I’ve been making cards for my family for a long time, ever since I was a kid, really. I bought a pack of deep red card stock one year, and I’ve been slowly making my way through it for years. When I discovered washi tape, it was a game-changer. The history of washi paper, the ancestor from which the tape derives, goes back centuries in Japanese culture. An incredibly practical and versatile invention, the durable paper has been used for all sorts of things — from those sliding screens you see in Japanese traditional homes and films to origami, lamps, prints, and books. Marie Kondo, organization and decluttering expert, suggests using it as an all-purpose label or decorative tape to help with staying organized. I have a little drawer full of different colours and patterns. Not only do I use them to decorate greeting cards, but I’ve also used washi to make a photo collage on my wall of family pictures, to decorate journal entries, and as a substitute for scotch or masking tape when I might want to remove the tape later. That’s one of the main benefits of washi, apart from the beautiful designs. You can often stick it down and remove it without damaging whatever surface you put it on. Washi tape affords so many papercrafting possibilities, but also just artistic potential in general. We have several books in our collection with ideas for how to use it and other papercrafting supplies and tools. I thought I would take the opportunity to show you the ones I find the most intriguing. I’ll also share pictures and links to craft projects that inspire me creatively in the hopes that you see something that nourishes a creative spark in you. It’s so easy to make your own cards or start learning calligraphy or create your own art piece using washi paper and/or washi tape. Whether you’re more of a scrapbooker, bullet journaller, or neither, it’s so easy to create art when you have beautiful paper, pens, or tape around. I’ve included a picture of the Mother’s Day card I made this year above. No washi tape this time, but I still think it turned out okay. The topmost layer is a transparent cut-out from a card a relative gave me back in the day. The two layers underneath are scrapbooking paper from Michaels — one gives the appearance of lace and the bottom is a glittery, peach-pink colour. It was cheaper than buying a card, so I encourage you to try your own someday!

There were so many cool ideas in If You Can Cut, You Can Collage when I checked it out. That’s the artistic technique you’re using when you layer different textures and images to build a composition on the surface of a card. It’s creating a collage. This approach to making art goes back centuries to 10th century Japanese poetry pieces, but it really transformed into a modern art staple with cubism in the 20th. When I’m making a card, the fun part is amassing all these bits from cards I’ve been given in the past, scrapbooking paper, washi tape, stickers, and interesting designs and patterns from all sorts of places, tea or cosmetic boxes to name a few. Meanwhile, that’s just the paper! I’m also obsessed with pens, including gel, brush, and ink. Muji stores have some of my favourite gel pens, but brush pens like Tombow’s are great for doing calligraphy. The three images below are examples of beautiful washi paper I found online here. Imagine using a sheet of one of these in a collage. They’re so beautiful, you could almost frame them as they are.

One Christmas, I made cards for my mom, dad, sister, and my sister’s in-laws using this Washi Tape Christmas book from our collection. It was a simple, white background with strips of Christmas-themed washi tapes layered on top of each other, zigging and zagging in a triangle shape until it resembled the Christmas tree on the cover to the left. It went down a hit, especially when the recipients realized I had made the cards myself. It’s so easy to create something like this when you have really beautiful washi tape. I have ordered it online from different places, but I’ve also gotten it at the art store DeSerres. There are locations in Richmond Hill and downtown as well. We also have Fun with Washi in our collection if I’ve successfully piqued your interest in the magical adhesive. I’ve put this one on hold for myself as well.

In my travels on YouTube, I came across Kasey The Golden, an artist who posts process videos of their creations. I’m sharing a screenshot here of one of their pieces made entirely of washi tape. It’s amazing what you can do with it. The narrow slivers cut out of the tape with a scalpel-like knife create detail and shadow. I love the animated, cartoon-like style as well.

One of the places I’ve ordered washi tape from is The Washi Tape Shop. In addition to selling craft supplies and bullet journals, they also have a blog where they invite creators to share pictures of their art, interviewing them at the same time. @vanessajournals was one of those interviews in 2020. I’ve included one of the images to the left. This is a quintessential bullet journal spread, with washi tape used to accent cute little Polaroids of a trip to Japan. If you’re not familiar with bullet journaling, I’ll link the website here. Essentially, it’s a method of staying organized by keeping all your thoughts, tasks, journal entries, and events all in one notebook. I use it for work, and I find it quite helpful. You can see that @vanessajournals used calligraphy for the title in the middle. Calligraphic text is often part of bullet journal spreads. We have several books on lettering and cursive to choose from. I personally loved Modern Calligraphy Workshop. I practiced making letters with this one several times and used it to write messages in some cards. Calligraphy requires a lot of practice, so I have a long way to go, but I find it mediative and soothing. I think copying the letters just as the author has written them makes it a mindful practice. You don’t have to be original or come up with a composition — it’s all just loops and curls and artful lines. Kind of like mindful doodling. We also have Hand Lettering and By Hand. I’ve placed holds on the last two because writing this post reminded me how much I enjoy practicing calligraphy. I’m due to pick up some new brush pens as well. Several of mine went missing after guests were using them to sign the guestbook at my grandma’s birthday party. Using brush pens makes everyone’s writing look just a little bit better. Well, that about wraps it up for me this time. I’ve had fun sharing my crafty side with you all, and I’ll see you again next month!