I’ve been playing with an idea I had a while ago, but only just had chance to try. I was struck by how sticky some of the low tack tapes can be, and then happened to use some electrical insulation tape and realised that it was that perfect stickiness for peeling off things. And it was waterproof. And relatively cheap. And just the right width to fit a line of text in suitable for art journaling. Combining these thoughts with a Silhouette Cameo PixScan sheet led to the following experiment…

Place several strips as straight as you can across your PixScan sheet, and take photo.

Import the photo into Silhouette Designer, and then arrange your lettering to fit into the tape areas. I used Abadi Condensed at 62pt.

Send to cut, and then weed out the excess tape. I did note that the tape also removed the sticky layer on the mat – I’m going to have to replace this with repositionable sticky spray (which was going to be needed soon anyhow to get the stick back!).

I’ve stuck the lettering across a previously decorated double spread in my art journal, and then sponged Antique Linen Distress Paint over it. Dry briefly with heat tool, and then lift the insulation tape lettering to reveal the masked background.

The quotation is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, and quite apt for the experiment! I suspect the technique would work just as well with masking tape, but as previously noted, it’s not always as low tack as it needs to be. Oh, and the background was an experiment in itself – purple, pink and black acrylics laid on with a credit card, covered with Gelli plate packing tape strips. And I also learnt that matt multimedium peels off packing tape along with the letters… whereas acrylic paint didn’t.