Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Sometimes the packaging that a gift comes in is an additional gift itself – and those are the kind of packages I like to create!  Small boxes are great for gifting all kinds of whatnots, and a fancy little box has an infinite number of practical uses.  Can’t find a gift box that you really love?  Try giving one a facelift with a little paint and a few strips of washi tape!  (Once you try washi tape you will be totally hooked and you’ll want to put it on everything in sight!)

Project estimate:

  • Gift box, $1
  • Paint, on hand or $1 and up
  • Washi tape, on hand or $1 and up
  • Mod Podge, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

Tutorial:  Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Dollar Tree usually has a nice selection of gift boxes in various shapes and sizes.  I chose these boxes based on those qualities and ignored their colors and patterns, knowing I would be changing those.

Washi Tape

These are the tapes I used to make my boxes – washi comes in so many different patterns and colors that the options for decorating your boxes are almost unlimited!

Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Paint the boxes.  Keep in mind that washi tape is a little see-through and any color or pattern underneath; I painted my lids white so that the colors of the tape would be bright and true.  I painted the bottom of one box an orange-y yellow to coordinate with the tape I chose for the top, an left the bottom of the pink box its original color since it already went well with the tape I picked out for that box.

Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Cover the lid with strips of washi tape, carefully lining them up so that the pattern matches.  Only worry about the top surface of the box right now – you’ll cover the edge later.

Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Flip the lid upside-down and use a craft knife to carefully trim off the excess tape around the edges.

Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

Cover the outside edge with washi tape to finish the lid.

Tutorial: Washi Tape Gift Boxes

To make sure the tape doesn’t peel off, seal the it with a coat of Mod Podge.  I also made another box using a small paper mache box from the craft store – it’s hard to tell in the photo but it’s sealed with Sparkle Mod Podge, so that box is super glittery!  You can leave them like this, or you could opt to add other embellishments to the lids like small knobs, buttons, or anything else you want to glue onto it!