How to make art paper from used tea bags

[@sallyjoligocki5011]

Thank you for sharing.

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

You’re welcome :-)

[@silviasoto7065]

I loved it!

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Thank you Silvia, more coming soon! xxx

[@DoodleDan]

That's so awesome, imma start collecting all my teabags lmao

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Go for it!

[@barbaracabrera207]

WOW!!! What a clever idea. I already save my tea bags to use in collaging, and junk journals. I love them. I've NEVER seen anything like this. How in the world did you think to do this??? I don't eat much pasta. But I wonder if I could use starch powder instead??? I've seen people use starch powder for other crafty things. Can't remember WHAT! But I will see if I can buy some. I will cook myself some pasta in meantime. I hate to think of eating pasta NOT cooked in salted water. I wonder how this would work if I DID add a bit of salt to water. I add salt to my organic dyes so they don't get moldy. And it usually doesn't effect color or leave a residue. Its worth trying. I think if I boil the pasta water on very low, it would get thicker & stronger. I don't like to boil my pasta in small amount of water. I will do some experimenting. Thank you for this FANTASTIC VIDEO!!! I'm loving this idea. This is my 1st time to your channel. Austin,TX USA

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi Barbara, the idea just developed from rice glue which I found too grainy and it was using the whole grain of rice. With the pasta water glue you get to eat the pasta and then use what was going to be thrown out - right up my street! Let me know how you get on with salt in the water. I’ve done watercolour paintings on these papers and they seem to hold the colour true. Btw, if you find the glue a bit too runny after you’ve left it for a few hours you could always boil it again to reduce it. Any left over glue will keep in the fridge for quite some time too

[@betsybangley5081]

This is fantastic! I'm excited to try this. Thank you!

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

You're welcome Betsy, how are you getting on with it?

[@betsybangley5081]

@@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416 I haven't tried gluing teabag papers together yet, but I was inspired by your video to write a letter to my best friend on individual teabag papers. I was delighted with how strong the paper was, and my friend was excited to get my letter. Thank you for the inspiration!

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

@@betsybangley5081 Oh I love that idea!

[@carmenpdl8918]

Thank you! Very useful! 👍🙏🌺

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Happy you enjoyed it and found it useful Carmen xx

[@mastersadvocate]

This is a wonderful idea! I did paint on teabags, and used the art on greatings cards. Your art paper looks very nice, and can be used in many ways, say, in a junk journal? Thanks for sharing this idea! ~Janet in Canada

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

You're very welcome Janet, and making the larger sheets into a journal is a great idea!

[@racheljolley26352]

Awesome idea, thank you! 🤩🏆👌

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

You’re welcome!

[@WillowBirchandClover]

I’ve never seen anyone do this. Thank you for sharing. What type of pasta do u cook to have that thick starch left over ?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

I use a normal spaghetti with enough water to cook it, but not lots. Don’t put in salt or oil and stir it more while cooking as the reduced water might make it more sticky. Drain in a sieve then catch the last drops over the saucepan. Leave for a few hours to let it stiffen. Let me know how you get on 😊

[@karinroloff4562]

This is an interesting concept...I hope it will work for me, too.......................😻

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi Karin, did you try it? Hope it worked for you....😻

[@rachelm7525]

Right, that's it, I'm saving all my tea-bags! Quick question: could you place the paper straight onto the plastic sheet, or maybe use cling-wrap, so you don't have to transfer it? Thanks! 🙂

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi Rachel, yes you could do it straight onto plastic. I’d go for a thicker plastic so it doesn’t move around too much as you’re pasting. I make an A4 version which I do onto a plastic folder sleeve with A4 paper inside as a size guide

[@fionawalker8184]

This is a wonderful idea thank you for sharing. May I please have the recipe for the starch?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

You’re welcome Fiona 😊 I make the starch when I’m cooking up some spaghetti. I use a little less water than usual and don’t put in salt or oil. You’ll need to stir the spaghetti a bit more to stop it sticking. Then drain in a sieve but once bulk of water is gone put the sieve over the saucepan and give the spaghetti a shake to get the rest. Leave this water in the saucepan to cool and it should be thick enough to use as the glue.

[@petrisz]

Is the resulting paper fountain pen friendly? How much does the ink feather and bleed through?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi there, I’ve used a fine liner and watercolour on the finished paper. The watercolour does have a mind of its own but I’ve been really happy with the results. You can see a couple of finished pieces on the homepage of my web site www.lauradaviesart.co.uk

[@mikeycbaby]

cool

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

thanx 😉

[@yasmeensaleem9472]

Very nicely done,are these used teabags or new

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Thank you Yasmeen! they're used chamomile tea bags ;-)

[@efkaplan]

Will matte medium work?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Elizabeth F. Kaplan I try not to use acrylics because of the plastic content. But yes it would stick them together. You’d get a surface that would be different to paint on than the starch glue version.

[@efkaplan]

@@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416 Thank you.

[@tasneemb255]

I tried replicating this and my paper turned out brittle. I could bend it a little bit but couldn’t completely crease it without it cracking. Is there any way to avoid this?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Sorry, only just seen your message, I haven't had problems with cracking when folding. Have you tried folding it when it's still a bit damp?

[@edgegerring8934]

How do I make the pasta water paste?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi Edge, use as little water as you can to boil the pasta and don't put oil or salt in. You'll probably have to stir it a bit more than usual to stop it sticking. Then pour the pasta into a sieve (draining the excess water into the sink) and quickly put the sieve of pasta over the saucepan to let it drain the last bits of water. When cooled these should become gloopy and will make for a good glue. If it's still a bit runny you could boil it to get out more water. Once you're happy with the consistency pour it into a jar so you can store it in the fridge. Let me know how it goes :-)

[@smilingsunlight]

What an amazing way to recycle this water from cooking! Thanks for sharing! I was wondering of that pasta glue attracts insects or last well with time?

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

@@smilingsunlight Thanks so much Stephanie! So far I've seen no signs of insect damage or any other deterioration - and have been using this method for a year or two. You do need to make sure when boiling the pasta that everything is clean and no adding salt or oil.

[@Vonnies1929]

These tea bags look unused.

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Hi Yvonne - they’re chamomile tea bags so only pale yellow straining from the tea

[@dandelion1239]

Nice idea. Thx PS. Please don’t use that music.

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

Thank you :). Not sure what's wrong with the music? It was a copyright free option in the app I used to create the video many years ago.

[@dandelion1239]

@@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416It’s just weird sounding like it should be played in a haunted house.

[@cuevasdesolearthshipspain416]

@@dandelion1239 Oh my!! I hadn't heard the music like that 🙀