How to Make Your Own Custom Stickers from Home

There’s more than one way to make your own stickers at home, so let’s cover a few of the methods.

The Simple Method – Use Sticker Paper

Using sticker paper is the easiest method for a simple reason – you don’t have to mess around with applying adhesive to paper. Each piece of paper is essentially a giant sticker, meaning all you need to do is apply your designs and cut.

Sticker papers have two layers of paper in one piece. The first layer is your “sticker” layer, the adhesive backing that makes the paper stick to your clothing. Behind that is the base layer, where the sticker layer sits until you peel it. All you have to do is develop your designs on your computer, feed the sticker paper into your printer, and hit “Print.” Once printed, cut around the sticker design and you’re done.

But there is a caveat – there are different types of sticker paper for different types of printers. Specifically, you need to find paper that says “For Inkjet” if you have an inkjet printer, or “For Laser” if you have that type of printer.

Oh, and you can also draw directly onto sticker paper and cut it – no printing required – if you want to get a little more freehand when you make your own stickers.

The Packing Tape Method

For the packing tape method, you’ll print your intended stickers on normal paper (ideally using waterproof ink) and then follow these steps:

1. Lay the sticker on a clean surface and place a piece of packing tape over it. Note that you need to overlay each layer of tape with the one that came before if you need to use two or more strips to cover the entire sticker.
2. Using a penny, rub the tape on top of your design slowly, applying minimal pressure, so that the adhesive in the tape binds to the ink on the paper.
3. Run the paper side of your near-sticker under warm water until you see the paper dissolving away. You should see that the ink stays because it’s bonded to the adhesive in your tape.
4. Hang the sticker to dry, waiting until it’s bone dry so that the adhesive in the packing tape activates.
5. Cut away the excess packing tape, leaving you with just your sticker design.

Voila – a simple sticker made using tape that you probably have lying around in your home. It may take a few tries to get this right – the penny rubbing can be especially tricky – but this is a great way to make your own stickers for notebooks and similar items.

The “Make Your Own Adhesive” Method

This method is a great choice if you want to know how to make custom stickers that work similarly to envelopes. In other words, you lick (or otherwise moisten) the adhesive to activate it before sticking your sticker to wherever it needs to go.

And it’s simpler than you think.

For this method, you apply your designs to your standard piece of paper first. Again, drawing directly onto the paper or printing or both fine options. Choose whichever you prefer.

Once your designs are ready, you’ll need two ingredients:

• White glue – almost any glue will do here, so look for school supplies
• Some white vinegar

Grab a bowl and mix the glue and white vinegar together in an approximately equal ratio. If you see a milky and fairly thin liquid forming, you’re on the right track. Once you have that liquid, use a brush to apply the new adhesive to the back of your paper. A thin layer should do the job – don’t allow your adhesive mixture to clump.

Leave the adhesive to dry before applying a second coat. Leave that to dry and you’re done – you have custom stickers ready to go.

As for using the stickers, they work much like an envelope. You give the adhesive on the rear a quick lick and it should stick to most surfaces, though you may find it struggles with clothing a little more than it does paper. Note – the adhesive has a slightly funky taste, so you can always use a moistened sponge to activate the adhesive.

You now have three methods for how to make custom stickers at your disposal. They all involve a touch of work, with even sticker paper requiring you to cut your designs out once printing is completed.

But they’re all effective, to a point.

You may find that the packing tape method leaves you with stickers that don’t adhere for a particularly long time due to the application of water in their creation. And the envelope-like adhesive method is effective as long as the sticker isn’t getting cajoled.

And, of course, there’s another way to make your own stickers if none of the three described above work for you – have a professional company do it for you. Custom Stickers Now transforms your designs into gorgeous stickers and, best of all, offers many more methods for creating stickers that last a long time.