Last week, my cousin Linda, who lives in Florida, sent along an interesting list of ways to use coffee filters around the house.
What wasn't on the list, were the gazillion of ways coffee filters can be used in art. For us frugal artists who like to save $$$ on our supplies, it's music to our ears to hear..."You can purchase a big box of them at your local dollar store for practically next to nothing."
I have certainly used them in my art. What about you? I'd love to hear how you incorporated them into some of your art projects. Let's expand this list... leave a comment on this post or send me an email with your ideas!
Like roses? Check out the link at the end of this posting for a fun tutorial, filled with tons of photos, for these pretty paper roses.
In the meantime, while you are all leaving comments for ways you use them in YOUR art LOL, here's how to use coffee filters around the house...
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect china by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book.
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
26. And oh ya, you can use them in your art too! There are tons of ideas on the Internet for using coffee filters in art for little budding artists and big ones too!. Just google "crafts using coffee filters".
You can see the Paper Rose Tutorial by Sara Jane tutorial at the
Crafteria Oh gosh I almost forgot, they're great for using in your coffee maker too. Go brew yourself a cup of java right now to get you going on your next art project. But please, leave a comment before you go. LOL
Cheers,
Sharon
