Pretty Sticky: Washi Tape (yum!)

(image recklessly stolen from happytape.com to show off the company’s amazing wares and the possibilities thereof.)

By now, you’ve probably figured out that the Artist goes through certain obsessions at times.  Maybe not OBSESSIONS, per se, but definitely trends, where everything is made with some kind of supply — watercolor pencils or water-soluble oil pastels or a certain pen.

Okay, sure.  It’s an obsession.  Let’s just call a rose a rose, shall we?

For those that haven’t heard of this particular bit of Lovely — washi tape is a masking-tape-like japanese creation, made with washi paper.  Washi paper, if you haven’t seen it before, is a thin, slightly transparent paper with a really interesting drape.  Kind of like tissue paper, but not shiny at all or nearly as flimsy/cheaply made.  Washi tape has many of the same qualities as the paper — the same slightly-matte, papery feel, with a translucent quality, so it can be layered over things and have them still be only partially obscured.

washi tape organizer by cutetape@flickr, under creativecommons license!

It comes in about elevenbillionty different patterns and colors — everything from intricate french-like compositions to the more serene dots and grids, and a rainbow of solids that give you a ton of options.  It’s perfect for collages and art journals since it can be written over (and under, due to the translucency), and can be stamped on, drawn over, and cut into shapes to make custom stickers or shapes.  It comes in all kinds of widths, too — we’ve seen some that are as small as 7mm, and some as large as 2 inches wide — so there really aren’t many restrictions, other than your own imagination.

We found out about this crazy new obsession from Kelly Kilmer, famous mixed-media teacher and artist, who uses it in her art journals.  (She’s also a crazybig enabler for the stuff, with lots of links.  Fair warning to your wallets.)  From there, it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to a bunch of other artists who have done amazing things with it — from bookbinding to cards to more art journal pages.  Not to mention what you can do to stationery — check out these outgoing envelopes by donovanbeeson @flickr, from whom the Artist would maul the mailman to get an envelope:

outgoing mail by donovanbeeson @flickr

Convinced you also need this obsession necessary art supply yet?  Thanks to the power of the internet, you can get washi tape delivered right to your front door.  There are a ton of sources, but we’ve only ordered from one thusfar (though more is surely to follow).  The Artist bought this, from happytape.com:

It’s a ten roll set in coffee-toned colors, and you KNOW the Artist is ALL OVER anything with a coffee theme.  (It was between this and a giant solids set, and she was a little afraid that solids would be a gateway drug to taping everything in sight.  Not that this won’t be.  Eep.)

Some other sources for washi tape include:

CuteTape.com, which has an amazing selection (and other items that will probably make you a bit swoony.  Fair warning.) and a great site.

PrettyTape @ Etsy, where you can get washi tape in all kinds of patterns, plus rubber stamps and cute, simple supplies.

Washimatta @ Etsy, located *in* Japan, so the shipping takes a bit longer, but they also have Liberty fabrics, and if you’re a sewinggeek, you may swoon a bit.

LittleHappyThings @ Etsy, which sells a lot of MT (brand) and other tapes, and tons of, well, little happy things.

Some local scrapbooking/paper arts stores carry them, too, so keep an eye out while you’re out cruising the aisles for supplies — you might just find some you’ve overlooked before this.

We’ll update this post when the Artist’s package arrives.  We’re sincerely hoping the studio doesn’t turn into one giant, tapey web of Pretty, but the monsters aren’t all that optimistic on that front — from all the options we’re seeing for this stuff, it seems like just a matter of time before we find monsters covered in tape.  Sure, they’d look pretty, but if it’s one of the monsters that breathes through his/her skin, it may pose an issue.

We’ll just have to stay vigilant when the postman arrives.