Black Cat Scraps- Coffee Technique

Coffee staining can add a really nice color to white cardstock or black and white pattern paper adn can be done in different shades or applied with a brush to have it in detailed areas.

     If you don't drink coffee or have a coffee maker
If you don't own a coffee maker all you need to do is pick up a small bag of coffee beans, without a coffee maker it would be difficult to keep the grounds separated from the fluid. If you are using beans like I recommend all you need to do is crunch them up. Using 5 -10 beans I took scissors and cut them in half and then half again, then I took a spoon and pressed the back side to the pieces making the bean break up some more.  I then placed the chopped up pieces into the smallest sauce pan I had and put in about a quarter to a half cup of water. I boiled this up til the liquid got very dark and was a little thicker than normal brewed coffee. This way the coffee is more concentrated and easier to apply and have a richer color on your paper.

Why I recommend using coffee beans rather than normal brewed coffee:
In order to achieve a richer, ticker color, boiling the liquid down to a thicker consistency with the coffee beans still in the water will be more concentrated. The coffee beans will continue to add to the staining ability.

If trying brewed coffee from grounds and a filter, you may need to used a lot more coffee liquid into a sauce pan and boil longer to get the similar consistency and strength and using the chopped up beans.
Depending on how long you brew your coffee and how long you boil it and how concentrated it is will give you different shades

With this technique can be used on white laced ribbon, paper, cloth, and in some cases of stamping.

Be careful with your projects, Coffee can make the paper you are staining very brittle. It also adds an smell and a glossy sheen.