Tips on Tuesday #005: Washi Tape

Greetings! Welcome to the latest installment of our ToTs Series designed to inspire you to join in the fun of our International Mail Art | Celebration of Sapphire. This week, we are looking at the wonderment that is Washi Tape!

If this is your first encounter with this lovely stuff, let me tell you a bit more about it. Washi tape is a decorative adhesive tape made from traditional Japanese paper. The name comes from “wa,” meaning Japanese, and “shi,” meaning paper. Unlike regular masking tape, washi tape is made from natural fibers like bamboo, hemp, or the bark of trees native to Japan, such as the mulberry, mitsumata shrub, or gampi tree. One of the most appealing aspects of washi tape is its versatility. It is easy to tear by hand, can be re-positioned without leaving residue, and comes in a wide array of colors and patterns. Whether you’re looking to add a subtle accent or a bold design, there’s a washi tape for every occasion. Due to its recent popularity, it can be found in craft stores as well as from online specialty markets and importers.

I thought it would be fun to make “mini quilts” with washi tape; to that end, I gathered a selection of blue tapes from my treasure trove (those less kind may call it a hoard - but we’ll not be bothered by that, today). In an effort to avoid the pesky angles found in many patterns, I decided to do a couple of variations on the Log Cabin pattern. The pop of red you see in the center (above) is a traditional centerpiece to this pattern - it represents the fire in the hearth at the heart of the home.

After a romp with Mr. Google, I mapped out two variations on my theme on graph paper. In the pattern on the left, 1 indicates the “center” (or fire), the even numbers are the dark colors (representing the night), and the odd numbers are the lighter colors (representing the day time). For the pattern on the right, 1 remains the red block; it could be worked in any number of ways. I opted to have the dark colors opposing the lighter colors. It is truly fascinating to explore all of the different ways one pattern can be altered to create many, many different end results. (I highly recommend your own romp with Mr. G on this subject).

Here is the 1st card (albeit upside down) after piecing my tapes together. Below, you can see the 2nd design. With a jaunty angle it fills more of the card - you can see the darker colors on the left and lighter ones on the right.

I wanted to add handwritten quotations to each of them, but first I needed to do something to bring some more BLUE. I turned to my trusty FineTec iridescent watercolors to add a little somthin’ somthin’ to the open areas.

When it came time to photograph them, I realized that this might not have been the best choice - but they sure are pretty in real life. ;) The one on top has the Midnight Blue from the Rainbow pearl colors set; the bottom features Sapphire Blue interference color from the iridescent set. It looks oddly yellow and flat, here (above); on the completed card however, it is a shimmery, pale, flashing blue/pink — like the inside of a well-worn seashell (below). I used a 005 Micron pen to add tiny stitching to my “quilts.”

Card 1 completed. The iridescence is more visible here.

Card 2 completed. Again, the shimmery effect of the paint
is more visible here.

…and that’s a wrap on this episode of ToTs! While I used Washi Tape for these examples, you could easily to the same thing with any printed papers (i.e. security envelopes, photos from magazines (cut into strips), decorative/scrapbook papers, etc.). Before mailing, I would recommend a this coat of matt medium, ModPodge, or similar sealant. Likewise, you could actually use strips of fabric; however this might make your finished card somewhat weighty. I hope that this has provided you with a wee bit of blue inspiration! We can’t wait to see how you do blue.

Michelle will be back with ToTs #006 in a couple of weeks. Until then, keep making beauty in this crazy world!
- Penny

Tips on Tuesday #003 - Collage Stuff: Security Envelopes

Greetings and Welcome to our 3rd installment of ToTs,
our ongoing series designed to spark your imagination
for your entry in our
International Mail Art: Celebration of Sapphire

Did you miss weeks 1 or 2?
No worries, You can find each of them by
clicking the link below their respective photos below.

This time out, I’m breaking out my stash of security envelopes (it’s not hoarding if you use them, right?) to explore the icy aspects of blue. It seems that they can be had in virtually any color; far and away, the most common coloration is either black or blue (me thinks that works quite nicely for our purposes, eh?). I find them a lovely way to incorporate texture and pattern in collage work. I started by selecting an assortment of blue-patterned security envelopes from the aforementioned “stash.” After cutting strips from my chosen envelopes, I cut those strips into various “shards” (i.e. imprecise, long-ish triangles).

You may recall my substrate (a perfectly trimmed panel from a Labatt Blue beer carton) from Week One - I loved isolating the word “Pristine” below the main line of type - pristine/crystalline/pure/reflective - these were my thoughts when I decided to marry the “Blue” substrate with bits and pieces of the security envelopes. After a bit of fiddling about, I found a rhythm to the different patterns and hues that I rather liked and set about gluing them down (a Craft Bond glue stick was perfect for this job).

I like where this is headed, but it seems a bit “flat,” don’t you think? I decided more blue was in order and turned to the acrylic markers. Giving some contrast and relief to the “Blue” was a great start. I then added some smoky blue dots, white gel pen lines, and silver gel pen highlights to the spiky shards around the perimeter of my postcard. Almost there….

…yep, Yep, YEP! I like it - a whole bunch! A few more little tweaks - a bit of doubling up on some shimmery highlights (OMG - who AM I!?) - and we have ourselves a fine piece of mail art, my friends! Seriously, when I was finished I could hear Idina Menzel - I could see Elsa in her tower of ice - I’m ready to stick some postage on this baby and LET IT GO!

So…. That’s it for this weeks ToTs. I hope you are picking up on the pattern here: you have everything you need! Not a hoarder of envelopes? I bet if you set aside your “junk mail” for a week, separated any and all blue bits therein, and let those gleanings marinate you would have the stuff for more than 1 postcard. You could send one to us and the others to friends and family. Then, not only will you have participated in an International Mail Art event, you will have brought joy to others with your creativity! That’s some next-level Good Stuff right there.

Michelle will be back, week after next, with our next installment of ToTs. Keep an eye out, as postcards are arriving almost daily - we post them here first and look forward to sharing yours here (and on our Social Media outlets), soon.

Creatively yours,
~ PLW