Last Minute Japanese Tape

A must-have for any crafter is Japanese tape. Around here, my tape is very popular with the kids. So it's not unusual to have my rolls go missing -- very annoying, especially if I'm wrapping gifts at the last minute or trying to finish off a project in the middle of the night.

So what to do if you're in need of tape and can't wait for your order from Etsy? If you have mailing labels handy, you can make some "tape" with your own customized patterns.

1) Vector patterns. The first three I downloaded from Pattern People. The last swatch is a pattern already found in Illustrator's swatches.

2) Mailing label template. I downloaded the respective Illustrator template from Avery. (This is the size I used -- picked up from Target.)

1) I started out by opening the AI files from Pattern People. I edited the colors on some of them to my liking. There were multiple layers to the file. The one I worked on was the bottom layer labled 'swatch - working.'

2) After editing the colors, I grouped it all together and dragged the group right into the swatches palette. This creates a brand new pattern swatch.


3) Lastly, I opened up the AI template for my labels, and simply drew long strips and filled with my patterns. Make sure the layer you're working on is separate from the template outlines. I made sure to extend past the labels a bit for bleed.

Just a couple of things you can do with your homemade tape. These are especially nifty for gift-wrapping, because they're already pre-cut.