Washi Tape Frame Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

This craft is one I made for my BFF's 25th birthday that was just this past weekend!! I really wanted to make her something that looked great and didn't "break the bank"! So I tried searching some other blogs as well as Pinterest but nothing was really jumping out at me, so I defaulted to my classic "I need inspiration move" and went to Michaels and began to wander! After contemplating some friendship bracelets in the bead aisle I continued my wander and found myself staring at the cheap unfinished wooden frames that Michaels carries. I hadn't given her any pictures in awhile so it seemed like a good idea, on the condition that I could make it look great! So I picked one up and started brainstorming what I could do with it. Obviously I thought of paint, but I'm no Picasso so I gave that idea up, then I thought tile but that can be pricey not to mention time-consuming. All this time I was aimless walking through the store and ended up in the opposite side in the scrapbooking aisle, thats when I saw the answer; tape!! Yes, the famous washi tape (well "craft tape" in my case) and I decided it was about time I hop on the bandwagon and try it out for this project! Especially when I saw these awesome two packs that Recollections sells:

I love how they sell these in coordinating packs, with two sizes and complimentary patterns! Perfect for striping!

So here's what I came up with!:

What You Need:

1. Crafting tape

2. Blank Frame

3. Xacto knife

4. Chipboard letters or letter stencils 

Steps:

1. First disassemble your frame by taking out the glass and backing like so:

2. Now, start taping!!! I started with the larger of my two tapes and lined this up with the top of the frame. I made sure my piece of tape was long enough to wrap around the sides and a little onto the back. I think wrapping the sides makes it look more finished. 

3. Now keep taping! Alternating between the two kinds of tape being careful to line up the edges! Once You get to the opening of the frame just extend your tape right over it like this:

4. After you have striped the whole frame, flip it over and using a Xacto knife cut out the opening as well as any excess on the bottom of the frame. 

5. Next I used a straight edge (a level) and evened out the tape edges on the back of the frame:

Much Neater!

Here's what your frame will look like at this point:

6. At this point you could be finished! Or you could add any decorations you wish! I decided to personalize it a little and added cut out text. Simply take some chipboard letters (mine were adhesive on the back, which held them in place nicely) or letter stencils and using an Xacto knife cut out around the letters, removing the tape and exposing the frame.

Here's what the lettering looks like:

7. Put the glass back in, add your favorite photo and display!

My BFF and I on our High School Graduation! Talk about a blast from the past! 

There you have it! An easy, mess-free way to make a $1 crafting frame from Michaels look store bought! 

Extras

- Try cutting out other designs or shapes besides letter

- Paint the frame first so your cut out is a different color

- Make a collection of these in different colors to display family/friends photos on your mantel or bookcase! 

- Glam it up with other decorations like faux flowers, rhinestones, etc. 

-Liz :)