During a visit to Paper Source in Birmingham, I saw a package of temporary tattoo printer paper for sale in the shop. It looked like so much fun – but I noticed in the directions that you needed a special paper cutter, a Silhouette machine, to cut out your tattoo designs.
Curious to see if I REALLY needed that expensive tool to make my own tattoo, I picked up a package and headed home. I’m pleased to report you don’t need a Silhouette! Here’s how you can make your own printable DIY temporary tattoo, too.
Materials
- 1 package of Silhouette Temporary Tattoo Paper
- Images to print
- Home inkjet printer
- Popsicle stick or bone folder
- Scissors
Instructions
- Start out by selecting a favorite image to print on the sheet. I wanted a picture of a cupcake, so I selected one from royalty-free site Clker.com. You get only two pieces of tattoo paper in the kit, so try to find as many images to fit on the sheet as you can. Follow the package directions to correctly line up the image for printing.
- Open the package of paper. There should be two white sheets of paper that look like photo paper and two green-tinted sheets of adhesive. Set the adhesive aside.
- When your images are ready to print, feed one sheet of paper through the paper, glossy side up, at a time. Let the ink dry completely.
- Take a sheet of adhesive and peel half of the backing off. Position the adhesive on top of your glossy sheet. Using a Popsicle stick or bone folder, guide the sticky sheet into place so you have as few air bubbles as possible.
- Once the adhesive is on the sheet, use your Popsicle stick and rub each image individually so transfer the adhesive, just like applying a transfer.
- After each image is transferred, you can cut them out. Using very sharp scissors, cut as close to the design as possible. Remember, whatever area you don’t cut will show up as clear on the design.
- To apply your tattoo, remove the adhesive plastic and place the paper on your skin. With a very damp washcloth, wet the design for at least 10 seconds. Carefully remove the paper backing and get ready to show off your new, but temporary, tattoo!
