Sticky Tape Resist Initials

 
 
This activity came about when I wanted to try a tape resist activity but didn’t have any painter’s tape on hand and didn’t want to look through our toolbox with a grumpy toddler in tow.
So I decided to simplify by turning it into a sticky tape resist activity instead. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get the sticky tape off the paper without destroying it but I figured it would still make for a nice effect.
 
 
Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!
 (E was 27 months old.) 

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.



 

 

To make Sticky Tape Resist Initials, you’ll need:

  • Heavier paper.
  • Sticky tape.
  • Dry watercolor set. {This set is similar to what we used, and it even has silver and gold 🙂 }
  • Water.

 

 

 

I taped several capital Es to the paper, hoping we’d be able to nail at least one of them. I wasn’t sure how much of an area E was willing to cover. {She’s not much into covering the paper yet and prefers to scribble in small areas.}

It all started pretty promising (after I’d wrangled the Chinese white that was included with the watercolors from E’s hands) with some large sweeps of the paintbrush across the paper.

 

Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!

 

After that, it was mostly taking the tray of watercolors apart,

 

Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!

 

painting the table,

 

Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!

 

and loading the paintbrush with paint, then washing it out again over and over.

 

Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!

 

Not exactly what I’d had in mind but she enjoyed herself immensely, so I’m still calling it a success. Remember, the process is what counts, even if it’s a different process than you’d anticipated.

This way, most of what ended up on the paper was actually my work, after E finally handed me a paintbrush and told me to paint 😉

I think the idea worked out quite well for getting quick tape resist initials without having to worry about pulling the tape off too soon or too late or paint seeping under it. I wiped the paint off two of the initials but left it on the third because the more I looked at it, the more I thought that it had a certain appeal in itself, and it actually visualizes the difference between this watercolor technique and other types of tape resist art quite nicely.

 

Make sticky tape resist initials by painting with watercolors over sticky tape!

 

 

 

What I’ve learned:

  • Precut your pieces of sticky tape for the initials if you can because you have pretty much no room for adjustments. You can still see where two pieces of tape overlap.
  • Don’t tilt the paper while the watercolors are still quite wet or they’ll run.
  • You can leave the watercolor residue on the sticky tape for a nice effect if you’d like. There won’t be enough to obscure your initials.

 

 

 

Additional ideas:

  • Extend the activity for older kids by having them put the sticky tape on. You might or might not get actual initials but most kids enjoy the sticking part very much.
  • If you want a non-messy activity when you only have a shorter time window, try using crayons or markers to cover the paper.

 

 

 

If you’d like to explore a different resist art technique, try this: Resist Art Snowmen!

 

 

 

Have you tried tape resist art? How did it work out for you? Leave a comment! 

 

 

 

If you like this post, click here to subscribe to my newsletter and receive an email once a week when new posts are published, or to my RSS feed.

Also make sure to follow me on Pinterest to stay up to date with all we do, and for lots of great ideas from others!

If you prefer Facebook, I’d love to connect with you there: Like and drop me a line on my Facebook page, where I share my own posts and those of others every day!

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *