Have you heard of packing tape transfers before? I first learned to make these from our mom, who was our art teacher growing up (both in school and at home!). This is SO much fun. It’s also surprisingly easy and beautiful for both art journals and artsy DIY wall decor.
Supplies:
-magazines
–packing tape
-water
That’s it!
Step One: Adhere a piece of packing tape to a magazine page. Cover any area you want to transfer. For larger surfaces, use multiple pieces of tape.
Step Two: Remove the paper around the piece of tape. I usually just rip any excess away, creating imperfect edges.
Step Three: Soak your tape in a cup of water for five minutes. This is the easiest way I’ve found to remove the paper quickly.
Step Four: After five minutes of soaking, use your fingers to rub the paper away from the tape. It will peel off, leaving a beautiful, imperfect transfer.
Done and done! Let them dry, and then mount them on white paper to see the images most clearly. Aren’t they pretty? I can’t wait to start my next art journal.
Here they are taped to a window. I love how they look with the light shining through them. Happy crafting! xo. Elsie
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess Actions.
Can you do the tape transfer with a crayon drawing on butcher paper? I have an awesome drawing of a pineapple that would look great with technique. Thanks.
what is packing tape,i have never heard of that,
am loving this! have a frosted broom window that does not give enough privacy & gets the western sun, do you think it would work on this window? Have never been good a trying new projects like this Thanks
Wow, what a fantastic idea! I’ve never heard of it before! BTW, I love your site, it is amazing! I live and work as a teacher in China and have also introduced my students to your site full of brilliant ideas!
Thanks for the fun and helpful tutorial! I just started reading a book about different types of images transfers, so I was thrilled to see your description of the packing tape method.
Just found a way to use up all the old bits of Christmas wrapping paper…time to get creative and thrifty!
I’ve done this before, and I don’t know if it’s the tape I used or what, but when I got the paper off, and the tape dried, it was still sticky enough to stick to a window or mirror with it’s own sticky. Sorry, I don’t know what kind of tape, except I buy the big rolls that go in the big tape guns. I think it may have been some generic stuff I got from viking office supplies, since at one time I had a case of that.
Oh my gosh, HOW have I never heard of this before?? Seriously one of the easiest projects you guys have ever shared, and I can’t wait to try it!
Have you ever tried this then used the transfered tape as ribbon for a gift? I didn’t know if it would work, but thought it might be worth a try.
wondering if packing tape would be able to transfer photos? if i get brave maybe i’ll experiment with printing pics on different kinds of paper to see. any thoughts would be appreciated
That’s so interesting and awesome,
thanks Elsie for sharing the creative idea!
Ana 🙂
Just did this as a break from my Saturday tv-watching-marathon. Really easy and fun! My favorite one of mine was the one that came out with the most flaws… Some I left in the water too long so they came off perfectly
What a great idea! I’m always looking for inexpensive ways to spruce up my decor–especially with the arrival of Spring! Can’t wait to dig through old Cooking Light, People, and Southern Living mags! 🙂
http://livinglowbudget.com
This is awesome! I’ve never heard of this or seen it before, and I can’t wait to try! SO EASY!
I’ve never seen this craft before and love the opportunities that lay ahead!!
WOW! thanks for the memories….used to do that back in the 60’s with pictures of our favorite group/singer (mine were The Monkees) and then stick it in our scrap book….hmmmm!! was journalling back then without realizing!! LOL!! Now I’m dating myself!!!LOL! Seems old stuff is really making a comback!
Holy cow! That’s so awesome!!!
This was so easy and cool! I’ll bet this would be a cool lampshade idea…
I can’t wait to try this out!!
Do you know if this could possibly work on other papers? It would be rad to make a collage of a loved one’s face or a pet photograph.
Thanks for inspiring and being so awesome! ❤️
How clever! Way to go, Elsie and Emma’s mom! Thanks for providing tips on how to use your creative ideas. I look forward to using this in my Project Life album.