How to Make Stickers

Making Glue Stickers

Design the stickers. When you're making your own stickers, the sky is the limit in terms of design. Use whatever drawing materials you want: colored pencils, markers, pastels, crayons, anything. Make sure your drawing utensil is not washable. Draw the sticker designs on a thin piece of paper, such as loose leaf paper or paper from a notepad. Consider these creative options when you're thinking up sticker designs: Draw a self-portrait, or portraits of your friends or pets. Cut out neat pictures and words from magazines and newspapers. Print out pictures you find online, or pictures you've uploaded to your computer. Print them on thin computer paper, rather than photo paper, for best results. Use sticker sheets you find online with premade stickers you can print out. Make pictures using rubber stamps. Decorate the picture with glitter.

Cut out the stickers. Use scissors to cut out the designs you drew or printed. Make the stickers as large or as small as you like. For an added touch, use scrapbook scissors that cut decorative designs around the edges. Try using a paper puncher to make heart, star, and other shaped stickers from patterned paper.

Make the glue. This glue is similar to the adhesive on envelope flaps and is safe for kids to use. It will bind the stickers to most surfaces but doesn't include harsh chemicals. To make the glue, mix the following ingredients in a bowl until they are thoroughly combined: An envelope of plain gelatin 4 tablespoons boiling water 1 teaspoon sugar or corn syrup A few drops of peppermint extract or vanilla, for flavoring. Use different kinds of extract for fun flavors! Apply different flavors to different kinds of stickers, make stickers for your friends with surprise flavors, or use certain holiday-themed flavors for Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Easter. When you are finished with the glue, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The glue will gel overnight. To liquefy it, place the container in a bowl of hot water. This glue can also be used to seal envelopes.

Paint the stickers. Turn the stickers upside down on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil. Use a paint brush or a pastry brush to paint the backs of the stickers with the glue mixture. When you're finished, let the mixture dry completely. There's no need to soak the stickers completely with the adhesive; just brush on a light coating. Make sure the stickers are completely dry before you use them. Store your stickers in a plastic bag or a box until you are ready to use them.

Lick the stickers. When you're ready to stick the stickers to various surfaces, simply lick the back, like you would a stamp, and press them down against the surface for a moment. The homemade glue is quite strong, so be careful where you stick them.

Making Packing Tape Stickers

Cut stickers out of magazines or print your own designs. For this method, you'll need designs that have already been printed on paper with water-resistant ink. You can use shiny magazines or books, or you can experiment with the ink your printer uses to print out designs from your computer. If you are printing pictures, make a test copy to get a little wet before you try to make a print sticker. Cut out pictures and words you like using a pair of scissors. When choosing pictures, think about the width of the packing tape. Each sticker should be able to fit on one strip. The picture can be the size of the packing tape or smaller. If you want a larger sticker, you will have to place two pieces of packing tape stacked on each other. This can be tricky. You will have to align the tape so that they overlap just a little bit so you have no paper peeking through. This can mess up your sticker. You will have a seam where the two pieces of tape meet.

Cover the sticker designs with packing tape. Cut a piece of clear packing tape large enough to cover an entire cut-out design. Place it on the front of the design that you cut or printed out. Press down so that the tape adheres to the design. When placing the tape on the sticker, make sure to carefully place the tape over the design. Moving the tape after you have started to adhere it can tear the picture. Also, try to not have any bubbles or wrinkles in the tape when you apply it. Consider using double-sided tape. Double-sided adhesive comes in many forms - rolls, sheets or even sticker maker machines such as Xyron Consider using Washi Tape. Washi Tape is similar to packing tape; it's great to use for stickers because it sticks when you want, and easily peels off when you want. If you are looking for a stronger sticker, you could even use duct tape. Washi Tape is available in various colors and patterns.

Rub the front of the stickers. Use a penny or your nail to press on the front of the stickers and rub the surface, so that the tape starts to bind with the ink on the paper. Continue for a couple of minutes to ensure that the ink and the adhesive become one.

Run the stickers under warm water. One at a time, run them under the water with the paper side facing the stream of water until it begins to fall apart. The ink won't wash away, but the paper should completely dissolve. You can help it along by scratching some away. Make sure you get all of the surfaces of the tape wet instead of only focusing on one spot. If you focus on only one part, only that part will be visible. If the paper won't come off, continue running it under warm water. An alternate way is to submerge the sticker in a bowl of warm water. Place the sticker completely in the water and allow it to soak for a few minutes.

Let the stickers dry. Once the paper is gone, let the stickers completely dry so that the tape's adhesive will become sticky again. Use scissors to trim away any extra tape around the design, then stick the stickers to the surfaces of your choice.

Making Sticker Paper Stickers

Buy sticker paper. Craft or office supply stores sell paper that has adhesive on one side. It's usually lined with a paper backing that you can peel off when you're ready to use the sticker. Alternately, you can buy tacky sticker sheets. These sheets allow you to place a picture to the glue, then peel the sticker off, transferring the glue to the back of the sticker. This is great if you want to use sticker sheets with pictures you already have or those cut from magazines. Buy paper that fits the specifications of your printer. If you don't have a printer, you can still use sticker paper by drawing your own designs on the surface of the paper or cutting out pictures from magazines and books.

Design your stickers. Design the stickers on your computer or use markers or a pen to draw directly on the surface of your sticker paper. You're only limited by the size of the paper - if you want, you could make an 8 1/2" by 11" sticker! Design stickers on your computer using Adobe Photoshop, Paint, or another program that allows you to draw. You could also simply save some photos from your personal album or the internet to use as stickers. When you're finished, print the sticker designs onto the sticker paper. If you have a physical photograph or drawing that you want to make into a sticker, you can scan it onto your computer or upload a digital photo. Format this file on Photoshop. Paint, Word, or Adobe Acrobat, then print it onto the sticker paper. Draw directly on the sticker paper with pens, pencils, or even paint. Just make sure you don't get the paper too wet, or it may interfere with the adhesive.

Cut out the stickers. Use scissors to cut out the designs you printed or drew. Cut simple square shapes or use scrapbook scissors to give the designs interesting edges. Space all designs of stickers at least 1/8 an inch apart to prevent cutting accidents. When using tacky sticker sheets, simply pull back the protective liner, revealing the glue. Place the back of your sticker to the glue. Press down to make sure the sticker adheres to the glue. Then, peel the sticker - the glue will now be on the back of the sticker. Stick on any surface. You will need to use the sticker right away because there is no protective cover on the back. You can cut slightly wide to leave a white border around the image, or you can cut it close. More advanced sticker creators sometimes leave no border and cut with an X-ACTO knife.

Remove the paper backing. When you're ready to use the stickers, peel away the paper protective liner and stick them to the surface of your choice.

Making Stickers Other Ways

Make reusable stickers. For stickers, you can pull off and restick, buy some repositionable glue, which can be found at craft stores and online. After designing and cutting your stickers, brush some of the repositionable glue on the back of your sticker. Let them completely dry. Then stick and peel and stick again!

Use mailing labels. Draw pictures, shapes, or words onto printable mailing labels. These can be purchased at office supply stores. Cut around the shape, then peel the label off. Place the sticker on wax paper if you don't want to use it right then.

Create stickers with double back tape. Draw your design on any paper, or cut pictures from magazines. After the sticker has been cut to the shape you want, place double back tape on the back of the sticker. Cut the tape down so it doesn't go over the sides of the sticker. Place on wax paper until you are ready to use the sticker.

Make stickers with contact paper. Draw your designs on the shiny side of the contact paper using sharpies. Cut out the stickers around your designs. Peel off the paper backing and stick to whatever surface you choose. Contact paper stickers are translucent. They are good to use on colored construction paper.

Use a sticker maker. If you want to make a lot of stickers and you're willing to spend a little more money ($15 - $20), you can buy a sticker maker machine from a craft store or the Internet. Place your sticker (a drawing, a photo, even a ribbon) into the sticker maker and then pull it through the machine. Some have a crank and you just crank it through, or some you stick it in one side and pull it out the other, and it will apply the adhesive for you. When the stickers run through, they're ready to use: just peel and stick.

Make another type of reusable sticker! On a surface such as a plastic ruler (scale), use some glue (Fevicol advised) to make the outline of the shape, and make sure to fill the gaps with more glue afterwards. Let it dry. When it's dry, use a marker or Sharpie to draw and colour your design onto the sticker. Slowly peel the transparent dry glue off and Voila! Here's your reusable sticker! You could also embed a drawing or picture you want as a part of the sticker when the glue is still wet.

A really sticky sticker! Draw your designs, scan a newspaper/magazine, or just print them out. Make sure not to cut them out yet. Prepare a mixture of glue (Fevicol advised) and water. Cover the back of your printed/drawn sheet(s) with a layer of the substance using a paintbrush or a pastry brush. Let the sheets dry. When they're dry, you will find they are still quite sticky. Make sure to use them immediately as you have no protector.