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Gather a-ground coffee lovers, and let’s make some coffee art! That’s right, the magic bean juice that resurrects us every morning has another function up its tantalizingly delicious sleeve; it makes for a wonderful muse and artistic tool.
Whether you’re a caf or decaf coffee lover, or sometimes you even switch over to tea for a hot minute, these fun coffee crafts center around coffee art and how simple yet beautiful it is to do. We have lots of fun crafts here on Repurpose Junkie, and we’re super stoked to add coffee art to that ever-growing list!
And it’s for all ages, too! Of course, we don’t know if all ages should be drinking the coffee art supplies. Can we all take a minute to appreciate that it’s rare we’ll come across another craft where you have the option to drink your art supplies if you want?
All of this art supplies talk is mocha me crave some coffee, so let’s make like an espresso bean and get buzzing to the coffee art and coffee crafts!
What Is Coffee Art?
To put it simply, coffee art is the same concept as painting, but instead of using paint, you’re using coffee!
It’s a bit similar to watercolor painting, as coffee is very liquidy and runny, just like watercolors when you begin to use them. But, for those experienced with watercolors, know that once you get working and spend some time with them, it’s very fun and even relaxing to work with the liquid and manipulate it into the shapes and streaks you desire.
Below is an example of coffee art that’s brought together with mixed media, a pen, and a bit of love and imagination. My husband and I love to drink our coffee together, especially on Sunday mornings. So, we thought doing some coffee art would bring a cute and sentimental vibe to our kitchen. It took less than an hour, including drying time, but it’s something that will last forever! As long as the glass doesn’t break, yada yada.
In short, when asked what coffee art is, it’s a simple but beautiful art form anyone can take part in. The bare minimum of what you need is coffee and paper!
Why you should try Coffee Art:
Need some more convincing? That’s totally okay because there are some pretty stand-up reasons why you should give this crafty coffee activity a try! Besides the fact that it’s super cool, aesthetically pleasing, and can’t be done “wrong”.
- There isn’t a huge list of supplies you need
- Perfect for all ages
- This would be a great activity for kiddos at home, or to do with an elderly loved one!
- Beautiful homemade decor
- Quick activity (if you want it to be)
- Fast drying time
- It smells great while you’re doing it
- You can do it as a group or solo activity
- Every piece is going to have that aesthetic coffee look
- Low-maintenance artistic outlet
- Makes for a great gift for a coffee lover
Pretty valid points in the name of coffee, right? Well, let’s keep trucking along with latte trail and get to the good stuff!
How To Make Coffee Art/Coffee Crafts
Let’s dive into how to make coffee stain art that’s easy and fun for everyone! First, we’ll break down what supplies you’ll need (don’t worry, it’s not a lot!), and then I’ll show you how to do a few different coffee-style techniques!
Supplies Needed for Coffee Art
The bare minimum of what you’ll need for this coffee artsy activity is simply coffee and paper. You can use your finger and do a little finger coffee painting if you so desire! But, if you’d like to kick it up a notch, here is a list of basic supplies you’ll need for your coffee crafts. This list excludes any extras you may need for an extensive project.
- Coffee
- Cooled/day-old coffee
- Paper
- Thicker paper works better for coffee stain art
- Paper that’s a light color will do, but white or cream typically works best
- Mug
- Paint Brush
- Paper towels/napkins
- For any messes, of course!
Not too shabby of a supplies list for such a cool craft, huh? What’s amazing about this is that most of these things are already chilling out at home, just waiting to be used!
Coffee Stain Techniques
Here’s the meat and potatoes, or shall I say, the cream and sugar of the art of coffee stains– the coffee stain techniques!
You can really go in any direction you want with coffee stain art, but here area few starting off points for you.
The Coffee Ring
This is the most iconic coffee stain art, and for good reason, it’s pretty aesthetically pleasing to look at and work with! It brings a vibe of creativity, hard work, sophitication, long nights, the list goes on and on. So, let’s see how the coffee ring techinque is done.
You’ll need your coffee, a mug, and your finger! You should wash your hands beforehand, but you may just want to sacrifice a bit of coffee for your coffee stain art.
Start by laying down a papertowel on your workspace, and dip the tip of your finger in your designated coffee art cup.
Using your dipped coffee finger, go around the rim of your empty mug. Redip your finger and go over the rim of the mug a few times.
After you’ve traced the rim of the mug with the coffee a few times, flip the empty mug over onto your paper of choice for your coffee art. Don’t worry if there’s a little splatter, that adds character to your coffee art!
Lift up your mug after it’s been gently pressed down, and check out your pretty coffee ring stain!
Allow your coffee ring to dry before adding more to your coffee art piece. An important note to add with your coffee crafts is to use thick paper. If you use thin printer paper (like I have in this coffee art DIY so I can show you) the coffee will seap more than it will stain. And that’s not what we’re going for!
The Coffee Splatter
Next up for your coffee techinques is the coffee splatter! This is my second favorite technique to use for coffee stain art, with the first being the beautiful and iconic coffee ring.
First, dip your finger tips into the coffee you’ve set aside for your art project.
Quickly moving to your coffee stain art paper, flick your coffee dripping finger tips and watch the splatter marks appear!
You can flick and splatter to your coffee lovers heart desire! This is a great techinque if you want to add words to your finished product. Allow time to dry before doing so!
Coffee Paintbrush
Grab your handy paintbrush but leave the paints in the drawer; it’s coffee time!
This technique is fairly straightforward, all you need is a cretaive direction to go in after you’ve dipped your paintbrush in your coffee.
Once again, it’s important that you use a thicker sheet of paper so your coffee has a better chance of staining rather than getting lost in the paper particals and seaping through.
Coffee Drip Spoon
We’re taking after your drip pot with this coffee stain technique, but instead of a coffee pot we’re using a spoon!
Grab your spoon and drip your spoon in your coffee art coffee. There should be some coffee on the spoon before you transfering over to your coffee art paper.
Dangle your coffee spoon over your coffee art paper and help the coffee drip down by giving it a little waggle.
With this technique you’re creating coffee drips, which can make for a neat backdrop by itself with a few more drips, or a great accompaniment with your other coffee art techniques.
Coffee Art Ideas
Now that you’ve got the techniques visualized and the reasons why you should give coffee art a whirl and twirl, you must have some awesome ideas buzzing around. Let’s explore that list of possibilities together and check out some of the coffee art ideas we’ve brewed up! (See what I did there? It’s good to caf it out)
Below is a list of ideas of different art forms you can incorporate into your coffee stain art, along with ideas of what you can create and where to put it!
- Zine Coffee stain art book with Coffee Quotes
- Use a paintbrush to paint a specific image in your coffee art
- Add poetry/prose to your coffee stain art (I have an example of that in this article!)
- Write your/loved one’s favorite coffee order inside a coffee ring
- Put together a volunteer activity of doing coffee stain art at a local nursing home or with your own elderly family members
- Incorporate embroidery with your coffee stain art
- Draw doodles out of the coffee splatters (Great activity for kids and adults!)
- Frame your coffee stain art and put it in your kitchen or near your coffee station
- Use your Cricut to enhance your coffee work
- Brighten up the coffee with a framed piece of coffee stain art in the break room
- Make paw/handprint art from coffee stains
- Organize a coffee night with your fellow coffee lovers at a coffee shop or at home and do coffee stain art
- Use mixed media with your coffee stain art (I have an example of that in this article!)
By golly, would you just look at all of those grand artsy ideas you can do with spilled coffee! Pretty snazzy, huh? Does it get the idea juices flowing just like when that first sip of coffee hits your lips and you’re ready to go? Woooweeee! Let’s scroll below to check out what else you can do with this new art form in your life, and we hope it gets you excited to create!
“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?”
– Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes
Coffee Lover Coffee Art Gift Ideas
There’s nothing like a homemade gift, isn’t that right? And you can make a beautiful, thoughtful, and custom homemade gift by incorperating coffee stain art for a coffee lover in your life!
We also love a gift that’s homemade, gorgeous, unique, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to complete. Budget friendly all the way with these terrific coffee crafts!
Below are some fabulous ideas you can take off and run with, or let them inspire your very own ideas for your future coffee stain art projcets. Let’s american-GO!
- Mini Zine Coffee Stain Art Book
- You can fill your zine up with coffee quotes, reasons why you love that person, doodles, anything you can think of!
- Framed Coffee Art with…
- Coffee Order
- Mixed Media, add coffee sleeves, coffee receipts, recipes, etc.
- Poetry/Prose
- Quotes
- Photos
- Pressed Flowers
- Handwritten note
- Coffee Painting
- Coffee Stain Do-It-Yourself Kit
- Coffee Station Decor
You can take the coffee stain art technique in any direction your mind and imagination will take you. And we can almost guarantee the coffee lover in your life will LOVE this gift you’ve made for them in mind! This can be a perfect gift for coffee lovers during the holidays, on their birthday, on National Coffee Day, or just as a sweet and unique surprise.
From us here at Repurpose Junkie, coffee lovers and coffee crafts ourselves, we hope you’ve enjoyed learning about coffee art and how you can create it in the comfort of your home, with company, or even at a local coffee shop. There are so many ways we can repurpose items and make it into art, and we hope you explore more of our artistic repurposing ideas to incorperate the repurposing fun into your life!
