To Be Charmed» japanese washi tape

{DIY Pretty Twisty with Japanese Masking Tape}

Elizabeth — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:21:03 +0000

Howdy All, I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. I came across this super cool DIY project from Zakka Life which will utilize all of that Japanese Masking tape you’ve bought! I love it because it’s so easy and they really dress up a goodie bag. Below is the tutorial.

{ Happy Easter! }

Elizabeth — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:23:52 +0000

I hope everyone has a great Easter and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

~ Elizabeth

{ and the the winner is… }

Elizabeth — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:50:06 +0000

Congratulations are in order to Mary Beth! She’s won a 5 pack of her choice of Japanese Washi tape from Happy Tape. Thanks so much to everyone for entering! I can’t wait to see what Mary Beth does with her tape! Also, thanks so much to Happy Tape for this generous giveaway!

Need a little Washi tape inspiration?

- Check out what the mother/daughter duo over at A Spoonful of Sugar have been up to
- Of course there is the original post on Washi tape + Easter Eggs by Suzonne Stirling which kick started the Washi tape madness
- DIY project of applying Washi tape to glass vases
- DIY project of applying Washi Tape to cake stands and platters

{ japanese washi tape + entertaining, part III }

Elizabeth — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:53:12 +0000

Good morning all! I hope everyone had a great Saint Patty’s Day. Now we can officially roll up our sleeves and get ready for Easter! I just love Easter, the beautiful pastels, spring tulips and all the yummy goodies that go along with it (as you will see below in the pics I have a thing for Peeps:) ). How about you, what’s your favorite part of Easter?

Today’s post is about applying Washi tape to cake stands and serving plates. I absolutely love how it dresses up a simple white serving plate and the cake stands are precious. My theme was Easter but these tapes are perfect for dressing up any serving ware you have for what ever occasion may be around the corner.

Enjoy the photos and at the end I will talk about applications.

Application:

The white serving plates & candy bowl where so super easy and very straight forward to decorate. The thin strips where created by adhering the washi tape to vellum paper and cutting the width in half. If you look closely to the candy bowl you will see that the bottom edge is scalloped. I just used a scalloped edge craft scissors to get that effect.

The cake stands where a little more work. Again, I adhered the washi tape to vellum and then with a craft punch I created the bunny edging effect (the craft punch is made by Martha Stewart and I got it at Michael’s). It was a bit more difficult to take the washi tape off the vellum because of all the detail in the craft punch but you only need a couple of strips so totally worth the end result!

Have you all had a chance to play around with Washi tape? I would love to hear/see what you’ve created.

Oh and don’t forget to enter our Japanese Washi Tape Give Away. Click here for more information.

{ japanese washi tape + spring, Part II}

Elizabeth — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:33:16 +0000

Addicted! So got my Washi tape in the mail and I’ve been having a blast playing with! The applications for this tape are endless. Today’s post is about applying the tape to glass objects. The tape has a bit of transparency to it and applying it to the glass vases was such a cool effect. I especially loved how the tape looked on the smoky white vases. Using the yellows and oranges soften up the vases but I could see how using bright, bold colors would give the vases a completely different effect. I also love how forgiving the tape is. If you apply a strip or are not liking an application you can just take it off and start over. Enjoy these photos and at the end we will talk about the how-to’s and lessons learned!

Okay, now let’s talk application. All of the applications for the tape were the same except the last two which were on painted plastic. Applying the tape to glass was very easy. Just cut strips the same length and go! With the last two I wanted to try some different patterns. The first one, creating a lace look, was pretty difficult. I placed the tape on parchment paper and then used my lace hole punch. I have to admit, it was tricky because the tape didn’t always get completely punched or it would get stuck in there. I would like to continue to play with hole punches and Washi tape but I think I only have the patients for small applications using this technique! The last photo, using the different red patterned tapes was easy. I just cut small strips the same size and applied them to the plastic.

Two Lessons Learned I would like to pass on to all of you!

1. It’s very difficult applying the tape horizontally. As you can see in the last photo, the Washi tape is buckling and I found it next to impossible not to have this happen.
2. I noticed on the vases that have curves, the tape has started to come up in places. I think if I was really happy with how the Washi tape looked on a vase with curves I would apply an adhesive over the tape. I’m thinking Mod Podge… but not sure how that would look. Let me know if you have a suggestion!

I hope you enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed making them. Stay tuned, Tina over at Happy Tapewas nice enough to sponsor a Washi Tape giveaway which will start next week.

Oh and I would love to post your Washi Tape projects. Email me links or photos to: tobecharmed at yahoo dot com.

~ Elizabeth
PS. Oh and don’t forget to enter our Japanese Washi Tape Give Away. Click here for more information.

{ japanese washi tape + easter, part I }

Elizabeth — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:18:39 +0000

A while back, I posted an article about japanese washi tape. I absolutely love the stuff but I didn’t have an immediate project in mind so have yet to purchase any. Then I stumbled upon an article in Family Circle, craft stylist Suzonne Stirling has inspired me! How clever. Japanese Washi Tape on Easter eggs. And how much fun would it be to hang them on an easter tree with some ribbon. The possibilities are endless! Well, I will be purchasing my tape ASAP and can’t wait to show you all the finished easter tree. I would love to see what you all do with your washi tape. Please email me at tobecharmed@yahoo.com and I will share your project pictures on the blog.

DIY instructions from Family Circle as to how they decorated the eggs:

Create Colorful Collages.
Use washi tape that is at least 1/2 inch wide. Create a collage of patterns by tearing small pieces of any length and covering egg. Press out any air bubbles before attaching next piece of tape. For the best effect, vary the placement of the tape. Repeat the same color and pattern to create an overall design or mix and match patterns for a patchwork effect.

Bold Strips
Select washi tape that is approximately 1/4 inch wide. Wrap the tape lengthwise around the egg and cut to fit, creating 12 stripes. Rub tape down to push out any air bubbles. Use the same color tape for stripes or alternate complementary hues.

Lace
A craft punch gives eggs some fanciful fretwork.
Tear off a strip of 1/2-inch-wide washi tape that is roughly the same length as the egg from end to end. (Japanese washi tape is a fabric-like masking tape that comes in dozens of patterns, colors, and widths.) Lightly affix tape across the edge of a sheet of vellum paper. Using a decorative edge craft punch, cut designs onto the tape. Carefully remove the tape from the vellum. Repeat the technique with a second strip of tape. Line up both pieces on egg with the straight edges together as shown. Gently affix tape pieces to the egg, pressing out any air bubbles. To make the solid stripe, use washi tape that is 1/4 inch wide. Wrap the tape lengthwise around the egg and cut to fit. Rub tape down to push out any air bubbles. Repeat both designs as desired. (Our egg has four solid stripes and four craft punched stripes).

{ the current frenzy }

Elizabeth — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:36:11 +0000

Yep, there’s a total frenzy out there over Japanese Washi (masking) tape. Who knew… well I just stumbled across it reading a blog I love, A Spoon Full of Sugar. They made a gift bag using the tape:

Feeling motivated! Here are some links to places where you can purchase the tape:

www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyTape
www.happytape.bigcartel.com/
www.etsy.com/shop/downtownfabrics
www.cutetape.com/