Washi Tape made easy

Home made Washi Tape 

I think this is the 3rd time over the years that I've posted this "recipe" for home made "washi" tape.  (My sister will know exactly what I am doing!)  I probably do this twice a year so I keep my tape supply available whenever I need it!  Great for decorating cards and letters, journal pages, collage work, etc.  I think these are tons nicer than commercial washi tape!  

I use first aid cotton tape that you can find in any drug store or dollar store.  And I lay it out on a non-stick surface.  Freezer paper works the best, I think, but this time I used waxed paper for the first time and I think it went fine.  I taped the wax paper down to my work table first.  2-2.5 feet across.  Then I laid out the paper tape in strips across the waxed paper leaving just a tiny bit between them.  After I apply the first coats of base paint you can't even see the spaces anymore.  

(I just use inexpensive craft acrylic paint form hobby store or WalMart).  Pick bright colors that you enjoy…some dark and some light.  After the base coats dry apply more printing, stenciling, spattering, and line work however you like to do it.  Mostly I love just random marks, but you could be as planned out as you wish as you might want a certain look.  Gold paint spritzed on with a tooth brush on a dark back ground is very effective.  Fine line work with fine liner bottles is very effective too.  You might just want stripes or dots painted on with a Q-tip.  Hand made stamps work well and I enjoy using stencils printed on with make sponges.  Let dry again.

I wind my tape onto "smoothie" drinking straws and stick them into a cup on my work table so they are handy at all times.  Voila.