Tape Obsession

by syaffolee

I don’t have a tape obsession. I just like buying washi tape on sale, even when I think I won’t need it right away. That’s how I ended up with 767 rolls of it (I counted yesterday). I’m definitely not hoarding anything because I use washi tape on stationary fairly liberally and I actually finish rolls with some regularity. I just happen to obtain them faster than I can use them, I guess.

My inadvertent washi tape collection is more of a result of my postcard hobby more than anything else. I know you don’t need washi tape on postcards. All you need is the postcard itself, a writing utensil to write your message and the address you’re sending it to, and stamps. (One might argue that stamps aren’t even necessary. Technically, you could just go to the post office and have your neighborhood postal worker slap a metered sticker on it.) But  somewhere along the way, I discovered you could put washi tape on a postcard and make the message side of it seem a bit more lively.

There are some people who are obviously very old school when it comes to postcards. It must be a certain size. It has to be a tourist card made in your location. It must be handwritten (cursive, of course). And the stamps must be “beautiful” (whatever that means) and be stuck on there with the old style gum adhesive that a lot of countries have already abandoned in favor of the sticker. Washi tape, stickers, stamp art, colored pens other than blue or black, postcards made of anything but paper or just a centimeter too wide or long–which old school postcard enthusiasts consider absolutely verboten. So if I’m sending a postcard to one of these people, I do stick to the bare minimum. Except for the stamps. I use the most recent I have available and if they gnash their teeth and scream to the heavens that it’s yet another sticker stamp, well, too bad. The other ones aren’t easily obtained any more.

As for everyone else, I decorate. I am no artist or designer, but there’s a certain satisfaction with turning the blank white side of a postcard into a pop of color. It’s my chance to put my own imprint onto the postcard in a visual message, rather than a verbal one. And washi tape helps achieve that in a fun and easy way. Taping things can be relaxing, too.  But I view this more as a postcard adjacent activity rather than something that I would just do for its own sake. If washi tape didn’t exist, I would be busy doing some other type of decoration and I don’t think my enjoyment of writing a postcard would be any less.

Unlike some washi tape fans, I do not have a favorite brand. I am barely aware of brands, to be honest. Mostly when I see washi tape in a store, I first look at the price and then the length of each roll. And then I calculate whether or not it’s worth it. This is why I typically buy washi tapes in sets rather than in individual rolls. And I’m sure I’ll find a use for whatever designs happen to be in those sets.

Anyways, to end this long rambling post about stationary, I’m including a picture of some washi tape with cute designs below. If you have ever bought washi tape, how did you choose the ones that you purchased? What do you do with your washi tape? Has your washi tape stash turned into a collection hoard rather than a working stock? Or are you totally new to the world of washi tape?