Make Your Own Stickers

Make Your Own Stickers For those who enjoy arts and crafts, most likely they collect items that fit their needs. Yet, there may be a time when they wished to have something that is a bit more personalized. Opportunely, there is a fun and easy way of creating a personalized item and that is to make your own stickers.

Stickers can be custom-made from one's own designs, photos, and clip arts. They make a wonderful gift for a loved one or can be used as freebies for promotions, or simply used them to brighten up a room.

Read on and learn how easy and fun it is to make personalized stickers.

In making a sticker, the first step is to choose the design. A personal art or pictures, for instance, can be scanned, and using an application like Microsoft Paint or Photoshop, add colors to the art. Also, thicken the border lines using the same application to make sure that it is easier to cut the stickers later.

Whether the chosen design for the sticker is a personal clip art, photos, or something else, if it looks satisfying, then it is time to print it out. The sticker's design should be printed on a special sticker paper.

Sometimes, this paper is also named as vinyl paper or contact paper. The other side of this paper should have an adhesive. When printing the sticker, make sure to let the ink dry up completely on the paper before proceeding to the next step.

If the sticker paper turns out to be less adhesive, a home-made adhesive, using a ratio of one part vinegar to two parts glue, can be used. The first application of this adhesive should be left to dry on the paper and should then be followed with one more application. Let it dry and move to the next step. This adhesive can be made sticky again by slightly dampening it with water using a spray bottle or a cloth.

After both the adhesive and the printed sticker design have dried up, it is time to apply the gloss to the stickers. The gloss makes the stickers waterproof and look professional. This step requires a laminate, clear contact paper, or a clear tape. This step must be executed carefully and slowly. The clear tape, contact paper, or laminate should be placed on top of the sticker gradually, avoiding air bubbles and wrinkles.

The best way to do this is to place the sticker on a flat surface and use a ruler to get rid of the bubbles.

One hand should be holding the laminate or tape while the other hand is behind it, smoothing it with a ruler. Be patient while performing this step as rushing the process could only ruin the stickers. Once the stickers are completely covered with the laminate or tape, it is now time to cut it out. The best way to execute this step is by using a sharp blade or cutter. Carefully cut around the border lines of the stickers.

Store them in a place where they will stay flat like under or inside a heavy book.