What does a Garden Gnome do when she is not gardening, in the kitchen or doing genealogy? Well the answer might just surprise you so read the entries to find out more. This blog focuses on everything we do to make our house a home. There will be a strong emphasis on home energy efficiency and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. At the same time there will also be crafts, knitting and crocheting projects along with any other little tips we do to create that down to earth, I want to be here home. Please enjoy your visit :)




Sunday, March 11, 2012

Painter's Tape Isn't Just for Painting

We've all heard how useful duct tape is but my favourite multi-purpose tape is painter's tape.  It is inexpensive and doesn't damage surfaces the way masking tape can.  Although I have a couple of specialty, no bleed through painter's tape, the one I like for general purpose use is the Painter's Mate Green or similar in the 1 - inch wide width.  Here's so of the ways I've used painter's tape:

  • temporary labels - Painter's tape is excellent for temporary labels.  I use a Sharpie marker to write on painter's tape creating temporary labels for filled boxes of home canned foods, as a label on filled jars of home canned foods using the Tattler lids, as labels on plastic totes and essentially anywhere I need a label that can easily be removed later.
  • furniture placement - Sometimes it is difficult to determine where larger pieces of furniture will go in a room.  Using painter's tape is a lot easier than moving around heavy furniture.  I measure the piece then make the outline on the floor with painter's tape.  It can be moved a couple of times, then once the location has been determined, I mark the centre with painter's tape so the piece can be positioned properly.
  • temporary draft stop - A piece of painter's tape placed over electrical outlets is a quick draft fix if you don't have enough of the childproof plug covers that double a draft stoppers.  It works well to stop drafts from any cracks on outer room walls until you get a chance to fix the crack properly.
  • hanging pictures - I use painter's tape to aid in the proper planning and placement of painting groups or other wall hangings.  Unlike using string to run between two picture hangers when planning groupings, painter's tape will not sag.
  • renovating projects - Painter's tape is a great tool to help you visualize ideas when renovating.  For example, I thought some type of trim would accent the tub/shower unit in the main bathroom but didn't know exactly what.  I taped a 1 - inch strip all around where the trim would go then went ahead and painted the room.  Once the paint was dry I removed the tape to show the old paint behind to see if a frame would work as I planned.  This was a simple solution with the worst case scenario being painting the strip the same colour as the wall.  We did like the effect and chose to have a custom wood frame made.
  • temporary indoor game markers - We use painter's tape in the games room to temporarily mark boundaries or other special marks like 'stay behind this line' for indoor games like neurf ball toss, darts and the holy board game. 
Garden Gnome
©2006-2012


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