Whenever I look at my sad, plain belongings, I feel the urge to decorate them, but the stickers I find rarely match my vision or fit my budget. That’s why I jumped on the chance to make my own stickers using supplies I already had at home. Now, I invite you to join me on this low-stakes, high-reward DIY journey!
Why Craft?
As a fellow student juggling school, work, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities, I get it. It’s easy to push fun to the back burner when life gets busy. But I find that neglecting my hobbies and interests inevitably leads to everyone’s favourite feeling: burnout. To bring a little playfulness and joy back into my life, I decided to carve out time for myself this summer and get creative, starting with a sticker-making session.
Supplies
- Paper: copy paper, notebook paper, magazines, etc.
- Drawing tools: pens, pencil crayons, markers, watercolours, etc.
- Scissors or a craft knife (for precision)
- Clear packing tape
- Parchment paper or wax paper
Steps
- Draw or print out anything. I doodled random creatures with pens, markers, and pencil crayons. If you don’t want to draw, you can always print out something instead. No pressure. We’re just here to have a good time and cover our stuff in stickers. 🙂
- Cut out the design. Leave a thin white border for that classic sticker look.
- Prepare the base. Stick a piece of tape (sticky side down) onto parchment paper. Make sure the sticker design fits comfortably within the tape’s borders!
- Layer. Place the cut-out design face up on the tape stuck to the parchment paper.
- Seal. Cover the design with another piece of tape (sticky side facing down again), sandwiching the paper between two layers of tape.
- Trim. Cut out the sticker, leaving a thin border of tape around the edges to keep the paper sealed.
- Peel and stick. Peel off the parchment paper, and voila! It’s a sticker.
For this first attempt, I made stickers while listening to one of my favourite podcasts (BBC’s You’re Dead to Me) and decorated my e-reader. Next time, I’m bringing this activity to craft night so my friends and I can create and swap sticker designs!
Suffer from Art Anxiety? You’re Not Alone
I often feel like I need to be “good” at art to make art, but this activity was a great reminder that art doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthwhile. As cliché as that sounds, it’s true! I was able to unwind and enjoy the process even when my designs didn’t turn out exactly as I imagined them.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned artist, I would highly recommend trying sticker-making (or any other arts and crafts activity). Experiment and have fun. If the results are truly horrific, just hide the evidence—no one has to know.
So grab your supplies, clear off a bit of desk space, and join me in embracing the imperfections. DIY stickers await!
Have a look at the handout below for a short guide to creating your own DIY Sticker. There’s even a few prompts to help you get that creativity flowing!
