Washi Tape Pencils {craft}

By now, pretty much everyone has either already started school or is about to. I graduated from High School a couple years ago, but still have classes every Monday as I work towards my Associates Degree in Bible Doctrines.

The Craft:

Wash Tape Pencils {three styles}
 

The Purpose:

A ridiculously easy way to brighten up or change the way your pencils look this year! I made several for myself and for friends of mine starting college this year.

The Materials:

Washi Tape - this can be bought just about anywhere that sells crafts/school supplies. I got mine from Office Max.

Pencils

Scissors

The Instructions:

 I found three different ways to tape up your pencils and decided to try all three to see what works best.

Style One:

silly me got working on the pencil and then realized I had forgotten to take pictures, so here's an "in progress" picture!

 This works if you have an actual picture, not just flowers or swirls, where it doesn't matter so much if you don't see the whole thing. You simply start at the top, wrap the washi around the pencil for a couple layers, cut or tear the washi off, then start wrapping again right below/slightly overlapping with the first row. Keep going until you reach the end of the pencil.

The Verdict: this wasn't too bad, but it took up a lot of tape and thrifty me prefers to use as little as possible to make the tape go further.

Style Two:

  This was my least favorite, though it did look cute once I finished. Basically, start at the top and keep wrapping, pulling the washi down to create a messier version of the style above.

The Verdict: washi tape isn't super durable, and so it kept ripping and wrinkling up on me. However, if you like a messy, distressed look, this would work!

Style Three:

 Unroll the washi until you have a piece the length of your pencil.
 

 

 Put your pencil in the middle of the strip of washi and carefully wrap the edges around it. The washi won't go all the way around,
 

 

 So repeat for the other side. If you can see the pencil through the washi, you might want to do a second layer.
The Verdict: The easiest style, displays the print very well, and uses as little tape as possible - perfect! This is definitely my favorite style and the one I'll personally use the most.

Quick note: like I mentioned above, washi tape isn't exactly the most durable sort of tape, so work carefully with it. When making my pencils, sometimes the tape would wrinkle up on me as I wrapped it around the pencil. Usually you can peel it back until you reach the wrinkle and smooth it out again.

Have fun!

Until later,