Totally Washi Light Switch Plate

Like one of those “kid-tested, mother-approved” cereals, washi tape is exactly that.

My kids love washi tape because it’s colorful and easy to use. I love washi tape because it’s made from natural fibers, so it’s eco-friendly, and it’s backed with a low-tack adhesive, so even the most enthusiastic applications of it are easy to remove.

Totally Washi, by Ashley Ann Laz, which I received free to review, contains tutorials for 50 kid-friendly washi tape projects. My kids wanted to washi tape their walls, but we don’t have that much tape in the house, so I convinced them to set their sights a little lower, and unscrewed some of our light switch plates for the kids to embellish using one of the book’s tutorials.

The light switch plate tutorial is particularly suitable for a creative kid, since it requires few concrete rules to achieve a cute effect. Kids simply have to cover the light switch plate with washi tape to their liking, and since the tape is low-tack, it’s simple for a perfectionist kid to peel up and re-do, as many times as her little psyche requires.

When each kid was finished with a light switch plate, I wielded the x-acto knife to follow the tute’s instructions for neatly finishing the openings for switch and screws, but a kid who’s not intimidated by my shockingly sharp x-acto could also do that part, of course.

The tutorial doesn’t call for sealing or varnishing the light switch cover, but if you plan to place it in a high-traffic area or want to be able to scrub it clean, you should, because washi tape, itself, isn’t glossy or laminated. For my study light switch plate, however, I went the route of making it even less scrubbable by dipping the heads of the mounting screws first in Aleene’s Tacky Glue, then into black glitter.

They’re lovely when they catch the light, but I’ll never be able to go after them with a dish rag.

Don’t forget–although there are a million varieties of washi tape, you can also make your own from paper and fabric scraps!

[I received a free copy of Totally Washi, because I can’t review a book if it hasn’t encouraged my kids to put tape on my house.]