Coffee or Tea Stained ATC

I'm recycling some old swaps and it's been a while since we've done this one. :)

Technique: Tea or Coffee Stained

Here's what you do: Brew yourself a nice pot of coffee or tea, pour yourself a cup to drink.

Pour another cup to use to dye the paper you'll be using for the ATCs.

Untreated, non-slick, cotton/hemp based papers work best for this technique.

You can either crumple or tear your paper before dyeing to give a textured effect, or you can leave the paper flat for embellishment later.

Take your paper and dunk it into the cup of tea or coffee you've set aside. You can either let the paper sit in the cup overnight to get a rich colour, or you may choose to just dip it a few times and then let it dry for lighter shades. That is up to you.

Once dry, use the paper for your ATCs. :)

You'll be making 3 ATCs (one each for 3 partners).

The swap image was found on AriayaSylva's Flickr photostream. She not only dyed the paper, but also used a stamping technique with the remaining coffee liquid.

NOTE: If you are worried about the coffee/tea smell being on your cards, stir a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil into the cup before dyeing your paper. If you find that the coffee/tea smell is still too much, try spraying a sealant over your ATCs when finished.

If you have any questions, please pm me directly. :)

Cheers!