Duct Tape Pumpkin

Steven's company is having a duct tape pumpkin contest for Halloween.  Basically the only requirements are that you have to use Duck Brand Duct Tape to create a jack-o-lantern.  Other materials can be used as well, as long as duct tape is incorporated.  The entries will be judged on creativity, use of color, and workmanship and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be chosen.  So of course, Steven enlisted my help.

I bought a black pumpkin at Michael's for $6 (it was 50% off!).  I could have used a real pumpkin, but this way I can keep it as part of my decor year after year.

I found this witch and moon image online, scaled it to the size I wanted, printed it and cut it out.

I rubbed pencil on the back of the image, then traced it onto my pumpkin.  I wasn't sure at this point how I was going to do the witch so I traced it on here too, but I really only needed the moon.

I failed to take any "during" pictures, but all I did was cut 1" squares out of 5 different colors of duct tape (white, yellow, black, red, and neon orange) and covered the whole pumpkin (this took 2-3 hours, but I watched Martha and The View while I was doing it so it seemed like no time at all!). I kept the moon yellow and white, then outlined it in a skinny strip of black so it would stand out.  I retraced the witch on at this point for positioning purposes only.  I actually laid a strip of black duct tape on my cutting mat, traced the witch onto it, and used my craft knife to cut her out.  Her whole body fit onto the width of the tape, and then I cut her head out of a second piece, but you can't even tell where I pieced them together.

I cut the duct tape to fit around the stem.

And here she is... all finished!  I added the spooky trees as an afterthought, and I really like the way they look!  It may not be the most creative entry, but I think it's pretty cool, even if it doesn't win a prize.

How are you guys decorating your pumpkins this Halloween?

Duct Tape Wristlet

This has become a free project weekend!  As some of you know, Steven works for a company that makes tape.  Masking tape (including FrogTape!), packaging tape, invisible tape (do NOT call it Scotch tape in our household - Scotch i.e. 3M is the enemy!), and of course, duct tape.  Actually, it's Duck Brand Duct Tape.  We pretty much get all the free tape we want, and we got a couple of craft kits a while back, and this wristlet was one of them!  I followed their directions a tad, but just winged it as well.  Really, it's not that hard.  This would actually be really cool with the Appalachian duct tape they've started making, but Steven took the whole box of that we had home with him this time.  Sad!  Anywho, here we go.

Supplies: 2 rolls of duct tape (or however many you want!) in contrasting colors, cutting mat, craft knift, scissors (not pictured: ruler or other straight edge)

Only buy Duck Brand Duct Tape!

Start by laying out 10 inch strips of a 2" duct tape on a flat work surface (I used my cutting mat.  Be sure not to use any delicate surface... duct tape is very sticky, after all!).  You need 5 rows of duct tape, overlapping about 1/4".

After your 5 rows of 10" long duct tape are laid down, turn it over so the sticky side is up.  Then start putting down rows in the opposite direction (for strength), however many rows are needed to cover the whole sticky surface.  Obviously, the smoother you can get the duct tape, the better the finished product will look.

Close-up detail of the duct tape.  You can see how the front and back are going in opposite directions.

Trim off excess duct tape around the edges to make it a clean rectangle.  Make sure to trim off all of the adhesive that is showing.  There's no measuring to this part, just wing it.

The clean rectangle with all of the excess adhesive trimmed off.

Now, fold it in half longways.  Be sure to crease it as well as you can.

Duct tape the ends together so it forms a pouch!  You can either use your contrasting color or the same color you already used, depending on your design.

Trim off the excess.

Now you have your pouch!

To make the strap, use the same technique you used to make the body.  Lay down 2 10" long strips of 2" duct tape, turn it over so the sticky side is up, then lay another 10" strip of 2" tape down the center (for strength).  I added a row of my contrasting blue color on top of that to make it pretty.

I trimmed off most of the excess adhesive part that was showing, but left approximately 1/4" on each side so I could fold it over the edges for a nice clean finish.

Finished strap.

Now, back to the body of the wristlet.  I decided I wanted to do a chevron pattern, so I just eyeballed it as I went.  I cut strips of 1" blue in half so I had 1/2" strips to work with.

 

When the pattern is finished, trim off the excess duct tape that hangs over the edges.  Scissors work better for this than a craft knife.  I found the craft knife just made the tape bunch up when trying to cut it, so save yourself the trouble and use scissors.

  

Now to attach the strap.  Form your strip into a loop and duct tape the end so it stays.

Position your strap on the back of the pouch...

Put a large piece of duct tape on it so it's sure to stay...

And also put a piece on the inside for extra strength.

I finished the edges of mine with more blue duct tape for a clean look.

And the finished product!  What do you think?  Pretty cool, huh?  And the possibilities are absolutely endless!