Paper crafts: Decor Gifts boxes tutorial, LAYERED BORDERS WITH MASKING TAPE

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Paper crafts: Decor Gifts boxes tutorial, LAYERED BORDERS WITH MASKING TAPE

Of course you can’t just fold tape up on itself to create a border without it sticking to itself, and attempts to cut a long design (such as a flag bunting) left me with pieces all over my scissors and a big ball of tangled sticky tape. So then it occurred to me…I needed to give it some sort of a temporary sticker-like paper backing. After testing all the papers in my kitchen (waxed paper, butcher paper, parchment paper) I discovered that the Unbleached Parchment Paper (also known as baking paper) is perfect—sticking to the tape just enough to make it workable, and peeling right off when you’re ready to use your fab cut-out borders + shapes! Woohoo!

Here’s the how-to:

To create decorative borders (like the ones on the gifts I wrapped up) you will need masking tape (standard and Japanese tapes will both work), parchment paper (available in grocery stores – I found mine at Whole Foods) and scissors.

Place long strips of tape onto your parchment paper. Make sure that each new tape layer overlaps the previous layer. When your tape band is how you’d like it, trim around the parchment paper (leaving a border around the sides), and snip off the two rough ends.

Accordion fold your tape band, keeping in mind the design that you will cut from it (for my flag bunting I used around a 2″ fold). Hold your folded tape firmly and cut out desired design. Be aware that the tape will slide a bit, so your finished design will not be perfect (that adds to the charm though). You can see below which shapes I cut from my band to create these two borders.

Attach your bands to gifts, stationery, home decor…or whatever else you’d like. You can creatively use any remaining scraps too so virtually nothing is wasted. Experiment with color and pattern (standard masking tape would look great on a brightly wrapped gift). Have fun!

I hope you liked this little project.

source: www.creaturecomfortsblog.com