Duct tape: the next generation

You will rarely hear a southerner say "duct tape can't fix that." From auto repair to plumbing, from construction work to general house hold repairs, duct tape fixes it all. Leaky hose pipe? Put some duct tape on it. Your broom handle broke? Put it back together with duct tape. I myself have used duct tape to “hem” a pair of pants when I didn’t have a sewing machine (or my mom) readily available. I’ve even used it on my luggage to help me identify it out of the hundreds of other suitcases at baggage claim (if only I had known a hundred other people on the same flight had the same idea).  And I have seriously considered reinforcing my son’s diapers with it to keep him from ripping it off to go running naked through the house! Whatever your favorite use was of the good old gray tape, just know that duct tape has gone to great new levels of uses and "fashion". Now it has done away with one color of gray and is available in every pattern imaginable! You can even show your school spirit and get a roll sporting the logo of your college of choice. And it seems this outlook on the southern way of fixing things is becoming widely popular in the crafting world. Crafting and DIY sites are full of ways to creatively use the new patterned and colored duct tape.  Being easily amused and born crafty I thought I would dedicate a blog post to duct tape and the new ways it has "fixed" things. I know duct tape crafts aren’t really new.  But the things people have done with them will never cease to amaze me.

As I previously stated in my first ever blog post, I am a big fan of Pinterest. So to cite my sources, these are mostly ideas from Pinterest. Now I am going to have to try a few of these out myself.

 When I “fixed’ the hem on that pair of pants, I tried to hide the fact that the duct tape was there. I didn’t want people to see my redneck way of fixing them. Little did I know that years later you can now do it on purpose. In fact, people make whole outfits using the duct tape. (I seriously doubt I will be doing that one though, may just stick to the hem...) If you google "duct tape outfits" you will come up with a whole mess of really neat and even extremely dumb, in my opinion, outfits that people have made. There were too many to choose, but here is one that stuck out on the screen the most. I can only imagine the work that went into making the outfits and how much money was spent on the tape....

The same goes with shoes. It used to be that if you saw someone with a pair of shoes held together by duct tape you would think “Gee they need to spring for a new pair of shoes.” Now, even before the shoe has a hole or the sole has come unglued, people put duct tape on them to make a fashion statement.

Got an old clipboard lying around? Well, a few strips of patterned duct tape and its brand new. You could even give it as a gift and no one would be the wiser. 

Use it to fancy up your party refreshments. It’s not like the tape will get water logged sitting in an ice bucket. And it gives your bottles a nice uniform look.  

Got an old, worn out dresser? If it is like mine, you probably already have a piece of duct tape holding some part of it together. Why not just cover the entire thing instead?

I remember my mom would bring new life to an old object using contact paper. She moved on to using pretty patterned paper and modge podge as the years went on. Well, the new generations say duct tape is now the way to go. The first picture shows cardboard boxes redecorated. Great idea, honestly. And since duct tape doesn't require wet glue, the box will hold up a little longer. This person even covered a tissue box with the tape. Forget buying the expensive and fancy hard shelled tissue box covers at the store. I have always wanted one, but couldn't see paying that much for something that I would probably grow tired of in a few months. Now you can change it up with each new box of tissues.

I have covered several Starbucks containers with paper. This one shows that duct tape is just as nice. 

This last one is probably my most favorite. I have gotten as gifts several of the Bath and Body works soap containers. I will use all the soap up and then refill it with my own soap of choice. It is quite obvious that I have done so because the label is still there but what’s inside sure doesn’t smell like “Kitchen Lemon” And it’s not like you can cover a soap container with paper. Even a good coat of modge podge will wear down as the soap drips and water splashes on it. Who would have thought to use patterned duct tape?? It will hold up to drippy soap and splashing water. And you can refill the container with any soap refill and no one will think twice about what scent it should be.

I think I may be making a few of these projects for Christmas gift baskets and little thinking of you gifts over the next few years. And I definatley don't feel quite so stereotyped as a southerner saying "duct tape won't fix that" or "just put a little duct tape on it." I am sure if I say it now anywhere I go, it will bring about someone saying "I saw the coolest thing on Pinterest using duct tape..."

God Bless!

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