tea dyed tissue paper tassel mobile

in addition to the dip-dyed hanging i made for bear's room, i also made him a little tea dyed tissue paper tassel mobile (say that 10 times real fast). i wanted to try to make my own tissue paper tassels for a long time now, and this seemed to be the perfect excuse. i just love how it turned out!

here's the how-to:

supplies:

- white tissue paper
- dark tea (i used yerba mate)
- cutting mat
- rotarty cutter (or exacto knife)
- ruler (or straight edge)
- jute
- and a pretty branch!

step 1: begin by unwrapping the tissue paper and steeping your tea. add about 10 tea bags to a large pot of water, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes.

step 2: completely submerge the 'rolled up' tissue paper into the tea mixture. let sit long enough to become completely soaked, about 5 minutes.

step 3: set the tissue paper out to drip dry, then (ever so) carefully unravel it and lay it flat to dry. beware, it's very fragile at this point!

step 4: once completely dry, stack into sheets.

step 5: start with one piece of tissue paper and fold in half horizontally. begin cutting the tissue paper into thin 1/4 - 1/2 inch strips, leaving about an 1.5" margin at the top (where the fold is).

step 6: continue cutting all the way across.

step 7: carefully unfold the tissue paper and lay flat.

step 8: gently begin to roll the tissue paper up, starting at one end and ending at the other. be careful not to get the tassels tangled too much, as they rip easily.  

step 9: twist the middle part of your tassel together, then create a small loop.

step 10: secure the loop by tying it off tightly with twine.

step 11: use the loop in order to string your tassels. attach them to the branch by using simple knots.