And then Magic Happens

My mom's beloved tea pot.  I was talking with my cousin Monica about tea cups and mom's tea pot came up. I'm not sure if it's a Royal whatever or not, I just know that it was very well loved.

And she loved crows as well...

Then the wheels have started churning.  More later from the design studio...

ETA:  I found the pattern name it's Royal Alberts Forget me Not Rose pattern and was part of their flower of the month collection.  There appears to be two tea pot styles with this pattern and this is the later, and probably less expensive, style/shape.  The gold trim is in rough shape on this one due to too many trips through the dishwasher.

Studio Update 021212

Waiting on one of the large shelves to finish drying before I start putting heavy items on it, waiting for paint to dry/cure can be torturous!  The two floral teapots on the top shelf belonged to my mother, they really pop against the verdant green color.

Tea Dye Bath

About 20 teabags in water.  I brought the bath to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes, I then added the prepared fabric and simmered for 15 minutes before turning the heat off.  This is one method of aging new fabric, the color however is not permanent.

Over Dyeing

Over Dyed Rust Dyed Cotton Fabrics

Upper Left Hand corner Tannin over Rust
Upper Right Hand corner Constant Comment Tea over Rust
Lower Right Hand corner Coffee over Rust
Lower Left Hand corner Tannin bound resist over coffee  over rust.

Aging Fabric with Tea, Coffee and Tannin

Tomorrow afternoon I will demostrate how to age fabrics effectively with tea, coffee, and various tannins. I have 30 minutes of stream time planned, which will be recorded, the stream however may go over 30 minutes.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature 

Rusted Tea Bags

Above - Tea Bag Fronts

Below - Tea Bag Backs

Rusted Cotton Tea Bags - these were in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, page 67, as was my recipe for dyeing with rust, but I was never given credit for any of this even though I asked repeatedly for credit to be given.

I love the rust dyed indigo bags the best out of this collection.

The patterning on the front sides of the back is very different than the patterning on the back of the bags, though they were rusted with the same exact objects.