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.
Try using a paper puncher to make heart, star, and other shaped stickers from patterned paper.
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. [4] X Research source 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. [5] X Research source This glue can also be used to seal envelopes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. [7] X Research source 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 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.
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.
Contact paper stickers are translucent. They are good to use on colored construction paper.
