neon washi tape wall

I have a bright and fun home project to share with you today: my new neon washi tape wall.

I found this neon multi-pack of mt washi tape on sale at my local bookstore [I love you, Asia!] and knew it was just the crazy pop of color my dining room needed. mt masking tape is by far the best brand that I've tried, but there are plenty to choose from. I opted for a multi-pack because I knew I would spend an hour trying to come up with the perfect combination by buying individual colors and patterns.

I've been fighting with blogger/google to try getting the colors to show up right... but they really are neon!

as you can see, we have a chalkboard wall at the far end which sucks out all the light from the room. not that this room gets much light to start with. my walls needed a little bit of something, and when you're living in on-campus housing with walls made of concrete... the easy thing to do is washi tape them.

the process of putting up the wall was pretty simple. I took a ruler and made marks every 10cm along the left + right edges, and down the center of the wall. this wall is not exactly flat, so I just eyeballed adjustments as I felt were needed. the hooks and little birdhouse keyholder were already attached to the wall, so I just cut the tape and continued on the other side. the lightswitch was pretty icky... that got covered in another washi tape.

I'm linking up with Melyssa for the creative collective today. the challenge this week was to bring a Pinterest project to life - and so I have to admit the idea for a washi striped wall came from this blog [via Pinterest.] I also found several other washi tape wall ideas that I'm planning to do in the near future, so keep your eyes open!

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DIY dots wall hanging + photo backdrop

I'd love to tell you that this project was easy... but I completely went about it the wrong way so it actually took me a lot of time. I used the wrong materials but hopefully you can learn form my mistakes and have an easier go at making your own version!

I've been wanting to make some kind of art to hang behind our bed ever since we had the wall repainted [after the leaky cieling incident, if you remember.] this week's prompt to Melyssa's creative collective was an "anything goes" art project. I wanted to use up materials I had on hand, so all in all this project only cost me 5 NT [about 16 cents.] and that's just because I used actual coins in the project.

the paper circles I had cut out for another project that never happened - just old paper shopping bags that didn't make it to the recycling bin. I painted them first, in turquoise and mint, then realized they were curling terribly. SO. I took some thicker board that I had on hand and taped strips to the back to reinforce the circles. [this is what took up so much of my time... and tape. I would recommend making your circles out of something sturdy to begin with!]

an hour later... I decided how I wanted to lay them out. I hung the top row first, hung strings from them weighted with 1 NT coins to hold them straight, measured then used tiny bits of washi tape to mark where I would hang the rest of the circles. I used the little markers to anchor the tape and just pressed the circles on, and reinforced them again when I was done.

hopefully I didn't scare you off from attempting this project... I ended up covered in tape bits and tangled in thread and still think it was worth it! so it took me a long time, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think it makes a great piece of wall art and I'm excited to use it as a backdrop for taking photos. you could totally make one for your next party, using whatever colors you like [or change up the shapes - but I'm partial to the dots.]

and don't forget to see what everyone else created for this week's project!

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52 weeks project recap

since we are almost to the end January, I figured I better share the results of my 2013 52 weeks project with you:

I made it through all 52 weeks! and I actually ended up with 53 photos... I'll explain why in a minute.

the simple twine + mini clothespin display I started last January has finally filled up! if you remember, I hung the twine using tiny 3M sticky hooks. I added a few more strands as the year went on.

for a while, I was hanging all of my instax photos here... but I've moved the extra photos elsewhere in the apartment for now.

41// Guang Fu Road
42// dragon archway
43// one of my park writing spots
44// red door + lion knocker
45// plum blossom pavillon
46// the gardens by our lake
47// a striped selfie

48// dragons + power lines
49// roadway gate [more dragons]
50// the egg sculpture
51// Big City Christmas tree
52a// New Year's on the roof - me
52b// New Year's on the roof - Husband

that's right... week 52 has 2 photos. I actually thought I had completed the project, but on December 31st I realized [just in time] that I needed one more. Husband had just come home from school and the sun was setting, so we ran up to the roof to catch the last of the light. there were 2 exposures left on my camera. it only seemed right that we should each have an "end of 2013" photo.

I love this wall so much... every time I see it, I smile. 2013 was an amazing year, and I'm so lucky I can reflect on those memories every day just by walking into my office.

not every picture turned out perfect, and I learned a lot about working with instant film. I definitely think I would attempt this again as another 52 weeks project. but for now, my instax camera will just be for fun.

this year I've decided to tackle a weekly self-portrait. [all of your comments about self-portraits made me really want to try it again!] I may not be sharing them all on the blog, or even telling you that they are part of my project when I post them... but they'll be there. [hint: check out the last photo!]

have you ever done a photo project? are you working on one this year?

see the rest of my 52 weeks posts here:

weeks 1 to 14

weeks 15 to 24

weeks 25 to 40

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DIY wall art: painted washi tape words

I have a thing for paint projects that involve tape. [probably because I can't freehand a straight line to save my life.] so when I saw that the first creative collective project involved making an art piece of your 2014 motto, I knew exactly what I was going to attempt.

if you remember, my 2014 motto is actually challenge accepted. but I decided that the best way to tackle this particular challenge was to simplify things. so... I gave in to the hustle.

I didn't have any blank canvas on hand, so I cut off a spare cardboard chunk. I started with a coat of silver poster paint. this paint has been hanging out in my office unused for way too long, and I figured it was about time to break it out.

once the silver was completely dry, I taped off my word and a border to go around it. I knew the tape would be great for straight edges but not so much the curves. so I made my "font" a little angular and intentionally funky. painter's tape would also work instead of washi tape here.

I painted a coat of emerald around the tape, let it dry and peeled it off. [yes, it's really that easy to make wall art.]

it's a little rough around the edges, literally. I think you would have better results with canvas, but I'm still happy with how it turned out. and of course it all comes back to my motto... I challenged myself to use materials I had on hand and I made it work.

plus, I really love how the silver + emerald work with my chevron wall.

I'm so excited to be linking up with Melyssa for this creative collective project, and to find new ways to exercise my creativity this year! I hope you'll join us.

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