Artist captures magic of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings on used tea bags

An artist has added a touch of magic to used tea bags by painting scenes inspired from Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings on them.

Caroline West, 50, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, has been painting on used tea bags since August 2023 as a way of turning something that is typically discarded into “something beautiful”.

“I’m an avid reader and I’m so inspired by how a storyteller can weave an entire world into a book, so I just wanted to see if I could capture that feeling in miniature, on a tea bag,” Mrs West told the PA news agency.

For the Harry Potter series, Mrs West created seven painted tea bags which feature memorable aspects from the J K Rowling fantasy book series including the Hogwarts Express, the Sorting Hat and Hogwarts.

It took roughly several hours to create each painted tea bag and the process began with used Yorkshire Tea tea bags being dried out.

The edges were then taped, the tea bags were placed on backing paper, a base layer was applied and then she used acrylic paint to create the different scenes.

“I think reading the books or watching the movies is just a way of getting out of normal everyday life and escaping into a completely different world where anything’s possible,” she said.

Her The Lord of the Rings tea bags have been sold, with the customer full of joy about her purchase.

“I think people are amazed with the art being on a tea bag, I think it just really captures people’s imagination.”

Mrs West’s Harry Potter tea bags are up for grabs and can be found on her website: https://www.carolouiseart.com/category/harry-potter-inspired-tea-bag-fan-art.