Today's segment on Con-Tact and Magic Cover was more show-and-tell than step-by-step, and was meant to inform and introduce you to some of the nifty things you can cover and create with these adhesive-backed vinyl-coated papers. I'm afraid most of us use the word "Con-Tact" generically, like Jell-O and Kleenex, mainly because it is so much easier to say than "adhesive-backed," etc., but the truth is that it IS a trademarked product name from Decora Industries.
Similarly, the Kittrich company carries the Magic Cover trademark. One of the reasons the former is more familiar to most of us is probably because it has been around for a long time, and is widely distributed. In both cases, however, there are some wonderful patterns available, and both companies now have a heavier (33-1/3 percent heavier) product version available - Ultra Con-Tact and Kitterich's Extra. To me, the heavier weight really does seem to cover a lot better, and it minimizes all of the little imperfections in the surface you are covering.
One of the features of both products, that a lot of folks seem to be unaware of, is that you can cover something with the product, and if you're dissatisfied with the positioning, you can pull it back up and try again. Furthermore, if you cut off too large a piece, and the product inadvertently sticks to itself, you CAN carefully pull it apart. Traditionally, once this type of paper got stuck to itself, it was only good for the trash bin, but that is a thing of the past, thank heaven. Care should still be used when pulling things apart, however, because the paper DOES stretch a bit, so buyer beware.
Several of the items we showed that were covered with the sticky-backed paper included a plain three-ring notebook covered in plain-colored teal and decorated with black, red, and yellow strips of the paper. The plain colors are less forgiving, in that any mistakes or rough surfaces show more readily, but the notebook looked pretty great. A wooden cigar box was also covered with plain teal blue paper and bordered with 3/4" checks cut from black, red, and yellow papers, allowing some of the teal to show through as the fourth color check.
A shoebox covered with a checkered pastel paper? No, this was in reality two different Magic Cover patterns that had been cut into squares, then applied in a checkerboard pattern. The wide border of the box top was wrapped in a compatible solid color. The bottom of the inside of the box was covered with a solid sheet of one of the prints used for the checkered top, and inside walls were of the plain color used to border the top. Rather than cover the actual inside of the box, the walls were reinforced by cutting four pieces of foam board, covering them and inserting them to fit snugly inside. It is very sturdy as well as attractive.
Resources Magic Cover
Available in local home centers.
Kittrich Corporation
Website:
www.kittrich.com
Con-Tact Paper
Kittrich Corporation
Website:
www.kittrich.com
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