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When I first fell in love with washi tape, I was amazed by all the cool creations I found on Pinterest. But as we set out to create our own, we ended up instead with a whole bunch of "Pinterest fails." For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to use washi tape in anything but a solid stripe pattern.
We've come a long way since then, and today I want to share with you all of our tips and tricks for making beautiful washi tape art.
Here's what you'll need to create your own:
-A visual of what you want to make
-Scissors or an Xacto Knife
-Paper
-Glue stick
-Pens, colored pencils or markers for embellishments
STEP ONE: Decide what you want to make. This could be something you draw, you could print a picture from the Internet, find a picture in a coloring book or magazine, etc. My girls wanted to recreate this darling picture of a mermaid they found online.
STEP TWO: Cut out the elements of the photo that you plan to decorate with your tape. If you can't cut up the photo itself, make a copy of the picture or trace over it on a blank sheet of paper.
PRO TIP: If you're having a hard time seeing the image you're trying to copy, lean on a nearby window. The light coming in from outside will automatically illuminate your image and make copying a cinch.
STEP THREE: Tape over your cut outs. Go from top to bottom and leave some excess on either side.
Now, flip over your shape. Start from one corner, then slide your hand up under your shape so you don't accidentally pull all of your tape off in the process. It should remove easily once you get it started.
STEP FOUR: Trim around the edges of your shape. I used scissors because I found it easier than an Xacto knife.
Repeat this process for every shape you plan to cover. It sounds complicated, but once you know what you're doing, it really only takes a couple minutes.
STEP FIVE: Attach your shapes to a solid piece of paper with a glue stick. Then draw or copy in the elements of the picture that aren't covered in washi tape.
Now you've got a fun, creative picture that can be used for anything! You could use this process to make birthday cards, notebook covers for school or just photos to hang around the house. I love projects that cause my kids to think and really use their creativity -- and in the summers, I also love projects that take up a good amount of time. This is perfect to do on a rainy day or during those hot afternoon hours when you come in to take a break from the sun.
Isn't this mermaid just darling?
My teenage daughter is by far the craftiest at our house. Here are two of her recent creations that I just adore. She followed the exact process I just taught you above. The first is a birthday card for cousin Kaylee, who loves all things unicorn. The second is a birthday card for Grandma, the Queen of our family, who adores the color purple.
Now, before I sign off, I want to talk about washi tape stickers. Washi tape is adhesive, so you might be asking yourself: Why are we taping to paper and then gluing it on? Can't we just stick the tape directly to the paper? The answer is YES -- you can. I find it to be a lot harder on larger, more complicated designs like the ones above that use LOTS of tape.
But in my next tutorial, I'll introduce you to washi tape stickers. You won't want to miss it!
Be sure to check out the other projects in our summer crafting series: