Friday, July 20, 2012

Washi Tape: DIY Date

Hey there, friends!  Happy Friday to you!  I hope you all have had a wonderful week and are gearing up for a great weekend.  :-)

So, All Things Luxurious is going to be participating in something pretty fun once a month, and I'm really excited to share it with you!  :-)  My friend Louise from Laid Off Mom was sweet enough to invite me to party with her for her first monthly DIY Date!  She e-mailed me and some other awesome bloggers a couple of weeks ago and told us about how she has a monthly "craft night" with her friends, and how she wanted to do something like it for the blog!  Each month, she will pick a crafting medium, and it's our job to come up with something creative!  Make sure you keep a look-out on her blog for posts like this one where she sets the due date for the craft and the type of craft we're doing so that you can join in, too!

Louise will be posting all of the projects onto a Pinterest board dedicated to that particular craft, her blog, and her Facebook page.  I'll be sure to update these links on Monday when she posts up -- she's sharing all of the projects on the 23rd, but I'm blogging about my craft today.

So.  Washi tape.  I will tell you, I had a painfully difficult time finding this in any craft store, and I have no idea why.  I will tell you about my horror story in another post -- my experience was actually so bad that I am looking to find some independently owned craft-supply stores in the Scottsdale-Phoenix, Arizona area (so if any of you have any tips, let me know!).  I have been keeping an eye out on Etsy and Pick Your Plum  for washi tapes that I like so that I can stock up -- because using it was so much fun (and so easy).

I ended up finding a very small selection at JoAnne's (like, I had two choices), but thankfully I really liked both so I just had to decide which one I liked better.  I debated for a while over what I was going to decorate with the washi tape, but I decided on a white catch-all tray that I thought was pretty and could use a little sprucing.


The washi tape I chose was pretty cute, and it is Martha Stewart brand.


This project is so simple, it really doesn't even need a tutorial.  I just traced straight lines across the bottom of the tray lightly with pencil and a makeshift ruler (a nail file, of all things), and then I began to layer my tape!  I cut the excess tape by lightly slicing with an Exacto knife at the edges -- this worked really well for me!


I really enjoyed making up my pattern as I went along...it was fun!



And there you have it!  When I finished it, my mom already wanted it, so she put it to use in her living room, holding their crazy amount of remotes.  ;-)


I may Mod Podge the bottom if it seems like it's not holding up, but I think it will be okay for now.  :-)  This project ended up taking about 45 minutes, and the cost was $22.  Not bad!

Have you made any projects with washi tape lately?  Where is your go-to place to buy it?

love,
maria

Update: One of my lovely readers, Erin from 110 + 2 told me about a GREAT washi tape website called Cute Tape.  I have been *loving* perusing the site and looking at all of the beeeautiful tape it has to offer!  Make sure you check it out.  :-) And thanks, Erin!

Linking up!






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22 comments:

  1. Nothing with washi tape (yet) but I am a sucker for trays and this one is a beauty!
    Kelly

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  2. Ok, I've never even heard of washi tape before and I'm a total DIY'er...this is brilliant! Love learning about new arts and craft staples...love your fun, poppy, summer pattern! Bold and beautiful, great work hun!

    xo-Julie
    Peace. Love. LOL!

    Haute Khuuture Blog

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    1. Thank you so much, Julie! Washi tape is fun, but it was so hard for me to find! If you are thinking of getting some, check Etsy -- there are really great options available!

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  3. Such a cute tray! Isn't it amazing what a little washi tape can do? And it's so easy to work with. If you've caught the bug, you can always check out cutetape.com. (I may have that URL slightly off, but I'm sure google can set you straight.) And I actually saw some house brand washi tape at Target, if you can believe that!

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    1. Thank you so much! I was amazed at how easy it was to use -- was not expecting that! And thanks for the link, I will definitely check it out. You know, I checked Target, but I didn't see any! I will have to keep checking. Thanks so much for commenting!

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  4. I have not... but love the idea.

    -Art a la rue
    thanks for your lovely comment. xo from S.f.

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  5. That looks lovely! I'm a huge fan of washi tape! Nice blog!:)

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  6. I had never even heard of washi tape until it sorta exploded over blogland, so I'd imagine I would have a hard time finding it, too. But maybe not. Maybe there have been aisles and aisles of it that I have just skimmed past because I had no idea what the word "washi" meant.

    Your tray is super cute! Great tip from Erin about the website, too! :)

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    1. Erin, I hadn't heard of it, either, until very recently because of the blog world, too! The tough part about finding it, for me, was that a lot of the craft stores call it something completely different, so when I said the words "washi tape" I was met with strange looks and, most commonly, this line: "I have no idea what that is." Lol. Kind of frustrating, but glad that there are online resources so that I can *easily* get my fix! Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. I love the funky mix of colors and patterns :) So cheerful looking!

    Thanks goodness for the DIY Date to get us to discover Washi Tape, right? ;) I'm officially hooked, too.

    And that cutetape website is definitely dangerous... yikes...

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    1. Thanks so much, Ash! I'm so glad that I finally got to play around with washi tape -- this was a great excuse to try it out! And yes, that site? Keep me away!!! ;-)

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  8. I didn't realize Martha Stewart had washi tape!!! But then again, NEVER underestimate Martha right?!! Love how you mixed all the patterns/colors. And too funny that your mom took the tray for herself!! LOVE it! And soo happy you joined this DIY Date Maria! Looking fwd to having u join the future dates!

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    1. OH yes -- never underestimate the power of Martha. ;-) Thanks so much, Louise! It was a blast and I can't wait for more!

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  9. What a pretty tray! I also had a hard time finding washi tape but eventually found some at The Container Store of all places. Cheers to Louise for hosting this... looking forward to the next DIY date!

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    1. Thanks! Wow, I will have to check out The Container Store next time I'm looking for it! Thanks for the tip. I can't wait for the next DIY Date, too!

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