"Tea" Stained ShippingTags Tutorial

So yesterday I decided to "tea" stain some of my shipping tags and thought, "I should share how to do this on my blog tomorrow." I took pictures of each stage so I could share them with you.

1) Buy the shipping tags- I get mine at Staples. They are not expensive and I usually buy them
in a small package of 50.

2) Make a Strong pot of coffee- yes, I said coffee. I tried using tea and it wasn't strong enough so I switched to coffee. We always french press our coffee and that makes a stronger brew.

3) Pour your coffee into a large sauce pan/skillet like the one I use below. And then add your tags. I leave them in there for about an hour stirring occasionally to mix them into the stronger coffee that settles to the bottom.

4) Take the tags out of the coffee and place them on a paper towel. When I do this I usually use my fingers like a squeege and take the excess liquid off. Especially if I want them to dry faster. I also sometimes just leave them as is so the coffee stain is a bit darker. It just depends on my mood and what the tags look like when they come out of the coffee. I also will sprinkle some coffee on the tags once they are on the paper towel just to add some darker areas.

5) I then place them in the microwave for about 1 minute. Give or take depending on the amount of tags and how wet they are.

6) They will come out a little wrinkled so I then place them inbetween the pages in a large hardback book, close it up and place a heavy object on top. Let it stand for atleast half the day or overnight. That should get some of the wrinkling out.
And viola- beautiful "tea" stained vintagy tags to embellish. Much prettier than the original ones you bought wouldn't you say?

I will post what I did with this set on my next post. Until then, I have another little prayer for the day-

God,

I'm too busy today to take time for lunch. But I am aware of your presence even now. Thank you for standing by me in this zoo called my life.

Amen