Had an idea to make some hidden paperclips with wire words on them so that’s my next project.
The wire I used is welding wire; it’s very hard and holds its shape really well – it will break if you bend it too much though.
Coffee dyed papers
The coffee dyed papers didn’t need to go in the oven which was a nice surprise.
Some of the edges are really saturated with coffee, seem a little sticky and have a really strong coffee smell. There are some really pretty ones though.
Coffee and tea dyed papers
Hmmm, since I have some dyed papers I’ll have to assemble a junk journal!
I did a fruit tea dye yesterday, leaving the papers in the pan over night then putting them on drying racks through the day. I could tell they weren’t going to be that vibrant – a really pale greyish mauve.
I put them in the oven tonight – at 250 degrees and checked on them every 20 min or so. They dried up really nicely, I could pull a couple of the top papers off every time I checked.
I was a little disappointed in the colors so I decided to try an instant coffee dye.
Instant coffee dye
I may have gone overboard on the coffee – I didn’t measure just poured a few spoonfuls (probably more than 3 heaping!) into a cup and went for it.
I wonder how much caffeine you can absorb through your hands – we’ll see if I can sleep tonight!
The papers were left in the coffee for a couple of hours, when I checked they were VERY dark. I drained the coffee off and rinsed them a bit.
I tried to rush it and put them in the oven before letting them drain over night – it didn’t work out very well.
They were in for about 15 minutes, when I checked the pages were getting sticky and the edges were looking burnt. There is a lovely pattern on the bottom sheet though!
They are going to air dry until tomorrow night then I’ll try them in the oven again. Fingers crossed they aren’t too saturated!
