Would you believe, today is masking tape’s 85th birthday? On this day in 1930 masking tape was patented for the first time.
In honour of this momentous occasion, here are five awesome things you can do with masking tape:
1. Mummy Costume
We couldn’t give you a list of anything without at least one fancy dress idea! This one’s not for the faint of heart – but definitely good for a giggle. Just make sure you have some scissors handy for when you want to un-mummify yourself!
2. Make a Race Track for Toy Cars
If you’ve got bedroom/living room floor space and some toy cars, all you need is a roll of masking tape and you’ve got some great entertainment for kids and adults alike. Lay out a track for the cars to drive around, and watch as everyone who enters the room drops to their knees to join the fun. If you’re facing a long, rainy afternoon at home you could have the tracks run over furniture, up curtains and all sorts. The world is your car track oyster!
3. Pretend it’s Washi Tape
Washi tape has become hugely popular lately. The brightly coloured patterns on the tape are great for decorating everything from exercise books to note books. If you’re a dab hand with a felt tip, you can make your own version of washi tape by colouring in your roll of masking tape. It’s cheaper, and it won’t mark the surfaces you stick it to!
4. Paint an Arty Design on the Wall
Use your masking tape to create the outline of a design or shape before painting your wall – then remove the masking tape and hey presto – a great picture! If you’re feeling super arty you can do multiple layers of paint so that your design comes out in different colours.
If you’re not in the mood for using actual, real-life paint, you could always buy some masking tape in a different colour and create a great faux mural like this:
5. Create a Sculpture
Artist Anna Gillespie has created some amazing sculptures using masking tape and resin. They look just like real humans in a wide range of poses… why not see if you can recreate these sculputres yourself? We’re betting it’s not as easy as Gillespie makes it look… but is probably a lot of fun in a Generation Game-type way!
