Watercolor on Tea Bags

Hello Friends! 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend, especially 

if this is a long weekend for you! 


It seems like I've been drinking a lot of tea lately, so I 

thought it was time to get out my tea bags 

and get creative! 






This is a mixed-media piece on watercolor paper.




First, I tore pieces of the tea bags and glued them to the 

watercolor paper to start my background.





This is another piece I started just today where I decided to use

a rubber stamp before applying the tea bags for added interest. 




I love the color and texture the tea bags create.




 After the background was dry, I started to sketch out my design.  

The dragonfly is a rubber stamp.

Finally, a little simple hand stitching on linen for added texture.




The light was so beautiful and inviting on my desk today.


Oh, and don't you just love my new pencil box I got at the 

second-hand store for 97 cents?  





What creative things have you been doing? 


***



Remembering the men and women who died while serving in the 

United States Armed Forces this Memorial Day. 


Becca 






Comments

Sherri B. said…
What a great idea to use tea bags - lovely work!
May 26, 2013 at 5:48 PM
TexWisGirl said…
you are very creative. :) i love the classic pencil box!
May 26, 2013 at 5:53 PM
Diana Seal said…
Beautiful, what a creative way to use tea bags!
Have a wonderful long weekend!
Diana
May 26, 2013 at 6:36 PM
Catherine said…
You are too creative!! I wish I would get the desire to get into my craft room more. It's been awhile.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend Becca!
xo Catherine
May 26, 2013 at 7:10 PM
RURAL said…
This simply blows me away...it's beautiful....

And the colors, the textures, the dragonfly.

How amazingly creative.

Jen
May 26, 2013 at 8:28 PM
Gabriela Delworth - Instructional Designer said…
Hello Becca,

I love what you did with textures and nature. What a fabulous piece!
It must smell wonderful too...
Is this a card or a wall art piece?


Gabriela
May 27, 2013 at 4:08 AM
andrea creates said…
very nice!i love the texture too :)
May 27, 2013 at 4:26 AM
Anonymous said…
So pretty Becca. I was picturing your landscape with the cool wet world you now live in and enjoying the fern and dragonfly. We have so many too and the ferns just speak to coolness on those warm summer days. xox
May 27, 2013 at 8:21 AM
Rosie Grey said…
Becca, this looks fantastic! Who knew what you could do with tea bags! Well, you knew obviously ;-) I've been drinking a lot of tea these days (it's been soooo cold), and had no idea what creative potential there is! Thanks so much for sharing you wonderful projects here - you are so inspiring!
Have a wonderful week, Becca!
May 27, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Jillayne said…
I love your tea bag art - this is so beautiful!
I still haven't done any myself - but.... I did find a solution to my taking tea bags apart issue.... I found tea bag blanks! They're for making your own tea bags so I am thinking whenever I make myself a cup of tea I can dip some in it, let them dry and stitch/paint away - no muss no fuss....
I know, I know, there's fun messiness in it...
May 27, 2013 at 6:23 PM
Kate said…
Wow, that's so cool!! I would never have guessed that you had used tea bags! And the added fabric and such is just the right amount of texture! Love it!
Kate :}
May 28, 2013 at 5:53 AM
Anonymous said…
Beautiful creativity you got goin here.
You asked what we've been doing?
Gosh, it was so cold and rainy. i got busy in the kitchen and whipped up some Strawberry Nut Bread.
Come and have a slice with me :)
Love, Becky
May 31, 2013 at 12:41 PM
Cynthia Schelzig said…
Simply stunning piece and I love the idea with the used tea bags. I have stamped on clean teabags but ghheeesh never thought to use them once they were used.....brilliant!
June 1, 2013 at 4:30 AM
Tracy said…
This is EXQUISITELY BEAUTIFUL, Becca... I really love the softness, choice of colors, textures and motifs. It has an old-fashioned kind of charm, like an old scrap book page. You have a flair for this kind of things. It is a joy to behold. :o) Happy Days ((HUGS))
June 3, 2013 at 2:48 AM
Unknown said…
I love the way this turned out my friend. I bet you had some fun getting creative. While camping Jess and I had a Face Off. We pulled up a face from pinterest and we both tried to draw it.. Hers came out much better than mine. It was fun and I might just post them.

Those tea bags almost look like tissue paper. But I am sure it is a lot stronger than tissue paper. I love the texture as well..

Hugs~
June 3, 2013 at 4:52 PM
Lisa Graham said…
Wow Becca, this is such an inspiring post. I love what you made. I have a stack of teabags too and I often paint them with color and sometimes little flowers and then use them to make clothing on my mixed media girls. I love teabags.

Your piece is so well done.

xo
June 3, 2013 at 7:48 PM
Lisa Gordon said…
Becca, this is so beautiful, and what a neat use for the tea bags. You my friend, are truly so creative!
June 6, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said…
This is really lovely, Becca! I love how you used the tea bags!
June 6, 2013 at 8:07 PM
Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said…
Such a beautiful collage. I saved a teabag just the other day. I drink lots of tea but have never done anything with them. Love what you have created here. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy
June 7, 2013 at 8:36 AM
Lorraine said…
how clever is this..just think its a great idea..I have been drinking yogi tea again and they come in lovely teabags with wonderful little quotes..love your flower photos too
June 8, 2013 at 3:36 PM
Shelley Whiting's art said…
I love the texture and antique look. Very creative and beautiful work.
June 11, 2013 at 3:42 PM
Susan said…
Just happened upon your blog...and what a lovely treat...I love the creative things you do and thank you for explaining the tea-bag thing...I always wondered how people used them in art. So glad I found you.
August 31, 2013 at 2:29 PM
☼ Carolina ☼ said…
NICE BLOG!!
I love it
I folow you from Chile
June 7, 2014 at 4:24 PM
Elobibie said…
It’s a great idea…thank you to share it
Your blog is also very nice
June 26, 2014 at 8:49 AM
Shirley said…
I have 2 1/2 years saved-up tea bags just waiting to be used and now after seeing your blog I know just what to do. Thank you so much.
August 29, 2014 at 2:01 PM
Anonymous said…
found this on Pinterest and it's gorgeous,
peace,
CheyAnne
April 18, 2015 at 12:37 PM
Dee Spillane said…
Absolutely beautiful
May 6, 2016 at 10:12 AM
Luvcreatincards said…
I have just found your lovely post via Pinterest, and wanted to thank you for sharing this great idea/ technique for your journal page. It looks amazing. I am now going to look through more of your posts.
Warmstbbest wishes from across the miles in France.
Susanne
January 17, 2017 at 2:56 PM
Jane Teague said…
Very nice! Artist Judy Coates Perez first used teabags in her art and has been teaching this method nationwide for years now, including at International Quilt Festivals and quilt guilds and retreats. She has won many awards for her work.
May 8, 2017 at 7:05 AM
JennyTheArtist said…
The tea bags are a wonderful idea! Did you just free hand the fern leaf onto your page? I really, really love that detail!
November 22, 2017 at 6:02 AM
Unknown said…
Beautiful results with the tea bags as part of a creation! Did you use any special kind of teabags or will any type produce these results?
August 13, 2018 at 9:48 AM
Speaking With Vampires said…
What kind of glue do you use?
August 6, 2019 at 9:53 PM
Anonymous said…
Just saw your post on pinterest. I've been saving my tea bags to do something in mixed media and after seeing your post I am so inspired to get going on this. Thanks for sharing your work is beautiful! Fran
April 17, 2020 at 5:02 AM
World of Animals, Inc said…
Thanks for taking the time to share this beautiful post with us. I enjoyed finding your blog recently and I have been enjoying all of your articles. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
World of Animals
August 3, 2020 at 12:56 PM
youngone said…
Becca, your work is truly inspiring! Wow! Thank you for sharing:) May I ask, what glue / medium did you use to stick down teabags? I would have thought that it would be impermeable to Watercolour... did u use Watercolour?
November 5, 2020 at 8:04 PM
Wdetc said…
Your work is just beautiful. You are very inspiring. I have been working with cyanotype. Besides the local plants and spices that I used, I also added round teabags and a torn owl with torn leaves from a napkin. Next project? I think it will be some eco prints. So much fun.
April 18, 2024 at 7:59 AM
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