I love washi tape. It’s so versatile. The pattern combinations and colors are endless. It seems like it’s sold everywhere. It’s not cheap, but it doesn’t break the bank either so it’s easy to collect. I use it all the time to decorate packages, close envelopes, secure stuff to my wall and wrap gifts. But in order to really get through roll after roll of washi tape, you have to do more than just stick one thing to another.
LAYOUT ONE | Washi tape is a perfect way to create your own patterned paper. For this first layout, I adhered washi in a diagonal line over and over again until I had filled an 8.5×11 page. I choose tape patterns that fit within a color scheme (red, gold and yellow).
I left a few “breaks” in the pattern to add my handwritten journaling (this is the best part about customizing your own pattern paper!). Then added my photos on top of the tape at the same diagonal and used my sewing machine to stitch them into place. The giant ampersand was something I had been hanging onto for way too long and this was the perfect excuse to finally use it.
LAYOUT 2 | You can also use small pieces of washi to fill a page or create large-scale patterned embellishments.
For this layout, I free-hand cut a large heart out of cardstock – you could do any shape or even a large number or initial. Because washi is pretty transparent, it’s a good idea to use a light colored cardstock.
Then I used small pieces of tape, about 1-2 inches long to cover the heart. I started at the top and layered the tape down until it was full.
I printed out a photo that had a lot of “white space” or portion of the image where without the main subject and covered the extra space with the heart. I adhered my photo to cardstock and added my journaling around the outside edge of the photo.
To finish things off, I machine-stitched around the photo border and added a letter sticker initial to the heart.
Covering simple shapes with tape is also a great way to make gift tags or handmade card embellishments.
enJOY it 