Masking – strip by strip

Add striking designs to porcelain vases and greetings cards

You don’t need to be an artist to design these vases, because recreating this pattern is so easy! To reproduce these stunning designs, we applied an effective technique using criss-cross strips of washi masking tape to leave blank white stripes between the pattern. You may be thinking "why use washi or masking tape rather than any other sticky tape?". The reason is that washi tape can be removed from paper and all kinds of materials without leaving a residue or tearing. The tape is made from rice paper and resembles fine fabric, which makes it very easy to work with – you simply tear off the length required without scissors.

We added splashes of colour using edding porcelain brushpens, which are available in a variety of colour combinations: warm shades of red, cool blues and greens and assorted colours. Once the design is complete, the masking tape is peeled off before the pattern is fixed by baking in the oven. This washi masking tape technique can also be used to create effective patterns on lots of other materials, too, such as thin card for greetings cards or birthday cards. If you’re decorating light-coloured paper, the best pens to choose are our edding 1200 and 1300 colourpens.

Step-by-step

Products and materials

Other materials

  • White or light-coloured vase made of porcelain or oven-proof ceramic
  • Washi masking tape or any other suitable masking tape
  • Water and methylated spirits for initial cleaning
  • A damp cloth or cotton buds to wipe off any mistakes
  • A conventional oven

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