Ways With Washi: ENVELOPES + a Giveaway

Good Monday morning to you, friends! And Happy Memorial Day to all of my fellow Americans. I'm here today with my May installment of Ways With Washi, a feature that I've developed for the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm showing you a more practical side of washi tape by sharing some fun ways to use washi tape on envelopes.

Now like many of you, I started collecting washi tape because I was soooooo drawn to the fun colors and patterns. But I was still kind of mystified by how to actually use this magical stuff. Then one day I was stuffing an envelope with one of my handmade cards decorated with a few somewhat bulky embellishments. When I sealed the envelope's flap, it seemed to close OK over the unevenness, but I wondered if it would stay that way in the less-than-gentle mail system. As I reached for some good old Scotch tape to add an extra layer of security to the flap, I had my "aha!" moment:  why not reinforce the seal and add a spot of color and whimsy at the same time with some washi tape? I loved how it looked, and now washi tape is my go-to method of sealing envelopes!

Here are a few samples:

Featuring DeNami washi tape: Pink Stripes, Blue/White Dots, and Pink Chevron

Featuring DeNami washi tape: Blue Stripes and Lime/White Dots

Once I got into my washi envelope groove, I branched out into other ways to pretty up an envelope. How about a striped washi frame for the address?

DeNami Products: Purple Stripes washi tape and solid heart stamp from Whimsical Valentine stamp set

And why not give the flap a similar purple-striped treatment?

With super bulky cards, I like to use 5" x 10" bubble envelopes like these for mailing. It's so much fun to give these a washi makeover, like this one:

Featuring DeNami Brown/White Dots washi tape

And how fun are those Elegant Oval Frame mailing labels? They are so easy to make with the help of DeNami's To and From stamps.

Have I started your wheels turning? I hope so! And I hope that you'll fall in love with using washi tape on your envelopes as much as I have. :)

GIVEAWAY

How would you like the chance to play around with some washi tape of your own? I have a brand-new roll of Brown/White Dots Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on my bubble envelope project today--that I'd love to give away to a reader of this post. Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "MAIL." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, May 30, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

I'm so glad you dropped by for a little slice of bliss today!
Emily