Decorative Tape in Action

Decorated Package of The Month - August

2010-08-24T19:19:00.003-04:00

The decorated package for August is a simple food container decorated with our newest Tassel Decorative Packing Tape. This tape was inspired by an Eastern-European friendship charm, made from twisted white and red yarn with tassels at the ends,
called Martinka or Martenitsa. Friends and relatives exchange these charms on the 1st of March and they wear them until they see the first stork or the first blooming tree. The charm celebrates friendship and we thought our Tassel Tape makes an excellent statement when used for decorating containers with homemade food, intended for someone you care about.
Till next time,
Stick With Us,
The TapeSwell Team

Damask Wedding Ideas (Part 2) Another Five Do-It-Yourself Damask Decoration Ideas

2010-07-05T10:06:00.007-04:00

The TapeSwell Team was psyched when we saw this wonderful post by The Blog of Paper Wonders. The ideas are brilliant, the photography is gorgeous and it is all so well written that we are just going to repost their entire blog post (with permission, of course). Please also, visit PaperWonders.com or visit one of their locations in California.

We now have Tapeswell packing tape at our new Brea store! To celebrate this momentous occasion and to get you started on your packing tape projects, we came up with a few ideas to liven up any wedding reception or dinner party.

Damask Table Numbers

1. Table Numbers
These table numbers were printed on thick cardstock (we used a shimmery white with metallic finish). Apply your packing tape and mount on a folded piece of black cardstock or leave as a one-layer. Garnish with ribbons and you're done! Who knew a strip of packing tape could add elegance to table numbers. Not I…

Damask Favor Bag & Damask Favor Box

2. Gift bags
The transparency of the tape makes it work especially well on cellophane. We applied the tape down one side of a standard cellophane bag, stuffed it with tissue shreds and threw the gift in, rustling it around a bit for good measure. Finish with a black bow and optional gift tag (see below).

3. Favor Boxes
Apply tape over the lid of the desired favor box. Using an Xacto knife, carefully make an incision from the inside surface of the lid. Insert ribbon ends from the outside to hide the slit and tapes the ends down. The good thing is there is usually a double-layer flap on the inside of the lid, so you can hide the ribbon ends under that.

Damask Place Cards

4. Place Cards
I’m sure you guys know the drill now...Just keep in mind that you should leave about 1.5 inches of space on whichever side you decide to stick the tape on. A strip of tape down the left (or right, or top), score, then fold.

Damask Gift Tags

5. Gift Tags
We thought adding a flourishy monogram on the tag would go well with the elegance of the damask and add a nice personal touch. Once again, you could dress it up with a black layer, or keep it simple with damask tape on one side, names on the other. We also added a black donut around the punched hole.

We didn't wander into the world of programs, menus or invitations this time, but you could theoretically use the same roll of tape to decorate all of the paper goods for your wedding and wow your guests with not only your craftiness and resourcefulness, but also consistent damask pattern =P

Till next time!

Nine DIY Damask Wedding Ideas Using TapeSwell Damask Tape (Part 1)

2010-01-25T09:12:00.008-05:00

Some of the biggest wedding trends for 2010 are damask patterns, do-it-yourself decorations and budget wedding planning. Here's nine inspiring ideas how to use TapeSwell damask tape for your budget-chic wedding planning, and they can work well for engagement parties or any DIY entertaining you might want to do.

1. Napkin rings and place mats. These easy to make napkin rings will add a noticeable impression to the dinner table
2. Homemade cookies as wedding favors. One of the best wedding trends this year is making your own wedding favors, like baking cookies, or making a meaningful keepsake. The damask pattern is brilliant for decorating goodies. (photos 2 through 4 styled and photographed by Keren from Free Pretty Things for You)
3. Dinner menu / monogramed bookmarks.
4. Black, white and red spells chic. These three colors work very well for weddings in the winter months - especially for February and March weddings.
5. Damask votive candles. The beauty is in the details and these small votives make a powerful statement of elegance. (made and photographed by Bridget who is getting married in September. Congrats!)
6. Chinese takeout boxes for candy bar wedding favors. These takeout boxes are perfect for filling up with candy or mini chocolates. Making your own wedding favor boxes might be a lot of work, but it's a great opportunity for bonding with your maid of honor, your sister or your mom. (styled and photographed by Brittany and her Maid of Honor. Congrats to Brittany!)
7. Candle centerpiece. Candle centerpieces are a romantic way to decorate your wedding and adding patterns makes them light up with style.
8. Wedding planning book / Make your own guestbook. There is no reason why you shouldn't coordinate your wedding planning book with the rest of your wedding theme. Also, guestbooks can be expensive to purchase, but repurposing a nice notebook is very easy and budget friendly.
9. Don't forget the gifts for the wedding party!

Have you been inspired? Let us know which of these ideas are your favorite.
Do you have your own ideas for DIY wedding decorations? Write your ideas in the comment box below, or submit your photos to tackyideas (at) tapeswell.com and your creations might be featured on our blog.

Stick with us,

The TapeSwell Team

Decorated Package of The Month - July

2010-07-01T19:17:00.001-04:00

The decorated package of the month for July is all dressed up in our newest Venetian Decorative Packing Tape. The pattern is so inspiring that we thought it deserved a matching card.

We'd like to dedicate this Thank-you package to our postal worker friends. They play such an important role in our lives. We appreciate all of their hard work and we are grateful for them.

So Happy Postal Workers Day!

And till next time,

Stick With Us

M.I.A. Custom Printed Tape By TapeSwell

2010-06-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo of a custom tape
we recently printed for M.I.A.,
the award winning artist.

Custom printed tapes are some of the trendiest branding materials right now. It's an excellent way to create customized merchandise packages.

It's also a great way to advertise a brand. Just think of how many packages you see daily, either yours or other peoples - these are all opportunities for advertising.

TapeSwell specializes in printing full-color images on packing tape and the minimum order is 360 rolls.

Furniture Makeover With Decorative Tape

2010-06-21T10:15:00.002-04:00

(Top two photos by Stephen Cridland of The Oregonian.
All other photos by TapeSwell)

What to do about that piece of furniture that you still like but looks worn and has lost its shine? Why, give it a new life by covering it with gorgeous decorative tape!

Shannon Quimby, freelance writer for The Oregonian, came up with the idea when she first saw TapeSwell in a magazine. "A colorful packing tape caught my eye," she writes, "The various colors and designs ... jazz up boring packages that we ship in the mail... I used the same concept to brighten up a plain white side table."

Shannon used the Mod Blooms and Grid Combo of Decorative Tapes to create this fun side table, but feel free to find your own perfect coordinated combo.

It's easy to apply: no sanding, no painting, no drying, no smell. TapeSwell is great for adding stylish accents to plain surfaces and hiding imperfections like chipped edges, stains, etc.

Till Next Time - Stick With Us,

The TapeSwell Team

And The Lucky Winner of Our Birthday Giveaway is....

2010-04-20T23:34:00.001-04:00

Tena Sprenger, for her post on Facebook:
"I love TapeSwell tape I use it on all the care packages i send to my daughter at college. She loves it because as soon as the package hits the Dorm desk they always know it's for her because of the beautiful tape I always use on the package!!"

Congratulations Tena!

There will be more TapeSwell giveaways, so follow our blog, Facebook page and Twitter.

For the best deals on TapeSwell products and occasional freebies with purchase subscribe to our monthly-ish newsletter.

And Stick With Us,

The TapeSwell Team

The Easiest Dog Cookies Recipe

2010-03-25T12:30:00.008-04:00

Our pets are certainly treated as family members. They love us so much and we love them back, and occasionally they sit still and pose for photos. So there's no reason why we shouldn't spoil them every once in a while.

I found the easiest dog cookies recipe somewhere online and I baked some heart-shaped doggie cookies for Valentine's day for my puppy Spencer and his playmates. I just love making homemade treats both for pets and for people because you know exactly what's in them, i.e. no chemicals or preservatives, or byproducts.

I used TapeSwell's Dottie and Groovy Love decorative tapes to add some fun to the red takeout box I used to hold the cookies. It was a nice touch that put a smile on everyone's face and after all isn't that what holidays are all about?

The recipe is so simple and it smelled so delicious that even I took a bite.

Decorated Package of The Month - March

2010-03-16T09:02:00.005-04:00

We've been very busy here at TapeSwell doing a bit of a makeover to our website, which should go live very soon. We are also working on getting out new patterns and we have a bunch of other surprises coming up.
Today, we would like to share the Decorated Package of the Month for March. The Black Lace and the Scroll Label Tape are two of our best selling products and there's a reason for it. They are pretty good at dressing up a box.

Till next time stick with us,

The TapeSwell Team

Decorated Package of The Month - May

2010-05-03T16:32:00.002-04:00

There's something about this gift package that spells chic! Created with our Black Dot and White Dot coordinated decorative tapes, which aim to redefine 'The Whole Package'. Your gift packages are not complete until you've sealed them with TapeSwell!

Till Next Time,

Stick With Us,

The TapeSwell Team

Decorated Package of The Month - June

2010-06-11T14:59:00.001-04:00

Our Decorated Package of the Month for June is actually a paper bag, beautifully decorated with one of our newer tape patterns: Pink Paisley. A simple and elegant way to dress up a gift, create a matching card and deliver it with love. It will also show that you really care and you took time and attention to make it yourself. Now, what's a better gift than showing how much you care?

Till Next Time,

Stick With Us,

The TapeSwell Team

A Happy Birthday TapeSwell Giveaway

2010-04-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

TapeSwell is one year old! Just about this time last year we launched this business and it's been an incredible ride ever since. Thanks to all of you who are sticking with us... literally and figuratively.

As part of our birthday celebration we are hosting a giveaway. You could win our heavy-duty decorative tape dispenser (a $50 value) with two rolls of decorative packing tape of your choice!
To enter please tell us how you use TapeSwell products on any of the following places (each counts as a separate entry):

1. Write a comment to this giveaway post, saying how you use or would use TapeSwell.
2. Post on Twitter (make sure to include the @TapeSwell sign so that we can find your post) Example: I use @TapeSwell to ship all my packages;
3. Write a comment on our TapeSwell Fan Page on Facebook;
4. Post a fan photo on Facebook showing us how you use TapeSwell;

The giveaway ends at 6 p.m. EST on Monday, April 19. The results will be published on April 21.

Good Luck and Stick with us,

The TapeSwell Team

Package of The Month - April

2010-04-12T18:12:00.000-04:00

The Decorated Package of the Month for April is this lovely chinese takeout box sent to us by Angela D.
This lovely package will have the honor of holding the favors for the guests attending Angela's wedding. Congrats to Angela and her fiancé and may they have a beautiful wedding in July and a happy married life thereafter! And TapeSwell is sending her a nice gift certificate for sharing her photo with us.

Share yours for a chance to get published on this blog and maybe get a prize. Speaking of prizes, stay tuned this week for a new giveaway,
Stick With Us,
The TapeSwell Team

TapeSwell - The Easy Package Design Solution for Small Business Owners

2010-04-06T14:11:00.004-04:00

Packaging solutions can be very costly for small-business owners. They involve ordering large quantities that go out of style long before they are depleted. Using decorative packing tape solves two problems at once:

Firstly, since you have to use carton sealing tape when shipping to clients, why not use decorative shipping tape, and make your clients feel special.
Secondly, there is no need for double wrapping and one box can be reused multiple times because the pretty patterns are great at covering up old labels and other box imperfections.

Here's how some very smart businesses are making a great impression with their clients in a cost-effective and low-impact way:

Humanwear.com just launched a brilliant new line of "fashion-forward tshirts using eco-friendly fabrics with a soft vintage feel and flawless fit." The line was inspired by the documentary “Go Further” with Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie. Their mission is to inspire people to leave the world a better place. Their customers can choose a packaging tape pattern in which they would like to get their package shipped with.

Marsha Mifsud, founder and editor of one of our favorite photography blogs The Savvy Photographer and the owner of Sweet Bliss Studios, uses TapeSwell to wrap holiday cards and other prints for her clients.
"I desperately wanted a fun way to dress up my boxes to mail them...then I discovered TapeSwell," Marsha blogs. See her other photography packaging ideas.

Another great photographer, Jess McDaniel of Boston-Baby-Photos.com, posted a Twitpic of her packaging of photo prints. "Ooh, @TapeSwell - my packaging is finally complete, after 7 years of not-so-funky packaging. Gorge!" she tweets.

I'm sure you all remember the brilliant Damask Wedding that event planner Keren from Free Pretty Things For You styled not long ago.

Share your business packaging ideas with us. Email your photos to tackyideas @ tapeswell.com

And Stick With Us,

The TapeSwell Team

Holiday Ideas from TapeSwell Fans

2009-12-21T10:32:00.006-05:00

We get very excited when TapeSwell fans send us photos of their ideas using decorative packing tape and mailing labels. Here's our favorite ones - they will be receiving a holiday gift from TapeSwell. Send your ideas to tackyideas@tapeswell.com for a chance to get TapeSwell gift.

These beautiful holiday cards were handmade by Marija, in New Hampshire.

And here is how Lara in Texas is using TapeSwell's Holiday Labels and handmade leather ornaments to wrap her presents this year.

And The TapeSwell Holiday Giveaway Winners are....

2009-12-12T15:45:00.010-05:00

First, let us say a big THANKS to all of you who participated. It was amazing to read your ideas and we promise you that some of them will come true, in fact we are already working on a few. We wish we could send everyone some tape, and we decided to give three instead of two this time.
The winners this time around are:
1. Shannon for her comment on TapeSwell: The Blog: "A few things I'd love to see:Craft-themed (scissors, needles, yarn, glue), Fleur de Lis, Vintage letters, More fun graphic flowers, Jingle bells, Robots, Cupcakes, Candy, Birthday cake, Candles, General birthday themed"
2. Jane Eileen for her comment on TapeSwell: The Blog:"I want clear tape with a row of staple, snaps, or hooks and eyes, so it looks like that's what's keeping a package shut. Some sew stitches would be cool, like it were sewn shut. I am also a fan of circle, circles, and more circles. A row of chocolates in their little paper cups? Cupcakes? And Clovers!"
3. Aggeliki Pagrati for her comment on TapeSwell's Fan Page on Facebook: "Some of the patterns I would like to see are: Damask designs in different colours.Anything vintage (maybe from old card postales or magazine ads).Owls (MANY!In many different colours and designs).Handwriting of famous quotes.Patterns of stitching in many different colours. Peacocks & peacock's feathers in a row. More and different lace designs.i think I could go on forever..."

Congratulations to the winners! Please email your address and tape selections of $20 value to info@tapeswell.com.
For those of you who did not win this time, we are planning many more surprises for 2010 and let's just say that it might be worthwhile to be following this blog.
Next week we will be showcasing holiday ideas from our fans. If you have a package that you want to share we would love to see it. Please email the images to tackyideas@tapeswell.com
And, yes, the best Tacky Ideas always get a prize!
Till next week - Stick with us,
The TapeSwell Team

Introducing Decorated Package of The Month - January 2010

2010-01-12T20:44:00.008-05:00

After 15 years as a photo stylist, tweaking and trimming, fitting and fussing, I have become a detail diva. Working on sets where anything facing the camera needed to be perfect (the same could not be said for the back of the set). Taking the lowly box or tried and true envelope and dressing it up seemed a natural extension of my design philosophy.

I love the challenge and the creativity that can go into a well-dressed package. I love giving them and getting them is fun too. Fancy wrapping is, well, fancy, but give me the old school kraft paper and some Sharpies and I'm in heaven. It's a simple unexpected gesture that will put a smile on the face of the recipient.

With this in mind, we are starting feature called Decorated Package of the Month. We will spotlight one cool creative package made from a variety of materials, both traditional and non-traditional.

So without further ado, we present you the Decorated Package of The Month for January 2010:

A lovely message for the new year, this package was created and photographed by Jasmin, from The White Acorn. This is what she had to say:

"I am a photographer who loves re-uses shipping boxes as final packaging to avoid environmental waste; also as an economical option for packaging. I love your tape to dress up recycled packaging. I began using your tape only for orders that I ship but lately I have found myself using it a lot more, sometimes as a functional tape and sometimes just for "pretty". Thanks again for the great product."

Feel free to send us your creations as well. We would love to see them and post the best ones.

Decorated Package of The Month - February

2010-02-08T11:16:00.004-05:00

Sometimes a package is not just a package. It is a one and only chance to make an impression, win attention or invite the recipient to open it. In a room full of brown and dull packages, a TapeSwell decorated package is a breath of fresh air, or in this case a garden of Tulip, Faux Bois and Scroll Decorative Tapes.
Send us your decorated package masterpieces to tackyideas (at) tapeswell.com
Stick with us,
The TapeSwell Team

TapeSwell in the Kitchen

2009-11-21T15:05:00.010-05:00

Plain kitchen tiles are a canvas for improvisation with lightly sticky materials like TapeSwell's labels. I call this project Sticky Tile Recipes, where I write down the gist of my favorite and most frequently used recipes, so that I don't have to go through cookbooks every time I'm making dinner. I've decided to share my recipes on this blog as I make them.

Sticky Tile Recipe #1: Thursday Night Pizza

Every Thursday night is pizza night at my house! I like making a big batch of pizza dough at once and freezing it in individual bags. Come Thursday morning, I take the dough out of the freezer and by 5 pm I just need to roll it, add toppings and enjoy it. I use a round stone which bakes the pizza evenly in 5 minutes at 500 F. Dough ingredients for one thin-crust pizza (multiply by x for a big batch at once):

Instructions:

Dissolve the dry yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Then add it to the flour and add salt. Knead the dough until it's no longer sticky. Cut it into fist size pieces and freeze or roll them out into a pizza crust. Roll the dough out so that it's as thin as a kitchen towel, but not see-through. Place it on a pizza paddle and add the toppings. And the best part - you can add any kind of toppings you like. Be creative! Here I added tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni and pineapple. And yeah it was great!

Here's some other ideas for using TapeSwell in the kitchen.

If you've been inspired feel free to share your sticky ideas.

Tacky Ideas: Decorative Tape Suited for Halloween

2009-10-26T13:28:00.040-04:00

There's nothing like the good old tape to turn to for a last minute Halloween costume. In fact, any do-it-yourself costume needs some tape here and there. But it doesn’t have to be blah! A little color and pattern can do wonders.

Welcome To TapeSwell's Blog

2009-10-13T16:34:00.018-04:00

It has been an amazing year for TapeSwell: In January 2009 we launched our line of decorative packing tape, labels and accessories. By April we were featured on The Daily Candy, by June we were on the Today Show, Design Sponge and the list keeps growing.

We have learned that there are many of you out there who, just like us, get excited about the little things in life, like packing with style. We would like to stay in touch with you and share our ideas through this blog. So if you are looking for:

Stylish ideas for gift wrapping,
Do-it-yourself ideas,
Scrap-booking ideas,
Decorating on a budget for special occasions,
Adding a little pizzazz to your everyday life,
Or just finding some inspiration,

Subscribe to this blog and stick with us!

We would love to see your ideas as well. Please submit your TapeSwell masterpieces to tackyideas(at)tapeswell(dot)com and feel free to comment on our postings. The best submissions always get a prize.

Looking forward to hearing from you and let your friends know too,

The TapeSwell Team

p.s. Here's our first inspiration photo. Create a fall-inspired centerpiece. You'll need some candles, something brown, orange or yellow from your ceramic dishes and a little bit of lace tape to achieve that warm vintage feel.

Introducing Two New New Fun and Festive Holiday Patterns from TapeSwell

2009-12-02T14:56:00.022-05:00

It is right about time to start packaging and wrapping those holiday gifts. Our new holiday patterns have special delivery written all over them, Bird of Peace and Partridge of Joy. They are truly a joyful addition to our existing holiday themed labels and decorative packing tape.

Joom Klangsin, a textile designer from Bangkok, designed these fabulous patterns. We love the nod to 60’s artist Charley Harper, a true originator who’s bird illustrations have found a whole new audience. Harper called his style minimal realism. He described his visions of nature this way: “I don’t try and put everything in, I try and leave everything out... I never count the feathers in the wings; I just count the wings."

Joom shares his less-is-more philosophy with her clean lined, lovely, yet simple illustrations. We think Harper would approve.

Happy New Year From TapeSwell

2009-12-31T16:34:00.003-05:00

We would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year, full of happiness, good health, love, family and friends.

And stick with us in the new year, we have many surprises in store. :)

All the best,

The TapeSwell Team

Happy Thanksgiving to All TapeSwell Friends

2009-11-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

We are thankful for everyone involved in the making of this product and everyone who loves TapeSwell. And of course, we are thankful for our families and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving,

The TapeSwell Team

This Week We Are At Booth 2347 the New York International Gift Fair

2010-01-31T23:18:00.001-05:00

If you are in New York City stop by and say hi.
You can find some more information about the NYIGF here: http://www.nyigf.com/

See you there,

The TapeSwell Team