Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Packing-Tape Transfer

I discovered a nifty little craft. It's super easy, takes minutes, and as Jess and I discovered, can be done while bored at work.

Ever wanted to layer images on top of one another? Wanna make a kick-ass collage? Or maybe you want to make a Valentine for Molly but want it to look a little more original than your average Sponge Bob card. Here's your answer: a Packing-Tape transfer. I know, I know, what the hell is that? Well, you copy an image you like and "transfer" it onto another surface, using packing tape. You'll understand more after you read this nifty tutorial I cooked up...

Supplies needed:
• a picture (found in a magazine or printed out)
• clear packing tape
• A bowl of water
• some sort of clear-drying glue, if you intend on pasting the transfer onto something.

First, print out a picture or find one in a magazine you like. (It's best to use a small picture so the tape will cover it all, otherwise you have to use multiple strips and it's more complicated). For this project I chose this awesome hand holding some watches.

Next, get some packing tape, and carefully lay a strip over the image. Rub the tape to make sure it's totally stuck to the picture, and make sure there are no bubbles.

Cut out the image.

Place the image in a cup or bowl full of room-temperature water. Let it sit for a minute or two.

Take the image out of the water, and carefully rub the paper side. The paper will start coming off, slowly revealing your beautiful translucent image! Keep rubbing until you get all the paper off, using water when needed. (Note: Don't put the paper bits down your drain, it will clog)

Now you have a transfer! And it's see-through!

You can put the image on whatever you want. Paper, wood, metal, whatever. I chose a wood box that I painted.

It's so easy! Try it! Try it right now!

48 comments:

Nico said...

WHOA, this is so cool! You and Jess are so crafty.. i really don't know what to make of it. Oh wait, yes I do:

I demand another ART JAM NIGHT! Soon!!! please?

Anonymous said...

HOLY COW!!

I'm gonna do this all day! Our boxes of tape at work will be extirpated by day's end

Hellen H. said...

This is fecking awesome!! I want in on the Art Jam Night!!!????

Jessica said...

Thank you for finally posting this. I can now blog about my mirror. Packing tape 4evr!

Workshop Cooker said...

Can you also transfer lips to surfaces and make them transparent? Like stick packing tape to some ones lips and then soak it in water to remove the skin and then put it on something? Can you Molly?

Shawn Dickinson said...

WOW!!!!!!!!! That's pretty cool! It's even better than silly putty! I'm gonna put comic strips all over my car windows! Thank for filling me with smarts!

Nico said...

whoa... comic strips all over your car windows would be friggen awesome!!

casey's comment frightens the shit out of me.

Molly said...

Nico- People can do this at Art Night tomorrow! Yay!

Darby- I just know someone's gonna get fired over this.

Hellen- But of course!!!

Jess- Well let's see it!

Casey- I'm pretty sure you just said you wanted to put packing tape on your penis.

Shawn- Do it! That sounds awesome!!!

Anonymous said...

You're right--- The next person to scrape one of these off my desk is gonna get it!


btw, You have to earn the right to know "The Greatest Feeling In The World." I can't just give out that information with reckless abandon-- willy nilly, that is!

Workshop Cooker said...

How the hell did you figure out that i was really asking about penis transfers? Unfortunately it won't take much tape :-(

Kali Fontecchio said...

GENIUS

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... I tried an inkjet printer with normal copy paper, and the ink just washed off!

Glossy photo paper worked, though


Remember that, kids.

Jenny Brew said...

so cool. i will be trying this. what a great way to avoid doing hw!

Nico said...

i didn't get around to trying this at art jam! You're gonna have to spend an evening showing me sometime :)

Molly said...

Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out Darby! I must have used a LaserJet at work and not noticed.

Fabian Corona said...

I can't wait to try this ^_^

Kali Fontecchio said...

Oh ya- my mom thought this was genius as well!

Unknown said...

wow, thats a great tip pretty lady! i can't wait to try it!

Kaotic Ekko's Curiosities said...

Wish I had come across this BEFORE I shelled out for transfer medium! Great job guys!

amy dame said...

contact paper works too, for bigger images! (and it's a bit more matte, which you might want for some projects)

great tutorial! i love packing tape transfers, they're so addictive!

M. R Darbyshire, sometimes you can use ink jet to get very faint transfers, which can be a cool look, but yeah, photocopies and magazines work best.

Katie said...

what a great method! I can't wait to try!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Thanks for explaining this so well, it's fantastic! I'll be linking.

Ayala Levinger said...

That is brilliant! thanks for sharing!

Liz said...

That is great! I definitely have to try this!

~Coley said...

Ok, I just tried this at my desk at work and it is so awesome. Great tip about the contact paper too, Amy. This would be great for altered books or *gasp* scrapbooking.

Anne said...

Ingenious!!! Thanks for the tip!

Melany Fulgham said...

I just tried this on a couple magazine images and it was AMAZING! Thanks so much for posting the tutorial!

Anonymous said...

Great idia! Thank's!

Unknown said...

this is an awesome idea!! I can't wait to try it :D thanks!

Pat said...

Very cool, thanks!

Paul Overton said...

Just linked to this over at dudecraft.com

Great little tut! Thanks!

-Paul

Unknown said...

C'est super beau!!!

It so beautiful!!

Thanks for sharring!!!

Bonnie Branson said...

That's fantastic! Thanks for sharing

ME... said...

Very cool! I was always wondering how to get a good transparent image!

Charmaine said...

Thanks for the tutorial!! That's great!

CraftyCarole said...

I so remember doing this in jr high like 35 years ago.. but couldn't remember all the details... awesome.. thanks for the trip down memory lane and another craft to add to my bag of tricks :-)

Lenetta said...

This is so cute, I couldn't help but link to it on my weekly roundup. Thanks! :>)

DonnaRae said...

Okay, I am a little late in finding this post but have to comment anyway. That is sooooooo neat. Where and how in the #$%@* did you figure out how to do that. I can't wait to send others here to read or to show my friends that don't pc much. Thanks for tute!!!
Donna Rae

Anonymous said...

I love it! I SO have to try this...WHOO!

Monika said...

That is so fantastic! How did you think of that? Awesome!

Mark Dawson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Esther said...

I used your photo's in my Dutch Tutorial, is that okay ? Were wild about this method overhere in the Netherlands !!!

Cornelius said...

Here's your answer: a Packing-Tape transfer. I know, I know, what the hell is that? Well, you copy an image you like and "transfer" it onto ... 2packingtape.blogspot.com

Lymphatic Therapy Service said...

WHOA, this is so cool! I never saw this kind of tutorial. Thank you for sharing this blog with us. It’s really amazing.

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LSG Industrial & Office Products, Inc. said...

You may also want to try Tesa Tapes in the next project you have.
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