Tea bags. Many of us like to collect them, and then we hoard them for ages, waiting to use them in our junk journals. They are so versatile and can be used for so many things, but sometimes, we run out of ideas, or just keep doing the same thing over and over again.
In this post, I will share with you five ways to use tea bags in your junk journals and other mixed media projects – who knows, something new may inspire you!
1. Journalling Cards | Tags
One of the easiest things to make using tea bags is journalling cards or tags. All you need is some scrap card stock, glue, stamps and your tea bag. I suggest doing any stamping on your tea bag before gluing it to the card stock so it doesn’t rip and you are sure it is on the right way. You can also embellish with paint, thread, sentiments etc – this project is full of possibilities!
2. Paper
Another fun and versatile project is using tea bags to make a sheet of paper. You may have seen me do this already as an example when I made my video on using pasta water as glue. I go through another process using PVA glue in the video below. All you need to do is flatten out the bags, and glue the overlapping edges until you have the size of paper you want. Easy peasy.
3. Stained Glass Windows
Okay so these are neither glass nor are they windows, but the idea is to create something translucent to showcase the specimen. Maybe I should have called them specimen cards instead, but the idea is to create little windows by sandwiching a pressed flower or leaf between two bags and gluing it all together – you can also choose to sew around the edges for added interest.
4. Snippet Rolls
We often make snippet rolls out of paper and fabric scraps, but have you ever thought of using the same process with tea bags? These look so delicate, beautiful and grungy and I honestly cannot get enough of them. They are almost like miniature pieces of art in of themselves!
5. Booklets
You can use your tea bag collection to make a little booklet to tuck into your journals. You can use your bags as the pages, or just use them to decorate the cover – or both! And you can simple staple the booklet together, of do a super simple three hole pamphlet stitch to make a one of a kind addition to your book.
if you want to see the process for each of these projects, just check out the full video below:
What do you like to make with your tea bags? Feel free to share by tagging me on instagram: @lifeiswildandfree.