5 Brilliant Uses for Washi Tape

Have you used Washi tape yet? It's really interesting stuff. You can order it online, but I just grabbed a couple of rolls at Hobby Lobby. It's paper tape, and it comes in all kinds of colors and patterns. And it has a million uses that I might actually do! So for fun, I rounded up five of my favorite uses I've seen for Washi tape. These are so easy-perfect for the lazy DIYer, like myself.

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1. Hang pictures.

I've seen this idea all over the place and I think it is quite brilliant. First of all, picture frames are crazy expensive, and second, Washi tape is kind of like painter's tape-it peels off your pictures pretty easily when you're done. Plus, for people like me, who are scared to commit to color, this is a way to add some color to a room without investing too much money or energy. My kind of decorating!

Oh, and that second picture, oh my. You know how I'm crazy about black walls. House on the market or not, that may be happening soon.

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2. Make twist ties.

This might get my vote for most brilliant. I'm not sure what I need to make attractive twist ties for, maybe to give my bread package a face lift? Maybe I could make little gift baggies for my students at the beginning of the school year. Whatever, this is such a cool idea.

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3. Fake some wallpaper.

This is Elsie Larson's beautiful doorway from A Beautiful Mess. I've seen several photos of whole walls done in Washi tape stripes, but that seems like an unrealistic amount of work. But this little arching doorway is brilliant and it wouldn't be a measuring/leveling nightmare. 

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4. Add cupcake flags.

I'm not the kind of person who usually shows up to potluck events with great looking food. I usually buy something premade, just for everyone else's sake. But cupcakes are something even I can handle, and this would be an easy way to make my pathetic cupcakes look "Pinterest-y" and cute!

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5. Keep track of drinks at a party with straw flags.

My husband's family is growing at an alarming rate which makes get-togethers more fun (when I don't have to bring food) except that keeping track of everyone's drinks can be challenging. If someone remembers to bring a Sharpie we can write on our red solo cups, but adding flags with each person's name is such an easy way to get fancy. (I saw those striped straws at Hobby Lobby recently, too!)

I'm so happy to see that Washi tape can mean some easy DIY stuff for us regular people. Pinterest can be really hard on my self-esteem sometimes, when it gives the impression that others out there are doing incredibly cute/stylish things and I can't keep up. But I think the trick is just to choose easy projects like this that just make it look like you've got it together when you roll into the party with your little cupcake flags. Brilliant!