Ok I was cleaning out the cupboard today and my wife had a bunch of tea bags that she was not going to use and throw away. I know I can use them for leaves under trees but to I steep them and let them dry or do I use them right out of the bag?
I’d tear the bags open and use them as they are. Steeping is not going to make any difference in their appearance.
the short answer is yes. the water mix can be tossed on the compost heap. definatly let them dry and if you have an extra blender laying around, take the leaves for a spin, it will chop them up finer so that you can use them as dirt/soil etc…
I always use the tea first, although I suppose it isn’t essential. Possibly they are a little bit paler after they’ve been used. When they’re dried out I roll them in my fingers to crumble them finer.
One of my favourite ground covers.
Mike
I use used tea. I dry the leaves out in the microwave – put them on a paper towel. It’s been awhile since I made up several batches, so I don’t recall the amount of time, but that would vary with your microwave anyway. If the paper towel starts smoldering, you cooked it too long [*-)]
DIfferent teas produce different colours! I made up several plastic tubs in different shades. And then of course they can be mixed for different blends.
Thanks everyone for the responses. I am going to use it on my engine stall diaroma that I am building now. Eventually I will also use it on the layout if that ever happens.
I thought I was the only one?Yes, use the tea leaves as Fall foliage on trees, Forest ground cover and about the tracks too.Avoid the “Fruit tea” packets the Blueberry and Pomegranite doesnt work for me.Lol.Dave
With a little practice, you can also use them to foretell if your track plan will work.
Help me out a little bit here guys. I don’t drink tea and neither does my wife, and this sounds interesting. Are you talking about using the tea out of the little tea bags? Or can you get it in larger quantities in cans (like coffee)? Do different flavors of tea have different color?
I pulled mine out of used tea bags.
Yes you can by tins of loose tea leaves cheaper.
Yes different flavours are different colours. Cinnamon herb tea is redder than black tea. Many teas are a blend, and will have a nice natural assortment of colours in the mix.
Thanks for the info. Sounds like I’ll be going shopping for tea.
Do the colors run or bleed at all? I know it colors the water when making tea. But is there any reason to treat it differently than ground foam when using matte medium?
I’ve never had any problem with the colour running. And even f it did, it would just look like a natural schmear of the local dirt and leaves, matching shades and all!
Can you also mix in coffee grounds or is that a totally different subject?
I see no reason that used coffee grounds couldn’t be used to simulate a rich loamy soil in a farm land, especially a freshly tilled field. In this case i would let the used coffee dry and then grind it very fine so that if it expands when the glue hits it it will still look good. Of course another alternative is to put the coffee in a compost pile, either way you are recycling.
You can use … “whatever”. MikeC who models Boston & Maine, Delaware & Hudson, Maine Central and Guilford in HO, does that. Here is a photo of his ‘mixing pot’ … with … tea leaves, twigs and ground-up air drying clay. He says that the clay goes fine as talcum powder and works to neutralize the brown of the tea leaves.
!(http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab130/LCRRinHO/Scenery/Ground Cover/New_EnglandMarkII-2010_627.jpg)
Here’s a mix I made (testing) of Tea, powdered White Tempera and Yellow RIT …
!(http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab130/LCRRinHO/Scenery/Ground Cover/w_white-tempera_yellow-rit.jpg)
I’ve used coffee grounds too, just fine. Applied the same technique of taking used grounds and cooking them dry in the microwave. I use coarse ground coffee, but if I want a finer texture it grinds up quickly with a mortar and pestle.