Personalize it with Washi Tape

What is washi tape? It’s basically a thin papery tape (similar to masking tape) with different colors and designs, originating in Japan.

There are so many ways you can use washi tape to personalize things in such a fun way. It’s one of my favorite craft supplies right now!

1. Customize your calendars.

For this simple project you need:

• Any kind of calendar–I really love my dry erase calendar from Poppy Seed Projects

• Dry erase marker

• Black Sharpie permanent marker

• Variety of washi tape

You can either tear or cut the washi tape with scissors. Then you can write and decorate on top of the tape with a Sharpie marker. It makes certain days (like holidays or birthdays or events) really stand out on your calendar. And it is easily removable. (Make sure you don’t write on the calendar itself with Sharpie!!!)

For this Valentine’s Day label I added a little bit of flair with the notch cut out of one side of the tape to make it look like a little flag.

You can organize and use the labels however you want. For our calendar, I used specific colors/patterns for different events we have happening this month, such as dance, orchestra, etc. I even made a little “code” in the notes section to remind us what the labels stand for. For the repeating weekly events it was nice to just stick that particular piece of tape on that day instead of rewriting it each week.

It’s so colorful and customized, and I can use completely different colors next month. I love it! These washi tape labels would work well with any calendar you have and will allow you to really personalize it!

2. Make a monogram!

For this project I placed washi tape in stripes on top of white cardstock, then I cut out the “H” monogram with my electronic die cut machine (Cricut or Silhouette). You could cut it out with scissors as well. Then I used a glue stick to adhere the monogram to cardstock.

There are many possibilities for this! Any color or pattern combination you want, in any shape you can think of to cut out!

Another really cool thing? You can PRINT right on top of the washi tape too! Put a strip of the washi tape onto your regular printer paper (you have to get it in the right position according to the margins and make sure your text is the right size) and send it through your printer! Wait for the ink to dry before handling it. I love this fun trick!

3. Decorate an old window or bulletin board–make a chart.

I took an old window, added some strips of washi tape and created a creative way to keep track of my kids’ piano and viola practicing! Use a dry erase marker or even better, a liquid chalk marker to write things down. Use the same idea for job charts, menu planning, or even make your own calendar using washi tape.

4. Personalize party drinks and plastic cups.

Adding some paper (I used a scallop paper punch on each side) and some colorful washi tape really gives a plain glass bottle some pizzazz for a party! Decorate each drink with its own design or even let the guests chose their own patterns and colors. Add a little flag of washi tape on the straw for more flair and for guests to write their names.

Keep track of which plastic cup belongs to you by marking it with washi tape–put your initials, stripes, etc to make yours stand out! We did this at our family cabin over the summer and everyone always knew which cup was theirs, and we weren’t throwing away tons of cups! Super easy, fast and fun.

Places you can buy washi tape:
Target
www.Downtowntape.com
www.pickyourplum.com
www.michaels.com