My Initiation to Deco and Washi Tapes

As school opening draws near, I am looking for ways to cover and decorate my son's books (their school does not allow the usual plastic cover) so that it would last till March 2014 and at the same time will make it more interesting for my son to read. As I was searching the internet for craft materials and craft projects for my son's books, I stumbled upon the decorative and washi tape products.

Decorative tape is like your typical scotch tape, except that it has designs. A usual roll is about 5mm in width and the entire roll is about 6-10 meters long. I was able to buy my 3 rolls from a local bookstore (National Bookstore). Each roll costs about P60-P70 pesos, and there are a wide array of designs to choose from.

On the other hand, washi tape is said to be Japanese masking tape (i.e. from washi paper). It is like your usual masking tape, but the texture is a bit softer, and there a LOOOOOT of designs to choose from. There are a lot of sizes for washi tape - i.e. 15mm (the normal width), the slim 5mm, and the wider ones that measure from 18mm, 20mm, 25mm, and there are even the 30mm width. The length of an entire roll is usually 10m. Unlike the decorative tape, the washi tape is not readily available in the local bookstore. I had to search some online stores, in order to buy my first 3 rolls (got my first 3 rolls from Hey Kessy). Depending on the tape's width, the shop's pricing and shipping fees, the price range of washi tape is about PHP75 to PHP120 per roll. As there are a lot of online stores that offer washi tape, it is important to check which designs are being offered by which store, at a much lower price. I also suggest to check the shipping fees charged by each online store, as there are those whose shipping fees are much higher, so it might be wiser to place all your orders under one package.

Incidentally, my first 3 orders from Hey Kessy came with a freebie postcard. I really found the postcard cute and adorable. Being a sun worshipper - i.e. I prefer the sunny summer weather than chilling rainy days - the Mr. Sun and the Cloudy Men design of the post card is always a great reminder of the fun-filled days of summer.

Watch out for future posts showing how I will put to good use all these (and probably more) deco and washi tapes! :)

The Deco and Washi Tapes from National Bookstore and HeyKessy.com

Freebie postcard (for April) from HeyKessy.com