Turn Medical Tape into DIY Tape for Mixed Media Art

Making Meaning, One Strip at a Time

 The goal of this blog is not to produce a single artwork, but to create a humble, useful thing—artsy tape—made with intention and ready to use in your mixed-media practice. Think of it as infrastructure for creativity: functional, adaptable, and quietly expressive.

Hello!! This is Kim Hamburg, a mixed media artist known as gluepaperscissors_ on Instagram. The project I’m sharing today is one I return to again and again in my own studio practice—a simple, adaptable technique that becomes a quiet workhorse in my mixed media collages.

The stencil at the center of this project is the Fade Horizontal Stencil (L697), one of my longtime favorites. Its graduated dots move from large to small, creating a sense of rhythm and motion that feels almost like it's moving once it’s on the page. I’m drawn to dots and circles because they offer so much with so little: instant texture, visual direction, and endless flexibility with color. They can whisper or shout, depending on the palette.

In this post, I’ll show you how I make both paper tape and fabric tape using two types of medical tape. I find both of these at the dollar store, though they’re easy to locate at most drugstores. The paper tape behaves much like washi—lightweight, flexible, and easy to layer—while the fabric tape is woven, slightly sturdier, and brings a richness that instantly elevates a mixed media piece. Fabric tape adds visual weight, subtle shadow, and a tactile quality that makes a surface feel more intentional and complete, even in small doses.

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Supplies

• Medical paper tape

• Medical fabric tape

• Fade Horizontal Stencil (L697)

• Acrylic paint, fluid acrylics, or paint pens

• Ink, acrylic ink, or spray ink

• Paintbrush, sponge, or spatula

• Glue stick

• Parchment paper or another non-stick surface

• Markers (including paint markers, if desired)

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The Process

Begin with a sheet of parchment paper and apply cut pieces of both types of tape directly onto the surface. The parchment paper serves two purposes: it keeps the tape from sticking permanently, and it allows you to store the finished tape sheets for later use, peeling off strips as you need them.

Once the tape is in place, apply a base layer of paint. This can be acrylic, fluid acrylic, or even sprayed ink—whatever suits your mood or color palette. Let this layer dry thoroughly before moving on.

After the tape has dried, place the stencil on top and add a second layer of color. I often use black ink or black paint here, and I especially enjoy working with Posca markers for this step. One of the things I love most about this stencil is its versatility: you can align it so the fade runs along the length of the tape, or rotate it so a single dot size repeats from end to end. Large dots feel bold and graphic; smaller dots feel delicate and rhythmic. I use both approaches regularly.

If you’re interested in more texture, you can mix acrylic paint with modeling paste or spackling paste before applying it through the stencil. This creates raised dots and adds a tactile dimension that works beautifully in more dimensional or layered pieces.

Once everything is dry, feel free to continue adding marks, colors, or additional layers. These tapes are meant to be built upon, not treated as precious.

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Using the Tape in Finished Work

I’ve included photos of three mixed media pieces to show how this tape can be used in different ways. The first is a mixed media collage on paper.

The second is a chunky 6" x 6" x 1.5" wooden panel designed to sit on a shelf or mantel, where the tape helps build structure and visual weight.

 The small book is made from index cards, collaged and put together with the tape…adding color, movement, and a sense of play throughout the pages.

My hope is that you’ll try this technique and begin making your own art tape—something personal, practical, and endlessly reusable. It’s a small project with a big payoff, and once you start, you may find yourself reaching for these handmade strips again and again.

I would love to see how you interpret this month's project -- which stencil did you use?  What colors inspired your work?

Tag me with your work on IG @gluepaperscissors_ or FB:  @KimHamburgArt

Happy making.

Using January's StencilClub Set to Build a Library of Marks, Texture, and Future Possibilities

Happy New Year, 2026!

I am Kim Hamburg, a mixed media collage artist who happens to love all things stencils and all things numbers.

There is something quietly reassuring about numbers. They suggest order, sequence, logic—ideas that can feel grounding inside a creative practice built on intuition and experimentation. I’ve long been drawn to typography and numeric forms for this reason. Frequently you will find a number or a series of numbers in my work.

That balance between structure and freedom is what immediately drew me to By the Numbers, a pair of stencils designed by Sarah Short for the January 2026 StencilClub.  Based on the numbers three and four, these stencils feel less like numerals and more like visual rhythms—curves, dashes, and pauses that hint at typography without fully declaring it. Sarah’s love of letterforms is present, but softened and abstracted, inviting interpretation rather than instruction.  

As a mixed media collage artist—and a guest designer for this month—I approached these stencils not as finished images, but as tools for building a visual language.  The papers I made will remain in my stash and I plan on using them in future collage work.

Image caption:

The By the Numbers stencils by Sarah Short—abstracted interpretations of  the numbers three and four, ready to move from structure into mark-making.

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Supplies

• India ink

• Acrylic paint (any colors you enjoy)

• Vintage book or textbook pages

• Pre-made Gelli printed papers, or other favorite papers

• Sponge roller

• Sponge brush

Optional:

• Wood panel

• Glue stick or gel medium

• Utility blade or scissors

• Ephemera

• Hole punch (any size)

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Building a Library of Painted Papers

Painted papers are an essential part of my practice. I think of them as future ingredients—materials made without pressure, ready when a collage needs something graphic, textural, or quietly directive. Having a small stack of prepared papers nearby removes the friction of starting and allows me to stay responsive once I’m composing.

I began with India ink and a sponge roller, rolling the ink directly through both stencils onto a variety of papers. Vintage book pages are a favorite because they introduce text, diagrams, and subtle grids, but this process works just as well on Gelli prints or plain paper. The sponge roller keeps the ink layer thin and even, catching the stencil edges without flooding the surface.

I repeated this step across multiple papers, switching between the two stencil designs, then let everything dry completely.

Image caption:
India ink rolled through the stencil with a sponge roller, allowing the dash marks to read as rhythm rather than number.

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Isolating Sections for Intentional Design

Once the ink layers were dry, I returned with acrylic paint and a sponge brush, this time resisting the urge to use the entire stencil. Instead, I isolated smaller sections—the curve of the number three, or the dash marks embedded in the number four stencil.

This approach transforms the stencil from a single image into a system of marks. By focusing on fragments, the numbers dissolve into shape and pattern. I also paid close attention to alignment, allowing stencil lines to echo the lines already present on the paper—text columns, margins, and subtle grids—so these papers would feel compositionally resolved when used later in a collage.  I tend to use a grid system when collaging, so making sure things were lined up felt more intentional.

Image caption:
By isolating sections of the stencil, the number begins to dissolve into shape, texture, and pattern.  Think of stencils not as images, but as systems—sources of marks that can be repeated, rearranged, and reimagined.

From Painted Paper to Finished Piece

After everything had dried, I selected a small wood panel and adhered one of the stenciled papers using a glue stick or gel medium. The wood immediately adds weight and presence, shifting the paper from background to surface.

I added more acrylic paint at this stage, scraping it across the panel with a playing card. This tool creates uneven, expressive marks and helps integrate the paper into the surface rather than letting it sit on top.

From another painted and stencilled page, I punched out a few circles—simple shapes that subtly reference the numeric origins of the stencils. These were layered onto the panel, followed by a flower and a bingo piece. Found elements like these bring their own histories and associations, grounding the composition and adding quiet narrative weight.

Image caption:
Painted papers move from preparation to composition as layers, shapes, and found elements come together.

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Letting the Stencils Do Their Quiet Work

What I love most about the By the Numbers stencils is their flexibility. They can be bold or subtle, central or supporting. You can use the full design, isolate a single mark, or cut the resulting papers into fragments that disappear into a larger composition.

Vintage textbook pages add visual interest through typography and diagrams, while painted layers soften and unify everything. In the end, these papers are less about numbers and more about readiness—about giving yourself a library of marks, textures, and shapes that already speak the same language.

When you sit down to make a collage, the conversation has already begun.

Sometimes the most expressive work starts with something as orderly as a number—and then lets it wander.

Image caption:  Finished Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panel

By the Numbers is only available to StencilClub Members who join by January 15th and will ship on that day.  You get lots of great benefits as a club member, including a coupon for 25% off all regular collection stencils, a project and pdf from the artist and an additional project by me that is for members only.  So don't delay!  Get more information about StencilClub here! 

I would love to see your work.  Please tag me on Instagram Check out my IG

Facebook Kim Hamburg Facebook 

Using a Stencil for Art Fundamentals

Hi Everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Mary Beth here with a special blog post for you. 

Are you seeking a set of rules for your work? I know I was, especially when I first started out. Being self-taught, I sooooo wanted to organize the mixed media process into a reasonable list of dos and don’ts. I tend to be a researcher by nature and I bought and studied book after book on art fundamentals. I figured this knowledge would guarantee I produce successful work. You are probably laughing out loud by now as you, like me, realize art is such a subjective topic that it isn’t easy to define what even makes a piece successful, let alone trying to produce one on demand. 

Perhaps it is the color and texture. Or lack of color. Or off the charts texture. The disappearing lines, broken lines, bold lines or tiny scribbles, what kind of line is best!? The unity among shapes or total discord between shapes. Aaack, I was overwhelmed. 

See what I mean? Students of Art Fundamentals are often guided by the Elements and Principles of Art but sadly, they are not consistent within the arts or crafts industries. Typically, the Elements refer to the things each of us use to make our art; call these building blocks if you want. The Principles describe what we do with these things. But why can’t everyone just agree as to what they are – my research turned up so many options!!! Can you hear me smacking my head against my desk?

Here is my version, you will see other references online and in books 

Elements

1. Line

2. Shape

3. Color

4. Texture

5. Space 

6. Value

Principles

1. Balance

2. Contrast

3. Rhythm/Repetition/Movement

4. Emphasis/Focus/Contrast

5. Unity/Harmony/Variety

A stencil, by its nature, is a tool that can give us the Elements of line and shape; I contend a stencil may also help us utilize techniques within the Principles as well. Specifically, Rhythm/Repetition/Movement. 

In order to flush out my supposition, I decided to select just one single stencil to create a variety of parts using multiple techniques involving stencils. Next, I would make a piece of art. Actually I made two small paintings; I used the parts I had made and then also used the stencils with paint. 

Supplies 

White paper, text weight

Black paper, text weight

Vintage paper, old book pages

White crayon, pencil or China Marker

91% alcohol

Inexpensive brush to use with alcohol ink

Duralar or Yupo

Sponge for stenciling, brushes for painting

Limited paint palette, I used Golden Permanent Maroon, Daniel Smith Gold Gesso, Golden Black Gesso, Paper Artsy Heavy Cream

Alcohol ink within the color scheme – Tim Holtz Crimson, Pitch Black and Alloy Gilded

Scissors

Brayer

Bristol, Cardstock or Matboard for the actual art Substrate

Matte Medium or Glue Stick

1 stencil with interesting shapes and lines (S869, StencilGirl®Products)

Before I started the project, I tested out my colors to make sure they would provide an interesting punch and work well together. Taking a minute to do that will make an enormous difference in your result.

1. Be aware that Alcohol Ink stains your hands, so you might want to wear rubber gloves. 

2. Use the selected acrylic colors and a sponge to pounce over the stencil on top of your papers. You may tape off part of the stencil to hone in on part of the design. This will also allow you to repeat the same limited area over and over. Try all your colors on different backgrounds. Make sure you have more collage materials than you will need. You can always save them for later.

3. Place the stencil underneath the black paper and make a rubbing with either a white crayon or pencil. 

4. Cut a piece of Duralar or Yupo to the size of your stencil. Flood the surface with alcohol making sure more than half is covered. Place the stencil on top of the alcohol covered surface. Dribble alcohol ink on top. You may add Gold if you like. Blow with a straw, tilt the Duralar, do whatever you like to move the ink around. You may also like to dribble more alcohol or use a brush to add drops of alcohol which will create ‘blooms’. Allow the ink to mix on its own and wait until it is dry before removing the stencil.

5. Clean the alcohol ink-stained stencil by placing it on top of white paper. Swipe over it with a cleaning tool or a cloth covered with alcohol. Continue until you are satisfied with the result. I ended up with two sheets of paper this way. 

6. Prepare the substrate as desired. This might involve painting sections of background color, gluing neutral collage or whatever you might normally do to start a painting. I did a little bit of painting and collage. 

7. Cut up your parts and start moving them around the substrate like puzzle pieces. Try layering them in different ways. When you are satisfied glue them down.

8. Stencil directly onto the background continuing to use the one stencil. I went back and forth from gluing to painting. It was fun to glue down a collage element and then try to stencil a continued line to achieve continuity in the painting. 

Confession Time. 

I had never tried this prior to writing the article. I wasn’t quite sure what would happen, but I suppose that pretty much defines the art process, right? Truly, I was exhilarated with the result and want to try it again with other stencils. This particular stencil, designed by Jennifer Evans for StencilGirl® Products offered up a beautiful blend of organic effects. I chose it because it had different areas – the squarish shapes, the flower, the linear parts – and I thought it had great opportunity. If you decide to try this on your own, I would suggest you also consider a stencil with diverse sections. I know this won’t be the last time I do this project!!