I t’s August which means that it’s time for another Month of Making! When we were in Miami, I came to the realization that some of our walls needed more pizzaz – and even though we were only going to live in that apartment for a limited time, it was well worth it to create a clothespin wall, homemade wallpaper, and a washi tape gallery wall. It makes such a difference to have a space that feels alive and “complete.”

Well, I recently started to look around at some of our blank walls in Vermont and became convinced that our space up here deserved some TLC. Why should the Miami walls have all the fun? August will be dedicated to beautifying a number of our walls, both downstairs and in our bedroom.

Ready for the first beautification project? Please meet: The Washi Tape Wall of Glory.

I’m somewhat of a washi tape hoarder. It’s so good for mail art! It’s so good for labeling mason jars! It’s so good for taping things to the wall when you’re renting and don’t want to cause any damage!

For the past few years, though, my washi tape hasn’t been given the respect it deserved. It was housed in a jumble like this:

I think washi tape is best when you can clearly SEE all your options. Ideally, it’s easy to access and put back in place in a few seconds. Also, washi tape is beautiful, so it makes sense to take decorative advantage of it instead of having it tucked away in some cupboard. My jumble system fit none of these criteria. My washi tape wall fit all of them.

When we lived in New Orleans, I had created a washi tape wall based off an image I saw on Pinterest. I decided it was high time to repeat the process in Vermont. I mean, look at this room. It desperately needed a splash of color somewhere.

First, I spread out all my washi tape rolls on the table and grouped them by color.

Glorious, yes?

Then I proceeded to create a cascade pattern of tiny copper plated nails in the wall.

I wanted to create this display next to the window and went for it with gusto. Even when I realized the wall wasn’t very receptive to nails, I kept on going. (Maybe I was hammering into cement? Sheetrock? I have no idea, I’m just throwing around various building materials. You can see I’m not a carpenter…)

After hammering more than two dozen nails in the wall, I came to my senses and realized that the nails were hanging on by a thread. I’d likely have tape falling down onto the floor all the time. So I switched walls, leaving minuscule nail marks in my wake. (If you ever come visit, you can look for the “whoops wall.”)

The adjacent wall was much more amenable to nails.

I just kept hammering away until all the rolls of tape had a little nail to hang from.

Didn’t it turn out well?

Since we all love a good before and after picture, here is what the room looks like now (complete with my crafting materials on the table).

It adds just a little more life, which is nice! Equally as good, I’m getting much more use out of my washi tape collection now.

One wall down, at least 4 to go…I’ll keep you posted throughout August!