Yesterday I responded to an invitation to talk about…used
tea bags…. I was the program for a PEO group in Fort Collins. I don’t know what
those letters stand for, but I do know that it is a philanthropic women’s
organization that provides college scholarships to deserving young women.
One of their members is a fan of my teabag note cards and it
was she who hooked me up with the PEO group. I’ve been making “oldBags” note
cards and bookmarks for at least ten years now. I sell them in a couple of
local shops, at Beavers Market, my local grocery store a block down the street,
and from my home. I also take orders and mail cards to purchasers.
I started making the cards after I received one I fell in
love with made by women in a village in South Africa. My cards don’t look
anything like theirs, but the one I received so long ago was certainly my
inspiration. This little card read, “Once filled with tea, now filled with
love.”
The cards are simple to make and they satisfy my penchant
for making something out of nothing. I begin by drying out the tea bag and
emptying its contents into my compost pile. When I have a pile of tea bag
papers, I iron them and then glue them onto blank cards with craft glue. I sprinkle
a few gold flecks around the edges, add a border and then use the stain created
by the tea to create a design. Sometimes I add flowers, trees, birds, whatever
seems to work.
I never dreamed that this fun little craft activity would be
worthy of a talk. Making cards from use
tea bags is something anyone can do. It’s just that not everyone wants to spend
their time messing with used tea bags
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