How To Create Wall Art With Electrical Tape

Add a Mondrian vibe to a wall using some electrical tape and a few pieces of coloured acetate. It's pretty self explanetory but for more detailed insructions go here.

Step 1 Pick a Wall

Choose the space you want to decorate.

Comments

[holzmanj9]

Cool. I hadn't thought doing something with just tape and acetate as a temporary decoration.

[koldham]

im gona make one and put it on a piece of heavy white cardboard so i can hang it on my wall or wherever

[rudegirl]

You are a GENIUS love your work! and im definitely trying it!

[stainlesstomato]

Neat Idea! I'm Curious how this would look over my bed in a horizontal rectangle frame...kind of like a wall "headboard" !?! Hmm I may have to try it.

[MissJessica184]

I agree with TssGramma. I believe that if you were to create something similar to this on, say, a piece of drywall or some canvas or something and then mount it on the wall you could have a "professional-looking" piece of artwork. ...Just make sure to sign it really messy like at the bottom. I really do like this though. Very nice! :) ♥ Jessica ♥

[ttsgramma]

you could mount the design to a painted board and then hang the board. That way, you don't have to worry about removal ruining a wall. For a different look (like for a kid's room), you could use duct (duck?) tape. it comes in assorted colors. Fun project!!

[NinJA999]

electrical tape also comes in many colors -- check your local Lowes or Home Depot in the electrical section!

[BarginsTech]

Duct* :] and GREAT suggestion. I was contemplating the idea myself and I'm very indecisive. So removing it after a few months might be annoying (especially if i want to put it back up :P ).

[thriftstoreremix]

This is a cool Instructable.  I'm going to tweet your project to my followers (www.twitter.com/thriftstoreremx).

******I have a question****Since tape is has a flat surface, how did you use the level to ensure the tape is level (plumb).  What was your technique?

Derrick :::: ChiefRemixOlogist
www.thriftstoreremix.wordpress.com

[Flabrites]

ingenious. That would be a niice door decoration!

[rogers236]

Neat idea. I just made one of my own, after reading this. I used white paper and transparent colored dividers because i have wall paper in my room.

[BarginsTech]

Beaaauutttiiiffuulll :D love the inter twined frames!

[rogers236]

Thanks!

[Wired_24_7]

I wonder how such a thing would hold up to sunlight and heat... my guess is not well. But, very clever design!

[BarginsTech]

genterara says: It does look nice, but I tried it on a window and the sun made the electrical tape contract, leaving an irregular square. Looks funny now.

[ludo]

Greetings- Very clever, quick and cheap. I'm surprised no-one has suggested this for window decoration. The acetate would look like stained glass... Mondrian meets leadlight. Especially effective if you have black window frames (I'm thinking of anodised aluminium).

[BarginsTech]

"genterara says: It does look nice, but I tried it on a window and the sun made the electrical tape contract, leaving an irregular square. Looks funny now."

[genterara]

It does look nice, but I tried it on a window and the sun made the electrical tape contract, leaving an irregular square. Looks funny now.

[BarginsTech]

That's probably why it was suggested on a wall, not a window. But if you plan the shrinking right, you could probably make something even cooler!

[kirnex]

Oh, forgot to say: Extremely cool Instructable. Brilliant in its simplicity, really.

[kirnex]

2 great alternative to Acetate sheets: print your own pics and adhere one of two ways: 1) Use spray-adhesive on the back of your picture (they even have the temporary kind which will peel off when you want to change out). 2) Cut a piece of FREEZER PAPER (the kind with wax on one side, paper on the other) to 8.5"x11" (so you can put it through your printer). Print your picture on the paper side of freezer paper. Using a WARM (not hot) iron, iron the picture in place on the wall. To remove, run the iron over it again and simply peel it off. Does not harm the wall. I've done this for years. Very easy. You can also make the blocks mirrored by purchasing some of the mirrored window covering film at your local home improvement place. Don't take the backing off. Just use spray adhesive to make the piece stick.

[asifrizvi]

Really great idea very simple and cheap idea.Thanks

[krowii]

LOL it reminds of the '70s.

[aRKayy]

Coloured acetate sheets seem to be a difficult item to find. Where did you pick them up and is there any websites which carry such an assortment.

[Setarcos]

Art supply stores (like Hobby Lobby or Micheal's) carry colored acetate sheets.

[artist without a medium]

I'll be sharing this idea with a friend who's shopping for her first apartment. Excellant idea

[I3uckwheat]

wow that is a good idea i might do that in my room if its ok with my mom

[benz_z]

this is the best, ill use it to frame my election signs ;p

[andrewplatham]

I've done this same thing before, except with paper tape. it's much more forgiving, and will not leave a residue. this is the place i get it from: they are a new online store, i think; they don't have many produts. but the tape is amazing for art!

http://www.stickemart.com

i also have a blog: http://funwithtape.blogspot.com

[Laara]

Great idea! I decided to steer away from the square idea and did these vines in my living room. I bought some cheap electrical tape from the loonie store but the tape wasn't sticky enough and started to fall off the wall after about an hour. I bought actual electrical tape from a hardware store the next day (all the colours they had!) and it stuck wonderfully. Here's the result:

[klawrence]

this was such a great idea! i'm a single mom and this was cheap and i could do it myself. and it's easy on the apartment walls. :) i just used some extra construction paper we had left. although i'm sure it will fade over time. it didn't stick to the ceiling as you can see. but that is easy to fix.

[MassivePortisHeadAttack]

My roommate and I put these up in the hallway yesterday. Cost about $6. Took about 2 hours. Used Crayola "Craft and Computer Paper" instead.

[A good name]

That looks so cool... I never do any instructables though... I can't afford anything is one of my excuses, but I'm also very messy so everything just get's in the way.

[Spookeriffic]

This would be neat for making faux "Frames" for posters or other artwork/photographs, and with the variety of electrical tape colors that can be found, there are tons of possibilities. Great idea!

[icemataudio]

Thanks for the great instructable! instead of using acetate paper i just used a different color E-tape. (which works great)

[Mrs. Skunkbait]

This looks so awesome. I want to try it.... however I have to convince my husband that it is a good thing. My only concern would be long term affects of the tape on painted surface. How long have you had yours up?

[Rishnai]

I don't know what kind of paint you guys have, but the latex stuff around here has been long-term duct taped a few times and survived. Electrical tape has never caused me a paint problem, kind of like masking tape. It might discolor the surface a little bit, but you can rinse that off with soapy water. I did that one time and wound up having to clean the whole dang wall so I didn't have a bright spot driving me crazy. In hindsight, I'd have kept the faint line. One tape-removal trick: if you're worried about pulling something off, pull up a corner and then with a rubbing-alcohol-soaked tissue, wet under the tape as you gently pull back. The rubbing alcohol will help dissolve the glue so it comes off clean. But in answer, no, it won't cause a problem unless you have some weak plaster and lath, badly broken up sheetrock (the wall behind the dartboard comes to mind), or maybe try and stick it on wallpaper.

[Mrs. Skunkbait]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't think it would cause too much of a problem unless the sticky part melted of sorts to the wall on hot days. The rubbing alchol trick is a good idea... for other things too.

[lilybee]

Hi Mrs S. Mine's only been up for a week or so. I've just peeled back a corner and there doesn't appear to be any sticky goo left on the wall, but as I say, only been a short while. I also have to admit to having the boredom threshold of a sugared up 4 year old so mine probably won't be up for very long. If you're looking for a long haul 'installation' it might be an idea to test an inconspicuous spot for a few months. Or maybe you could use low tack painters tape, I think that it comes in pretty colours too, so you know, yay!

[Tester5000]

if you are worried about markings on the wall stick the tape on your carpet first and it will loose some of it's stickiness, won't last as long, but that doesn't sound like problem...