enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Tape
Tapecomputer

My June goals list wants me to accomplish three "just for fun" projects. This is the first.

I saw this awesome DIY taped table from ladycroissant.com on Thursday and couldn't stop thinking about it. Literally, in Vegas, I was thinking about that table. On Sunday, I went to Target because rumor has it they have cheap solid color tape. At my second Target store, they had it in stock. (Heads up – the brand is Kid Made Modern. It's $6.99 for 9 rolls. It is NOT washi tape, but more like paper tape. Texture/weight is like a post-it note, but the stick is good. I noticed some colors did not come off the roll very well, so that was annoying. But overall the bright colors were perfect and for this project didn't want to spend more money on legit solid-colored washi.)

Tapeprogress

I cleaned off my computer desk, which is a cheap three piece table from Ikea. I wiped it down with windex to clear the dust and coffee/ink stains. After that dried, I got to work.

Tapeontape

Less than an hour (and two packs of Kid Made Modern tape + half of two other solid colored rolls of normal washi) later, my work desk looked so rad.

Tapefull
Tapewrapped
Tapecorner

I just taped long strips and wrapped them around the edges. I added a few extra strips of color at places where I felt like an extra color was needed. When I had all the colored tape on there, as an extra precaution, I secured them to the underside of the desk with some clear packing tape. This was absolutely a "stick with it" (no pun intended) project. About a quarter of the way through, it looked so stupid and I worried I was wasting time and money. By the end, I was obsessed.

Tapeside

Seriously, I love the pop of color. Every time I walked into my office yesterday, I smiled. And I'll be the first to say this is the opposite of practical and it might not hold up very long. But I am going to be careful with it because I adore it. (Obviously, I could try some long term solutions like adding a piece of plexi-glass, covering it with laquer, etc.)

Tapeabove2

At the moment? Totally worth it. I'll let you know what it looks like at the end of the week. 😉

And remember, the project was inspired by this cute blog. Thank you for the idea, Adeline!

 

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81 responses to “just for fun / taped work table.”

  1. kristy.lynn Avatar

    you could totally add plexiglass to the top on the cheap. i turned an old sewing desk into a bedroom corner scrap area & had to put a piece on top to cover up the ‘pop up’ area in the middle. we took the measurements to lowes & had them custom cut the piece there for us.. and it was REALLY inexpensive. it’s held up amazingly, and the best part.. EVERYTHING i manage to get on it from glue dots to staz on comes off! you need to cover that tape up so it lasts, cause it’s RAD! 🙂

    Like

  2. Pink Ronnie Avatar

    That is a totally rad idea. Would be great for a kids room as well, I reckon!
    I like Kristy’s idea of adding a piece of plexi glass on top.
    Ronnie xo

    Like

  3. Vic Avatar

    I had plexi glass on my desk when I was little – my parents got me a dressing table to use as a desk and didn’t want me to ruin it! It worked like a dream – really cheap as well!

    Like

  4. Kimberly Avatar

    I love it! And I think the plexiglass idea is a good one. I had a large piece of plexiglass on my childhood dresser & I used it to put memorabilia, band pictures, schedule reminders, etc, underneath the glass and enjoyed another place for stuff. Think of all the inspirational quotes you could put under there and have the tape as the backdrop 🙂

    Like

  5. Ell Avatar
    Ell

    Yeah, I’m on the plexi-patrol too. This is way too cute to have it be short-term.
    So- what is “paper tape”. Like masking tape? How is washi tape different from masking? Made with rice paper or something?

    Like

  6. Malia Avatar

    I love it… what a happy place to work! I bought some of that Kid Made Modern tape but haven’t opened it yet. Thanks for the heads-up ( -:

    Like

  7. Jodi Avatar

    I love it SO MUCH. it looks amazing!!!

    Like

  8. JillT Avatar
    JillT

    It makes me happy and it’s not even in my office! (I’m fascinated by this ‘tape’ but wondering if my podunk Target will carry it–home decor? office? where did you find it?

    Like

  9. Amanda Avatar

    So fun! Practical schmactical. Fun, happy, and rad-looking is where it’s at!

    Like

  10. alexandra Avatar

    such a happy desk now – love it!!
    thinking I might try that technique on a big canvas to make ‘art’ – maybe for the kids’ playroom : )

    Like

  11. Amy Avatar

    This looks amazing, and so simple! I want to do this to all my furniture now, thinking of where I can get that sort of tape in the UK! xoxo

    Like

  12. Rose Avatar

    I love this idea! I’m interested to see how it holds up… do keep us posted!

    Like

  13. Michelle Avatar

    this is so RAD!!

    Like

  14. sewa mobil jakarta Avatar

    Nice article, thanks for sharing.

    Like

  15. krugthethinker Avatar

    That looks awesome! I am so glad you stuck with it!

    Like

  16. elizabetht Avatar

    dude. this is SO GREAT. and so, so happy. this is the kind of thing I’d normally see and say “oh cool” and never do it, so it’s even awesomer that you went for it. 🙂

    Like

  17. Amy Avatar

    Oooh, my desk is all banged up. Totally gonna do this. Thanks, Elise.

    Like

  18. Kelly Cree Avatar
    Kelly Cree

    Love it! So inspiring.

    Like

  19. Alice Avatar

    LOVE! So bright and fun.

    Like

  20. Skye Avatar

    This is so awesome! I’m impressed by how crisp you made the edges.

    Like

  21. Rosemary Avatar
    Rosemary

    Love it! What a happy place to work!

    Like

  22. elise blaha Avatar

    Craft/stationary section.

    Like

  23. elise blaha Avatar

    Not like masking tape at all. Feels like a post it note. That is the best way I can explain it.

    Like

  24. Megan (Best of Fates) Avatar

    Looks fabulous! I love the idea but fear my version wouldn’t turn out nearly as well! Plus, I’ve checked my Target and they don’t carry it, though now I’m tempted to try a couple more and see!

    Like

  25. //Panda Avatar

    Super cute!

    Like

  26. cinback Avatar

    Just brilliant!

    Like

  27. Laura M Avatar
    Laura M

    now i’m trying to figure out a piece of furniture I can remake using this technique! I love it 🙂

    Like

  28. Amanda A Avatar

    this is super cute!

    Like

  29. kristy.lynn Avatar

    jill-you can look up if your local target has it by finding it on the target website & then using the ‘find it’ (says something like that) button. i didn’t have any luck in my local targets, but found one close to my brother who picked it up for me! 🙂

    Like

  30. Cate O'Malley Avatar

    omg, this is going to be hard not to do. and it would look fun with my pink post-it heart over my desk

    Like

  31. Allie Avatar

    I’m obsessed with this. It’s amazing!!

    Like

  32. Toni Brockliss Avatar

    My craft table is covered in tape and I Mod Podged it. It’s fantastic and only took me a couple of coats. I got the hard gloss podge that I can wipe with a wet sponge. I have had it almost a year now and it still looks the same as the day I did it.

    Like

  33. elise blaha Avatar

    that is so good to know!

    Like

  34. kristen Avatar

    It turned out AWESOME! Looks amazing & so cheery!

    Like

  35. Acompton Avatar

    this is by far the coolest thing i have seen in awhile. absolutely. awesome.

    Like

  36. Kathy Avatar

    looks totally awesome and I can see why it makes you smile

    Like

  37. Jenny Avatar

    The pop of color totally makes me smile. So awesome Elise and Adeline!

    Like

  38. o-girl Avatar
    o-girl

    Love it!!!! You worked hard on this and did a neat, concise job of it you really should do yourself a favor and do what you wrote, get a piece of plexi or glass on that. \o/ Yay for “just for fun” projects!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Like

  39. Nisa Fiin Avatar

    I LOVE THIS!

    Like

  40. Chrystina Avatar

    This looks pretty awesome. Such a great accent piece and color pop!!

    Like

  41. Isobel_A Avatar
    Isobel_A

    This is one of those things where it looks great in someone else’s house, but I absolutely could not live with it myself. I am, however, wondering if you could do something similar with gentler colours, or using patterned and plain tapes in the same colour, just different shades…Hmmmm!

    Like

  42. Amy K Avatar
    Amy K

    That is SO fun!

    Like

  43. J3SS1C4 Avatar

    Such a great colour pop for your office! I can well understand why you’d be smiling each time you go in! I’d be covering it with something as well so that it lasts. I think my desk is a little to big to do something like this for the desk, but I’ve done similar on cards, and might do something to frame for my craft room 🙂

    Like

  44. r8chel Avatar

    This isn’t my style, but I LOVE that you saw an idea and then went out pretty much right away and DID IT. You’re so great at that, Elise!

    Like

  45. smolenb Avatar
    smolenb

    I love the color combinations and proportions you used. Great Palette! It makes me smile too.

    Like

  46. Katie Avatar

    It’s AMAZING! I love it! So want to do this – looking around my house trying to decide which piece of furniture to cover in coloured tape!

    Like

  47. Carola Avatar

    This is the first time I’m getting into your blog.
    Congrats! You have very nice projects and I love the way you take pics!!
    🙂

    Like

  48. plumbing Avatar

    Such a great Idea. I love the concept of using different colors. Really amazing. I must try this one.

    Like

  49. flora Avatar

    awesome! too bad we don’t have Target in Canada yet. I want that tape!

    Like

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