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Packing tape transfers are a fun technique as they can be applied to many different surfaces and remain transparent. This technique allows for a double transfer of two different types of images by choosing napkins as the first transfer onto one piece of tape. By using napkins there is just enough adhesive left on the tape to get a second transfer with some text of your choice.

You will need some transparent packing tape, some separated one ply napkins, some water in a shallow container, some text from a magazine or book page and a glue stick for adhering your finished tape to a base if desired. 

Open design pattern napkins work best to allow your text to show through. Magazine text transfers much easier than book pages with a lot less paper scrubbing from the back of tape. You MUST burnish your napkins or the design won’t transfer to the tape. It’s a good idea to burnish your text too especially if choosing a book page rather than using magazine text.

Begin with your napkin face up and adhere some packing tape on top. Burnish with a bone folder or other smooth object very well. Place this tape in your container of water to soak (the longer you allow to soak the better your transfer will be, wait at least a few minutes). Remove your napkin from the water and gently but firmly rub the napkin off of the sticky side of the tape. It takes a while, longer than magazine transfers.

After you have removed the napkin pat dry and reapply this same piece of tape to your text and place that in the container of water for a few minutes. Magazine ink will usually transfer much faster than ink from book pages so experiment. Some book pages might not transfer at all. 

Remove from the water and scrub or pull your text page off the back of your tape. Book pages take more scrubbing than magazine pages.

The sticky side of your tape should be smooth but if you feel any rough spots just keep gently rubbing the paper off.

Allow to dry, apply some glue with a glue stick and adhere to your desired base. 

More tips:

• Burnish very well.
• Open patterns work best.
• Magazine text works best, try some larger text.
• Black text on white background shows up best.

Have a play and combine different size and color magazine texts to different napkin patterns and see what you can create. By using napkins for your first transfer you will usually have enough adhesive left on your tape to get a second transfer, you can try combining napkins with magazine images too.

Happy paper crafting!