Home Made Washi Tape on a Rainy Day

Step One: take the paper tape and lay it out in rows very close together on

a slick surface (I use a clear acrylic sheet).  This cotton tape is "gentle" paper tape in first aid

section at the Dollar Store or Walgreens.  Comes 20 yards to a package. Maybe $3?

Then using just cheap craft acrylic paint (WalMart  or Michaels .75 cent a bottle) I just paint the tape with a thin coating.  You can use any acrylic paint watered a bit.  Dry an hour.  

The fun part:  using stencils and stamps of all kinds, make all kinds of prints on the paper tape.

I use make sponges for the stencils, dipped in acrylic paint.  Sometimes I print with black ink but usually not much of that.  I use hand made stamps, edges of old credit cards, bottle lids, Q tips etc etc.

Very fun and relaxing.  Obviously i just make the marks all over from one tape to another. Dry and hour or two.  Be sure everything is very dry. Don't use a hair dryer.  

Now, using a large "shake size" drinking straws I carefully begin to wind up the Washi tape 

on itself as I pull up about 2" at a time.  The tape is low tac so it will stick to itself but will also

unwind later quite well.  You need to work slowly so you don't tear the tape.  You can see the residue left on the plastic from between the tapes and a little that came through the tape.  

The designs are so interesting as you pull them up…you are never quite sure what you

are going to get!  The residue on the plastic wipes up with regular alcohol and a paper towel.  So you can do it all over again some day!!!  

We had a VERY rainy day here in central Florida today.  We got 1.3" of rain from noon to 5 pm!  Whew.  A great day to snuggle into the studio and make more "washi" tape.  

The tape comes in handy for lots of things…I use it as borders on envelopes and cards, in collages, as a colorful binding in Zentangle Friendship "books" and I even use it to mark things like taping my colored pens so I can find them amidst my black ones.  I was amazed at the all the places I find to use it.  But this supply will probably last me most of the winter.  

You can find videos on how to do this on line by goggling "home made washi tape".  Hope it will inspire you!