ATC's & Packing Tape

Sounds like a lot of fun! I'm in!

Egad! It Works!

Not sure what you mean by packing tape... our packing tape in the UK is the brown thick stuff... Can you explain this technique please?

MissyChrissy - any clear sellotape can be used. You can also try contact paper - that clear self-adhesive stuff you get on a roll to cover your school books in. Packaging tape is just usually wider than ordinary sellotape - the wider it is, the bigger the image you can transfer. Just don't rub too hard - until you glue it down it sometimes seems as if you haven't got all the paper off. I had a lot of problems with this at first as all my transfers didn't look as if they would be clear. In the end I just glued one down (use gel medium) anyway and voila! it suddenly looked clear. But I realised that I had often been rubbing too much and lost part of the image. Practice a bit and you will find it is one of the easiest and cheapest transfer methods around.

Thanks Paperholic for explaining all that to me. So as I understand it: you find an image in a newspaper/magazine, put the sellotape/packing tape over it, and then what? Sorry to be so dense but I can't see how this works... why not just glue the image to the ATC?

MissyChrissy you will understand once you try the technique. It looks completely different than just gluing an image on to the ATC. The heavier magazine paper works best. I don't think newspaper would work at all.

Here are detailed instructions from http://www.ssreflections.com/debi_mar05.html

Tape Transfers

These are one of the simplest transfer methods. To do a Tape Transfer you need clear packaging tape. Clear packaging tape can be found in stores such as Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart and Target, and usually costs under $3.00. You are limited to image size because of the width of the tape. Choose your images from collage sheets, clip art, newspapers or glossy magazine images. To do a Tape Transfer you will need the following supplies: Collage sheets, clip art, newspaper or glossy magazine images Clear Packaging tape Burnishing Tool such as a bone folder Dish of warm water Paper Towels Wax Paper

The following are the instructions for doing an image transfer with tape: 1. Cut out image larger than you want the final transfer to be 2. Cut a piece of package tape and lay the image face down on the sticky side of the tape 3. Go over the whole image with the bone folder pressing firmly to make sure it is well adhered 4. Then cut the image to the final size you want it to be and put in a dish of warm water. Soak for 10-15 minutes. The idea is to get the paper backing completely wet 5. Remove tape image from water and rub the paper off of the back of the tape. The more you rub the clearer the image will be 6. Pat dry with paper towel and there you have it! It looks like a very thin transparency 7. Attach it to your project with gel medium, glue, or use a Xyron.

Hope this helps!

OK thank you, I will try that. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all.

I didn't know you could do it with magazine photos, I thought it was only with photo copies. Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to try!

I never knew you could do that with tape! So cool! I already tried it out with one image. I'm looking forward to making these cards :)

pinkdragonfly2 and Erinbit, your ATCs are on the way! Enjoy!

pinkdragonfly2 and Mookie Fairstone, your ATC's are on the way.

grammysammy and susiqz, your ATCs went out in the mail this morning :)

I've just about got mine ready to mail. I just wanted to say I have had the MOST FUN finding images to use. :-) Thanks for posting this swap.