Personalized planners, journals, and other written organizational tools are taking the world by storm, and with them, so are all their accessories. Easy to write with pens and sticky notes are to be expected, but what about the newest decorative trend, washi tape?
Washi tape is a decorative type of masking tape traditionally from Japan and made from natural fibers like mulberry, bamboo, or rice. Did you know you can make your own washi tape at home with personalized designs? It’s easy!
Making washi tape at home can be done with or without sticker paper. It can be done with high-tech tools like a Cricut or simply with scissors, tape, and wax paper.
Either way, it’s an approachable and fun project to help spice up your crafting.
Luckily for you, I’ll show you how to make your own washi tape at home. I’ll show you what Washi paper is made from and how to make it with or without sticker paper. I’ll even show you some washi tape alternatives to use in your day planner.
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What Is Washi Paper Made From?
The decorative paper portion of washi tape is called washi paper and is made from different materials than the sticky tape portion. Washi paper is traditionally made from natural fibers like mulberry, hemp, bamboo, or rice paper. Making it at home requires either parchment, sticker, or wax paper.
Washi tape still looks beautiful, even if you don’t use the traditional materials.
How Do You Make Washi Tape With Sticker Paper?
Making washi tape with sticker paper is the easiest way to create washi tape. Simply decorate the sticker paper yourself or print a design onto the paper. You can then cut the tape with either a Cricut machine or scissors.
Follow these steps to make perfect washi tape with sticker paper:
You’ll need: Sticker paper, ruler, scissors, color printer. Optionally, you can use a Cricut.
- Find your desired design for your washi tape online.
- Load the sticker paper into the color printer and print the design onto the sticker paper.
- Alternatively, if you don’t have a colored printer, you can design the washi tape by hand using pens or markers.
- If using a Cricut, choose the size and shapes that you want for your washi tape. For example, if you’re using it to mark out days in your planner, set the Cricut for the size of the calendar square.
- If you’re not using a Cricut, carefully measure your pieces or strips of washi paper and mark them out on the back of the sticker paper with a ruler.
- Carefully cut your shapes or strips out with scissors or an Xacto knife.
And that’s it!
Making washi tape with sticker paper is the simplest and quickest method of at-home washi tape production. However, it does have one downside compared to the wax paper method. With sticker paper, you can’t make the long rolls of washi tape like you can with wax paper.
How Do You Make Homemade Washi Tape Without Sticker Paper?
The wax paper method might be right for you if you don’t have sticker paper or just want to have the long rolls of washi tape as you see in craft stores. This method requires a few extra materials and steps, but you can make stunning washi tape in a convenient roll that you can take anywhere.
Follow these steps to make perfect washi paper with wax paper:
To make washi tape with wax paper, you’ll need: Wax paper, scissors, double-sided tape, tissue paper, paper towel or toilet paper cardboard tube, and a bread tie or small clothespin.
- Spool out wax paper to the length you want your washi tape to be. It can be as long or short as you want.
- Place the double-sided tape on the wax paper, as long as you want.
- Cut down the length of the double-sided tape. Once you’re done, it should look like plain washi tape.
- Place the sticky side of your plain tape down on your tissue paper, being careful not to rip or wrinkle the delicate tissue paper.
- Cut down the length of the double-sided tape just like you did with the wax paper, and then trim and excess tissue paper off.
- Roll your length of tape around your cardboard roll and cut it to size. You can secure the tape with either a bread tie or a small clothespin.
This method is a little more time-consuming. It can also be difficult to find the exact design of tissue paper that you want. Yet, making washi tape with wax paper is inexpensive and simple enough that even kids can do it.
This also has the added benefit of letting you cut off pieces from the roll of washi tape as needed. If you want a larger, custom-sized piece of washi tape, you may want to stick to the sticker paper method.
How Do You Make Washi Tape With Glue?
Making washi tape with glue is possible. However, we found it to be the most difficult of the 3 homemade washi tape methods. Still, not everyone has double-sided tape or sticker paper lying around. So if you want to make washi tape without committing to buying extra supplies, making washi tape with glue is a great first step.
The instructions for making washi tape with glue are as follows:
You’ll need: Regular clear tape, decorative paper, parchment paper, scissors, white glue, a paintbrush.
- Place your tape on the parchment paper
- Paint a thin layer of glue on the non-sticky side of the tape
- Place your decorative paper on the glue-covered tape, holding it down and smoothing it out to prevent bubbles
- Once the glue is dried, cut the tape parchment paper, tape, and decorative paper (that are all now stuck together) out, so you have your strip of washi tape. If the outlines of the tape are hard to see, you can mark them with a pencil on the parchment paper side before cutting.
- When you’re ready to use your tape, the parchment paper will peel off of the tape with ease.
What Can I Use Instead of Washi Tape?
There are a few alternatives if you don’t have washi tape on hand. Masking tape is the best alternative if you just need an adhesive tape. Decorative paper can also work well as a washi tape alternative, but peels off just as easy as washi tape.
Washi tape has many uses, and as easy as it is to make it yourself, there aren’t many reasons to substitute it in craft projects. Still, it’s always a great idea to have backups!
Summary: How to make washi tape at home
There are three different ways you can make washi tape at home. You can make it with sticker paper, wax paper, or with glue. Sticker paper is the easiest way to make washi tape.
Sticker paper washi tape is made by using your printer to print onto the paper. You can then use your cricut machine or a ruler and scissors to cut your tape.
Wax paper washi tape can be made to create long rolls of tape. Simply unroll your wax paper and use double sided tape on the wax paper. Next, place tissue paper on the double sided tape to create your washi tape.
Lastly, you can use glue to make your washi tape. Unroll parchment paper and place tape, sticky side down on the paper. Use a thin layer of glue on the non-sticky side of the tape. Place your decorative paper on the glue and smooth it out to remove any air bubbles.
Masking tape is the best alternative for it’s adhesive properties. However, decorative paper works well if you’re looking for a fancy design.