Local woman stuck on duct tape

DECATUR — Dona Young, owner of the Gentry business Creations by Dona Lee, is taking duct tape out of the shop andinto the living room.

With Young’s fashionable touch, the old saying “Duct tape can fix anything” should probably be changed to “Duct tape can create anything.” From lamp shades to aprons, doll houses, purses, rugs, pillows, flowers, wreaths, furniture and candle holders, if it can be imagined, it can be made out of duct tape.

But don’t think for a minute that the inside of Young’s house is covered in industrial silver. In fact, despite being integratedinto so many of Young’s home decorations, the tape is pretty hard to spot. That’s because duct tape now comes in a diverse selection of bright colors and prints that allows Young to make her creations in herown pretty, feminine style.

As many as 30 varieties of the tape are available at local retailers - such as Walmart, Target, Staples and Hobby Lobby - including animal prints, polka dotsand even Arkansas Razorback duct tape, Young said.

She has used the tape to transform everyday, sometimes-boring objects into stunning creations. A bedside organizer that once sported a golf theme is now covered in zebra print and bright pink with feather and sequin accents. A once plain-Jane black side-table now sports a leopard print top, an old rug is bursting with color and a lamp shade is transformed into a work of art.

“I love the after effect: That I can turn something ugly into something beautiful,” she said.

But duct tape also has a practical side. Young has made duct tape pillows and rugs and, with the help of her grandsons, has tested their durability and found them to be indestructible. It is also fairly inexpensive to buy.

Young began to explore the idea of making things out of duct tape last summer. Fascinated by the idea, she did an Internet search and found that the new colorful duct tape has inspired a trend of duct tape art, clothing, accessories and housewares.

Pictures of cars, furniture, purses and even wedding dresses captured Young’s imagination and she used her artistic talents to run wild with the new creative medium. Young found plenty of new colors and designs of duct tape as she perused art and craft stores but a lack of details on how to make things out of duct tape. As her interest grew, Young wanted to take some classes, as she has done in other crafts, but couldn’t find any.

She’s learned the art of crafting items out of duct tape by trial and error and has gained some valuable experience along the way.

“There are some tricks that I’ve discovered,” she said.

Young offers her original duct tape works of art for sale. While it may seem counterintuitive to pay for something made out of duct tape, what customers are really getting is an original creation, whether a purse or a doll house, that represents hours of work.

After all, even the best paintings are only paint-colored canvas, Young explained.

For those wishing to learn the craft, Young offers one-on-one and group classes, as well as duct tape parties.

“You can turn anything into beauty,” she said.

For more information, contact Young by phone at 957-4739, by email at [email protected] or on her Facebook page, Dona Lee Young.