It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

• Yes, that’s right, Halloween! It’s coming up fast, and I cannot wait. I am deciding right now which costumes to do duct-tape tutorials on, so if you have any ideas or have seen one of the costumes under the Boo-tiful! page you’d like to see me do a YouTube video on, please let me know! I”m going to showcase as many as I possibly can, starting the first week in September thru mid October.

  A few of my favorites: What’s your vote?!?

  

  

  

  

Oh, Snap!

In the last going-on-four years I’ve been obsessing over duct-tape, I’ve gone through quite a few different gadgets and clips and clamps and snaps and magnets and rivets–more hardware than you can possibly imagine to use for closures and bling. Of all of them, the snap press has been my favorite! (It’s a close second with the magnets I found at K&J Magnetics)

I didn’t start out with a press. I actually went down to JoAnne’s during on of their “50% off notions wall” sales (I know all you Crafty Kathy’s out there know exactly what I’m talking about!) and happened to see a set of snap pliers! I snatched it up right away, my mind already spinning with projects. I think it was about $30, regular priced, and came with a few snaps. I grabbed an extra packet of snaps (around 7 bucks for 8 snaps, yikes!) and took it home.

I was apprehensive. I have used the same brand of rivet pliers for years, and LOVE it for projects like the Strawberry Purse, and also used them a lot for punching holes, but I’d never had any success with using them for snaps. I had never been able to successfully install snaps with any regularity without bending the snap itself to the point where it wouldn’t, well, “snap”.

So, I stuck two layers of tape together, punched a hole with my rivet pliers, and gave it a go. And. It. WORKED! I was beyond ecstatic. My daughter had a birthday party later that day, so I whipped out a flower headband (stay tuned) and every single snap worked like a charm!

But then I ran out of snaps, and the sale was over. I had no coupons and needed a minimum of a couple hundred snaps for the projects I had planned out in my head. So, I spent the next little while Googling things like, “bulk snaps”.

I found a couple of sites that piqued my interest, but my favorite was theKamSnap site. Not only did they have good shipping options to Alaska (like, FREE! heck yes!), but also had 2 options for presses to choose from. One was normal plain Jane, and the other….had a long arm! It has a total of about 4″ worth of clearance. How exciting! No more scrunching up tape inside the pliers (or press) in order to get the snaps put in.

I was super excited. I priced it all out, and it wasn’t as cheap as those plastic pliers, at least in initial out-of-pocket costs. Seems expected, though doesn’t it? You do, in life, get what you pay for, after all. I paid $87 for the press, but that didn’t include dies (the pieces required to actually install the snaps) or the snaps themselves. I, of course, went with the biggest snaps out there, and the most expensive dies. Go big or go home, right? I ordered 500 snaps, a press (the long arm one, the D-93) for $221.

Which is a lot of money for a duck like me.

Worth it?

For me, YES! For you? That all depends.

You sorta have to guess at how many snaps you’ll be using, and remember of course you can use it for more than just duct-tape stuff. There are plenty of Snappy Projects besides tape out there, if you are so inclined. As for duct-tape, A Studded Belt takes around 20 snaps. A lunch sack takes one or two. Don’t forget, either, that I have some amazing projects coming up with the potential to use a lot of snaps! (stay tuned!)

Here’s the plain math. To go with the cheap pliers and 120 snaps, you’re going to pay around $150.

To go with the heavy, cast-iron press, the die, and 100 snaps, you’re going to pay $149. After that, you’re going to pay $96 for 500 snaps, or $24 for 100 snaps, which works out to less than than a quarter a snap. With the pliers, you’re going to pay around a buck a piece for snaps, every time.

Bottom line, your “break even” is at 120 snaps. Any less then that, pliers. Anymore, press.

A couple of things to keep in mind if you are ordering the D-93. First, it’s not listed or pictured on the “Dies and Presses” page of KamSnap.To order it, click on the press pictured on the left, and on the next window, select D-93 from the pulldown menu. You know its the right one if it’s green and has a long arm. Oh, how I love that long arm! *swoon*. Now we just have to convince KamSnaps to offer rivets and dies, and I will die one happy duck-o!

When choosing your snaps, I highly recommend getting one of the “Spring” rather than the “Grip” options for tape because they are the ones that have posts. I’m not sure that the “Grip” option would stay secure on the tape. Plus, you will be able to go through more layers of tape with the “Spring” options, since they have that tall post.

To order the snaps of your choice, keep in mind that the price on the shopping cart on the right is the “base price”. To get the right price for the snaps you’re ordering, scroll down on the page to see how much they are. (I order the #24 size.) Then, select the size from the pull down menu on the shopping cart, and it will add the price in. Sort of confused me at first, so if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help, or I’m sure you can contact KamSnaps directly.

In the meantime, duck-os, happy snapping, and of course, happy pulling!

How to Make a Taco Bellt (or any duct-tape belt, really!)

Howdy, Duck-os, and Yee Haw! Today I’m going to show you how to make a belt out of duct tape. The possibilities are endless design wise, but the one that I made today was at my daughters request; she’s a Taco Bell fan in a big way and wanted the belt to show off her obsession!

Start by pulling a long piece of tape in any color. I went with my standard cheap-o gray for the base, since it won’t show. You want to pull it as long as the desired waist size, plus 6″ or so for wiggle/growing room. Lay it out sticky side up and fold in half lengthwise. The easiest way to do this is with a fellow duck-o and have each of you hold an end of the tape nice and tight while one of you folds, but to do it your self, just stick it to your surface by rolling the tape under itself on either end. Then, starting in the middle, carefully fold in half, keeping it as even and flat as possible. A few wrinkles are okay, so long as you keep it consistent on the width of the belt.

Next, pull a second strip of tape the same length as the first and lay out sticky side up. Again, it’s easier to do this with partner, but if you don’t have one, roll it like you did your first strip. Now, starting in the middle, center your first strip down the center, leaving about a quarter inch on the top and bottom. Fold up each side, keeping it nice and even. This is easier than it sounds; stay tuned for a YouTube video for some tips on keeping them nice and straight and even. In the meantime, though, don’t stress too much. If it’s a little squirrelly, nobody will really notice. You can repeat this step as many times as you want, keeping in mind that the more layers, the more sturdy the belt. You want to limit it to about 7 layers, though, so you can get your snaps through the thickness of the belt.

After you have done your base, layout the color you want in the center, sticky side up, just like before. Lay the base down the center, and fold up the top and bottom so there is a stripe down the center. Repeat as desired.

This is the fun part! Making the ” buckle”. There are so many options out there! One of my favorite techniques is using labels from my favorite products, (Coke, Hershey’s, Taco Bell Sauce, Crush soda, Dr. Pepper, I could go on…) Just try to stick with a tape like plastic-y label so you don’t have a massive contrast between the shiny-ness of the buckle and the tape, and be sure to cover it with a layer of clear tape. I’ve also cut out flowers, clouds, hearts, and starts out of layers of duct tape. Just don’t make your “buckle” too wide unless you really stabalize it with a lot of tape. You may even consider stabalizing it with something other than tape to prevent curling. (Thoughts on this coming soon–check in the Stuck-o section in the next few weeks.)

If you want the snap to show, punch a hole through the belt and the center of your buckle and attach snap. If you don’t want it to show, attach snap to the end of the belt. Then stick your buckle on the belt over the snap with some double sided tape, and cover the back with a layer of tape. Cut out the circle around the snap on the back so that it will…snap.

Now all that’s left is to measure the belt. Add the other half of the snap to that spot. I like to do 3 or 4 of them, a couple on either side of the spot, so that the belt can be a little flexible in it’s sizing.

A couple of notes: First, if you’re doing the rainbow belt or one with more than 5 layers, there is no need to do a base. Just start with your center color.

The watermelon belt I made for my preschooler was done in reverse–The “caps” on the snaps were covered with black to look like seeds, and the “stud” of the snap was hidden underneath.

I also really like the look of the “studded” belts on the Coke and the rainbow, but it obviously takes a lot more snaps. I’ll get into more of this (and how I afford it) in my Snappy blog post later this week!

Have fun duck-os! Happy pulling!

How to Make a Duct Tape Ice Pack

After doing last week’s post on *how to make a duct tape lunch sack*and suggesting making a ice pack out of an *squishy bag*, I got to thinking: why not make one out of 100% tape and gel? It doesn’t need to be clear, after all, and duct tape is water-tight when done properly, so why not?

The first thing to do is make a small pouch out of any old color. I, of course, used gray because it’s cheap! Make sure when you over-lap your seams you leave AT LEAST 1/2″ overlap and that you make sure your seams are pressed down. I also covered it with a second layer criss-crossing the first just because I’m paranoid about leakage.

Now just fill your pouch with cheap hair gel! How much, you ask? Not too much and not too little. I know, helpful, right? Just fill it with as much gel as you can, keeping in mind you are going to need to fold it over and need to keep it flat at the top to get a good seal, so roughly half should work our great.

Now fold over the top of the pouch and secure with tape. (I used purple so you could see what I was doing.) Then, tape it again, folding the strip over the back and to itself on the sides to ensure that no gel with leak through your corners. Trim close to the pouch, (but not too close! Leave a little for ‘sealant’ purposes) and repeat on all sides.

Now cover the pouch however you like. (I used teal with a black floral overlay that I got at JoAnne’s for this one, but I think I’ll either stripe or checker my next one so it matches the bag a little better.) Border the entire pouch and then toss into the freezer to await your next famous tuna salad sandwhich! Add your scraps to your duck-o ball, and you are done.

Happy back-to-school, duck-os!

How to Make a Duct Tape Lunch Sack

Holey smokes! I can’t believe that school is about to start! I guess it’s no wonder it snuck up on me, considering the summer I’ve had.

I figured I might as well start getting ready by making a lunch bag for my kids.

I made this one for my middle schooler. She picked the colors, including the snaps. I would have just done them in silver or black, but hey, it ain’t my bag, so whatever.

The bag isn’t insulated, but it is waterproof, so you could totally throw in an ice pack. Even better–make your own out of duct tape! Check out the post on "how to make a squishy bag" to learn how to make one…then just throw the thing in the freezer. Or, to make one completely out of tape and gel, try the post on *how to make a duct tape ice pack*

You could insulate the bag by adding a layer of thin foam, a 1/8″ batting, or even a scrap of fleece between the layer of tape. Just cut it to an inch smaller all the way around your panels and stick it in. I don’t bother, though, because I’m not really sure it makes any difference whatsoever. I could be wrong. *shrug*

I started by making a *half strip checkerboard* (click the link to get to the post on how to make that checkerboard pattern!) that was twelve 15″ strips wide by seven 12″ long. Then I backed it with black and cut it in half the long way so I had two 6″ strips. Next I joined them into a long continuous strip by taping the back seam with black and the front seam with clear. You should now have a very long strip the width of your lunch bag.

If you go with a solid color or stripe, you could always just make a 6″x26″ piece and not bother to tape 2 sections together. In a later post, I’ll demo how to make bags with a front and back panel, with the sides and bottoms in one strip.

Moving on. For the side panels, cut tw0 5″x6″ pieces of tape. I covered the back in white, leaving 1/2″ exposed on the long sides an about 3/4″ on one of the short edges. Trim the top, then notch out corners from side panel like so.

Now tape the side panels to the inside of the bag around 8″ from one end. This is *not* centered– remember you will have the top flap that has to go up and over the top of the bag. The panels need to line up with each other exactly, though, so it stays nice and square. (this picture is the back side of the bag and side panels.)

This step is easier done than said! Wishing I could show this in a video, but alas. All I’m doing is taping the side panel into place, starting from the bottom and working my way up, keeping it straight, lined up, square and neat.

This is what it should look like once both panels are in, and it should stand on it’s own if you manage to keep it square.

Another ‘where’s YouTube when you need it?’ moment! To finish of your seams, just take a half strip and tape it on the checker board, leaving half of it to fold over onto the side panel. Repeat for all the ‘unfinished’ seams.

All that's left is to make a handle and install a closure! I chose to use my snap press from *kamsnaps.com* because I love the the thing! Of course, you could use Velcro or a magnent to close the bag, but I like the snap. It keeps it really secure, plus this way you can make your handle ‘snap’ onto your backpack!

I’ll get more into snaps in a future post, including why I chose to invest in a press vs. pliers from the craft store.

Add your scraps to your duck-o ball; Pack your favorite lunch, and trot off to schrool! Happy pulling, and wishing you wondermous grades, duck-os.

Remember you can find us on *facebook* at facebook.com/duckos!