Sunday, August 4, 2013

August Scrap for Help Reveal: Tea Bags!

Hi everyone, entries are now being accepted for a new challenge at Scrap for Help!  Will you play along with us this month?  All you have to do is use a tea bag in your project.  For my sample, I used herbal tea bags (blackberry flavor) to dye the strips of canvas on my layout, which is called "Medicine Garden."

Supplies: background paper by Lawn Fawn; photo mat paper by Kaiser Craft; quote paper by Graphic 45; die cut tab, journaling card, & alphabet stickers by October Afternoon; canvas strip by Canvas Corp.; word sticker by Lily Bee; puffy sticker by Studio G; thread by DMC; ink by Clearsnap; colored pencils by Faber- Castell; photo collage service by Walgreens.com.

What, you ask, is a medicine garden?  It's a collection of plants that were traditionally used for medicinal purposes.  The garden shown in the photos contains plants traditionally used by the Dakotah Indians of the Twin Cities area.


I like the uneven, muted look that the tea dye created on the canvas strips.


Here is the process that I used for obtaining that tea-dyed effect.  After making myself a cup of tea, I transferred the tea bag to a plastic container, along with the canvas strips and some fresh water.  To get a dark enough color, I ultimately added two more tea bags to the dye bath.  So, if you want to try this method of fabric dyeing, I recommend you choose a day on which you'll want to drink lots of tea!  :)


I hung the strips of canvas out to dry.  As you can see, the color of the canvas when it was still wet is a lot more intense than the final color turned out to be after the strips had dried fully.


I wanted the dyed strips to stand out on this layout, so I kept my embellishments to a minimum.  I did do a lot of subtle work with inks and colored pencils, though.


As usual, I had my photo collage printed at Walgreens.  This time, though, I tried a new feature of their printing service.  Instead of choosing a solid-colored background for my two-photo collage, I used a third photo of the garden as my background.  I love how this turned out, and I'll definitely do it again in the future!


As a final touch, I back-stitched along the borders of the photos.

I hope I've inspired you to get creative with tea bags.  There is plenty more inspiration to be found at the Scrap for Help blog, so do stop by and see us there.  Thanks!

26 comments:

Lynette Jacobs said...

The colors of your layout is so vibrant. I love your tea-dyed strips...gives such lovely texture to your layout.

Chantalle said...

You've always got such great ideas! Love this one, with it's clean lines :)

Angi Barrs said...

Fab page. Love the canvas!

Jessy Christopher said...

What an awesome effect you got from the tea bag! Love the layout!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Oh Denise, this is a PERFECT T post. I'm SO glad you joined in. I'm a big fan of using tea bags in my art, so your scrapbook page really resonated with me.

I am NEVER about the rules, but this is exactly the type of T post I'm always hoping for. Thank you again for sharing this great tutorial and this lovely scrapbook page.

voodoo vixen said...

Love the use of teabags... Hibiscus tea comes out a lovely colour too!
Genius to use the flowers photo as the frame, it looks great. Annette

dawn said...

Hello, I just came from Elizabeth's blog. This layout is so pretty and I love what you did with the canvas. It shows up really nice with the green and yellow. Thanks for showing us how you did it and the tip about printing, I use Walgreen's too.

I'm linking up with Elizabeth for the first time tomorrow. Happy almost Tuesday!

Chantal Vandenberg said...

Seriously amazing! I love the yellow stitching and the design too! :D

Unknown said...

What a splendid layout! The colors are amazing and the dyed canvas strips add wonderful texture! Love it!

French Nanny said...

Love that herbal t-bags can make dye! I must try this as a background for embroidery!

Penny
x

Silvia said...

Love your layout and the use of tea bags to dye Fabric. I love 'natural' dyeing. Used to do a lot when In was still dyeing Fiber for spinning.

dawn said...

Thanks for the visit last night, my T for Tuesday post is up now if you'd like to see it.

Spyder said...

What a great colour your tea bags made! I will have to try that out....I do have some blackcurrant tea....somewhere!!
((Lyn))Happy T Time!

Anonymous said...

Love the tea dyed fabric strips they look fantastic. As a matter of fact in my post today I show a photo of some art I am swapping that has tea bags as part of the backgrounds. I stamped words on them and used them as part of the collage. I love using all the bits I can --I am a recycler at heart.
Happy T to you
Peace~
Dawn

Halle said...

Super cool! Love the color the canvas became. Happy Tuesday!

~*~Patty S said...

Lovely tea bag art and challenge.
I have a big container of teabags that needs emptying and flattening again.
Your blackberry tea made a gorgeous rose color.
oxo

Divers and Sundry said...

i love your colors!

the idea of a medicine garden fascinates me :) i'll be doing further research on that now. thx!

Craftymoose Crafts said...

Visiting from T for Tuesday...Your collage is really beautiful and I like the effect of another photo framing it. I'm inspired to go drink some blueberry tea and dye some fabric!

okienurse said...

love the beautiful colors in your layout! That tea dye is awesome too and fits right in with the LO! What a great idea! My sister dyed her lace on her brides veil with tea and more then one person commented about how tealicious she smelled! Vickie

Nan G said...

Lovely LO! And to use tea to get the purplish color...pretty cool!

roffeycreations said...

Just a flying visit for T for Tuesday - late but happy to see everyone this week... Cheers Mxx #23

Luciana said...

That incredibly beautiful is this layout! I loved the idea of ​​canvas dyed!
I loved your stitching on the photos too! I love sewings in projects.
Today has a layout in my blog with inspiration from you.
Kisses!!!

alarmcat said...

wow...i've been looking at a few of your blog posts. your pages are so nice. i can tell you put a lot of time and thought into your layouts. very nice!!

Sharon Fritchman said...

What a beautifully designed page! And I love the message behind it, Denise! Your work is fabulous!!!

Anonymous said...

great LO! I love your using of teabags :).

ANUPAMA CHOUDARY said...

Brilliant idea! Love the yellow background. Awesome take on the teabag challenge :)