Time for Tea!

I love tea. Of course I do, I'm English! But I also love tea bags and have been pondering painting on them for a while. I have seen it around and been very inspired by what Ive seen so I wanted to have a go. 

I wasn't sure how to go about it so I asked for some advice on facebook, and I got lots of lovely useful tips and links. (I know facebook has its negative side but it is also a fabulous resource). So first of all I drank some tea (like I need an excuse, right?) And then I dried the teabag(s) over the radiator till they were completely dry. One the leaves are dry they are very easy to tip out of a small slit in the bag and then you are left with a lovely tea-stained mini canvas to paint on.

I decided to add a small amount of gesso:

And then, because I didn't want solid blocky areas of paint, I used my DecoArt fluid acrylics and watered them down to add as a wash, in Quinacridone Gold and Quinacridone red.

And then the fun really starts ... adding collage elements and buttons. Here they are as works in progress:

I had a go at adding a mini portrait but it is hard! Those eyes are a bit fiddly on this scale. I haven't got them quite right but I'll have another go. I'll just have to drink more tea ;-)

So here they are in close up (don't look TOO close though!), and they probably appear bigger on the screen than they are in real life.

Words from 'All the Gals' by Dina Wakley

House on a downloadable collage sheet by me!

And I put this one in a little tiny box frame. I think it looks so cute in a frame!

Bye for now. I'm off to drink more tea!