Using coffee to paint

Creating a nice brown shade can be as easy as a cup of coffee! Whether it’s clay you work with, or it’s textile, just paper or perhaps you have a piece of wood: coffee (grinds) can get you a long way.

All you need is some ground coffee and preferably any form of a coffee maker: machine, percolator, drip filter. Or, if this is all not at hand, just use a piece of old gauze/light textile or perhaps a tea filter.

Make a small cup of coffee or put some ground coffee in your old cloth or tea filter and strain through with some hot water. Less water, makes darker shades.

On wood:

Take a small brush and evenly ‘paint’ your piece with the coffee. It’s much more ‘wet’ than water colour paint would be, so make thin layers and allow time to let dry in between. Apply layers until you’re satisfied.

Applying different layers of coffee to the little peg dolls, give the opportunity to talk about skin colours with children. A nice addition when doing this, is adding some turmeric powder (curcuma) in a small amount for a more yellow shade. And perhaps work with a bit of beetroot juice to create pink shades.

With clay:

I really love adding coffee grounds to air drying clay to create a speckled result. More coffee, is more speckles! To spread the grinds evenly through the clay it helps to make a few flat pieces of clay, and then layer with coffee. Make sure to knead quite long before you start shaping, to make sure the coffee is blended really well.

Our Clay Create Kit comes with more detailed guidance on what to make with your clay, like a small bowl or wall hanger.

Alternatively, or perhaps even additionally, you can paint your finished (and fully dried!) air dry clay piece with a strong cup of espresso. Make sure to make thin layers, as the coffee will moist the clay again. Allow some time to dry in between layers. For a nice finish, apply some varnish when the whole thing is dry.

On fabric:

Why not dip a piece of unbleached cotton (pre-washed) into a pot of coffee, either partially for a dip-dye effect or complete. Add some vinegar for the colour to stay.

Will you show me your results by tagging @foible_store on Instagram?