your paper. happy tea-or coffee day!

Darla said...

Interesting experiment with the tea bags. Sometimes I think I buy Yogi tea just for the tags with quotes.

Darla

Dianne said...

A truly brilliant project! love the idea of several ways to make tea art...looking forward to tea bag art and tea stain art! and a lovely white cup too...

Ariel said...

Wow! Elizabeth, that is a lot of new tea brands' information for me. I love coffee more, especially in the mornings but don't mind having tea too. Would love to see what you will do with the tea stains on the paper.
Susan

Halle said...

The coffee looked the best to me. :)
Looking forward to seeing the colors they leave after dry.

Nancy said...

Good morning :) love what you're doing with your tea bags--great colour!
I was up really early and had two cups of coffee so now need to switch to tea :)

creatorme said...

Happy T-Day!
I love your tea bag idea. Love the red from the tea bag. I used tea bags to color some tote bags but it was just the boring like tan color from black tea. I need to be bold! :) hahaha ... me and bold doesn't quite go together. But maybe ...

Jo Murray said...

That's such a neat way to stain your paper.

Kyla said...

Ooh some lovely stains there. I particularly like the sound of the cinnamon tea. I drink spiced Chai or ginger tea....dull brown for them both...a bit like TH 7 shades of wee dye pads!
Kyla

Denise Price said...

Hi, Happy T Day! And what a lot if tea you have had lately. I'll be very interested to see how you use that tea-stained paper that you're making.

I just wanted to check in and let you know I'm still alive, since this is the second week in a row that I've missed T-Day. Spring Break, professional conference, blizzard, car breakdown--I've experienced them all during the past two weeks. Hoping that life will be back to normal again soon.

Take care!

Terri said...

Hello Elizabeth,
I really enjoyed your artful tea post. The way your wrote it really let me follow along your journey. The photos so good too! I love the images of the tea bags. There are some lovely colors! You have inspired me : )
Thank you!
Terri

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Well Nikki, I thought I would leave you a message, since you asked so nicely two weeks ago. Making kits is s a clever idea. I'm sure others have thought of this, but I really like the idea, especially if you are on the go. Hope you have fun with your friend making art. I bet the two of you have a good time, while getting a fair amount of art finished, too.

Thanks for joining during T this week.

Rita said...

Now I can hardly wait to see what the paper looked like dry and what you made from it. Happy belated T-Day. :)