Washi tape

Lately, I've become slightly obsessed with washi tape. Hmm, more than slightly obsessed. Also with scrapbooking. I've been scrapbooking since high school, collecting magazine clippings that I like and pasting them into a sketchbook. Like Pinterest, except not digital. After my forays into mail art this spring,* I've been wanting to start a scrapbook that's more like a journal/diary and incorporates bits of mail art. I.e., I can paste in the scraps of garbage I keep picking out of gutters. Turns out, someone has marketed this idea (they're called Smash books and you can pretty much buy the whole thing. Where's the fun in that?)

So back to tape. I keep peeking around in every shop trying to find decorative tapes lately, but I don't really expect to find any. I wouldn't even know where to look back home or in London or Edinburgh. But that's not really the problem; there are loads of websites to buy from. The problem is cash flow. Of all the things to be spending my money on at the moment, washi tape ranks fairly far down the list. So Pinterest in my new best friend! Last week, I found loads of tutorials for making your own decorative tape, and today, I stumbled upon FREE digital washi tape from A Vegas Girl at Heart. She even gives a tutorial for adding them to your digital photos with free software! Amazing! Check it:

*I still can't get used to the seasons here. In March through June, I was in the northern hemisphere for spring. And now spring is springing in the southern hemisphere. I've pretty much decided to be as confusing as possible when talking about the season ;-)