All taped up....

This blog post is about the gum tape that didn't make it into the 'perfect travel art kit' that I shared with you a few posts ago (here) - I thought it was only fair to give it a moment in the spotlight (and to get the ideas out of my head at the same time!)

My plan was to decorate the tape - creating a type of washi tape, and use on projects - and here it is:

and here's how I created it, really simple.....

The tape (Gum Tape) is made of kraft paper with glue on the underside (similar to the glue on envelope flaps) that is activated with water...

I tore strips, licked the ends to moisten the glue and stuck them to my craft sheet.. if you don't want to lick the tape you can moisten with water and a paint brush.  I only attached the ends of the strips NOT the whole length.

I decorated the strips as a whole panel - creating a sort of masterboard.. I used only 3-4 colours and simple motifs... layer 1 was the biggest stamp motif - mesh (from JOFY36)

Next layer was stenciling... in the gorgeous Caribbean Sea Fresco Finish paint.. I chose opaque Fresco paints for this project to ensure that it popped against the kraft background.

 then lines of open spots...(JOFY36) in

 then the mini alphabet stamp set stamped in black Archival ink...

Circles in neon pink acrylic paint - love the pop of this colour!

Black sketched circles were added ... (JOFY36, again!... its a useful stamp set!)

I added details to the strips - white pen (seen here as the dots on blue circle), black rings drawn around other circles and the gold paint spotted inside the white circles...

I'd planned to use it to bind a book so I've created a mini tag book to share how to do that - VERY simple:

Lay 2 tags bottom edge to bottom edge (without the string and hole) tear a piece of tape, moisten and stick down where the tags meet.

and a length of tape was laid on the front and around to the back to bind the spine.

 Here is the finished book.. the front cover has been covered in book text, with the pages stamped (2nd generation) with basic motifs ready for journaling, or photos, or whatever takes my fancy! :o)

I decorated a few tags:

... and of course I could use the tape to seal a parcel, and add these tags - all very coordinated! (the 'fun times' tag is created with text from JOFY28)

This card is created with the tape and die cuts (dies from Simply Graphic, a french company that makes lovely modern, delicate dies).

 and tape like this is great for using on journal pages (this journal is small - A6)- the lovely bluetext in the background is a Donna Downey stencil 'Scribble Script' (available from PaperArtsy at shows)...


So that is what I might've created with the tape if I'd taken it on holiday with me ... another time... and I'm adding it to my 'perfect travel art kit'.
Its so easy to create bespoke tape to use on projects - the tape is inexpensive and available from most stationery retailers.  It will take paint and ink - but you obviously don't want to add too much water to the tape otherwise it will become stuck to the worktop!

I hope this has inspired you to look at humble 'gum tape' in a new way!....

x