I’ve been wanting to try this experiment for years! (Off and on, when I remembered it.) Have you ever looked at all the luscious colors in a catalog and thought, “What a waste for that to go to recycling?” Well, I have.

If it’s a large enough area, I punch a shape out of it. Imagine this with a star shape punched out.

(I should say that I’m using an old Land’s End catalog for illustrative and educational purposes.)

But what if it’s a stack of colored items in that image, or a pretty page border:

What if it’s a row of dots?

Sure, you could take your scissors, cut a strip, and save it in a baggie or envelope. That pink checked page border would be easy, but the others? I hope you can cut straighter than me!

Enter double sided tape. I like this skinny stuff from Dollar Tree.

Now’s the tricky part. Choose an image you want to turn into decorative tape. You have to put the tape on the BACK of the image. (A light box would’ve been helpful, but I was too lazy to go hunt mine. A tablet or iPad set on a white screen might have worked as well, but I just thought of that.)

This is my first goof up. Remember, you got to go for the back of the image. So, I aimed for the lower row of dots. My result:

Next try. I chose an image where I thought I couldn’t miss:

Here’s the back with one side of the tape adhered:

(Yes, I was working in my lap.) I trimmed the tape:

This is what I got:

Next time, I’ll use a light box or iPad. I’ll still call this a success!

I hope it goes without saying that I pulled off the other side of the tape. (I’m saving those strips, too. They look like they’d be good for applying alcohol inks.)

Next try, MAGAZINE WASHI!