Fun with Washi Tape
Current washi lineup on my desk.
Washi tape originated in Japan and was originally made with rice paper. These days it is more of a decorative masking tape and comes in a dizzying amount of designs, sizes, and colors. Washi tape was a product I discovered pretty early in my entry into the stationery hobby through the planner community. Looking back, I’m pretty sure my first washi tapes were from Michaels (an American chain craft store) and was Tim Holtz brand. I was drawn to the vintage/dark academia style and I was already a big fan of their craft papers. That aesthetic is still something I am very much drawn to, but I have branched out a bit with a few brighter tapes in my collection.
I’m going to say the variety of washi tapes that I own is modest, i.e. I have fewer washi tapes than I have inks. At the moment the washi is stored in the bottom drawer of my vintage wooden toolbox, in my 14 tape Galen Leather washi dispenser, and a few loose ones in a valet tray. I’m trying not to get it out of control, since the tapes can dry up and lose their stickiness. Just like markers, there isn’t much point in hoarding them.
So, how do I utilize these colorful little tapes?
My primary use is decorating my notebook pages either on their own or in combination with other decorations like patterned paper or stickers (sometimes all three). I rotate through tapes each month, trying to pick out a palette that I want to utilize for the month. This generally compliments my ink choices as well. It’s not necessary for them to go together, but it’s really distracting to me if they clash.
In combination with some mildliner and a sticker.
Early in the month (or when they are empty), I set up washi cards to carry in my TN, which makes the washi far more portable and lets me mix up the designs more often. These cards then go in a pocket in the back of my TN. My first washi cards were repurposed expired cards from my wallet. My favorite that I used for quite a while was an expired America the Beautiful Federal Lands Pass. I ended up picking up some cute washi cards from Inkyconverters a few years ago and now I usually keep two in the back pocket of my TN. Generally, I refill them with tape about every two weeks. When setting up one of the washi cards I do 5-6 full wraps of each tape. It gives me a decent amount to create several spreads before needing to refill.
One empty washi card on the side for reference.
While that is the main way I use washi tape, I’ve also used it for the following reasons:
Covering up mistakes or marking things out in my planner or notebooks. It’s not uncommon to see little pieces of washi on calendar pages. My writing notebooks will sometimes sport diagonal pieces of washi tape over an entire page. It’s a quick signal to myself that I rewrote or abandoned that part, but it’s also easy to remove if I wanted to see what I wrote.
Taping flat items into my notebooks when I’m out and about and don’t have a tape runner.
Emergency tape that is always on me. So, silly story. Over the holidays last year I was visiting my brother and got relegated to an air mattress as his in-laws were in the regular guest bedroom. I was warned that they were pretty sure it had a hole somewhere. As soon as I got it inflated and laid down it became quickly apparent that they were correct. Washi tape to the rescue, however. I was able to find the teeny tiny holes and slap a piece of washi over them. Problem solved for the night and also marking where they needed to put the patches.
A false start to a short story.
With the many different styles, sizes, colors, and patterns there are so many other ways to use it. I’ve seen some beautiful art made with washi tape. I had a friend who used washi tape in her apartment that was painted landlord special to add some patterns to the otherwise starkly white walls.
There are a lot of retailers that sell washi tape these days, but my favorite places to buy washi are Yoseka Stationery and JetPens. I love wandering art shows and I’ve even found some custom washi tapes made by local artists. I have picked up some very unique designs this way.
If you’d like to share more ways to use washi tape, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Look at those crisp fresh pages! They’ll be so wrinkly with ink by the end!
Notebook update: I’ve decided to follow my own advice about leaving notebooks unfinished (written almost a year ago!). I was just not finding myself wanting to write in the last little bit of either the Sterling Ink A6 or the Midori MD A6. They were laying flat just fine, but I was ready to move on. I recently added a bunch of my fun new stickers to a red A6 Stalogy that I’ve had in my stash. Mixing it up can make such a huge difference in actually wanting to write. This will act as my primary creative notebook going forward. I might add another insert into my TN in a bit, just for more paper variety.
Currently Inked
Diamine Rainbows End - Kaweco x Galen Leather Carmine 14K BB ‘journaler’ - I’m really enjoying this nib as an option for a header pen. It’s still wide enough to do uncial shapes, but is flexible enough to just write with it when I want to.
Anderillium Diversey Harbor - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14K BB CSI - Did an ink swap with my fireblue because I wanted to see how this ink did in a wider nib. It shows off a little more of its blue color and more red sheen on the edges. I’m really happy with this special edition.
Wearingeul x Atlas Stationers Atlas - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo B ‘imperial’ - This ink almost didn’t come home with me from the Chicago Pen Show. I told myself I have plenty of blues. Then I played with someone else’s pen with this ink in it. It ultimately became my last purchase of the show on my way out. It’s such a cheerful soft blue and the blue shimmer is a great combo.
Anderillium Luna Moth Green - Kaweco liliput copper 14K B - Ink and pen stayed the same, but I decided on a nip swap. I am really loving this ink right now. It shows off more of a shading character in this wider, wetter nib.
Colorverse Bow Shock - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - The super sheener is back thanks to my roommate who is currently trying out all of the sheening inks in my collection. This is such a bright blue and I love it.