Have you ever wondered just why stickers are so popular? It seems as though they never go out of style and as far back as any of us can remember, stickers have been a part of our lives. When we were in school, we got stickers for achievements, sometimes for just being good that day! We went to the pediatrician and got a sticker for being brave.

In high school, we used stickers on everyone’s locker as a huge prank, and then when we entered the workforce, there was a sticker for everything from notating file folders to stock on shelves in the warehouse to advertising bumper stickers. Even politicians give out stickers these days, and actually have for a very long time. Wouldn’t it be fun to learn how to create your own stickers? It’s really not as difficult as you might imagine!

It All Starts with an Image
For those of you who aren’t really handy with a camera, never fear. An image doesn’t have to be a photo, although for some purposes, they work best. It can be a graphic of some kind or if a photo is required, it could be a stock image easily purchased online. Some are even free to use but as a word of caution, if they are licensed, don’t try to copy that photo for use on anything but for an occasional personal reason. It amounts to theft, and you could be fined heavily if the license holder decided to pursue the issue. So then, summing that up, the basic photo or graphic is the first order of business.

Cleaning Up Your Photo
Next on your list of steps in creating a sticker would be cleaning your photo up. You want to get rid of anything but the focal point and unless you have expensive photo editing software, it would be better to make stickers online. The best photo editing sites reside in the Cloud, and you can easily upload your image to get rid of anything and everything you don’t want to be there. Let’s say you are a politician about to go out on the campaign trail and have an absolutely perfect shot of yourself with constituents. Unfortunately, there is that one person from the ‘enemy camp’ that is making a rude face or gesture. The best photo editing software enables you to literally erase and/or replace anything you don’t want to be seen!

Play Around a Bit
Unless you are in an extreme hurry to get a sticker made up, take your time and play around a bit. There is nothing to say you can’t save your file to come back to at a later date. Sometimes the best stickers are the result of letting the idea rest overnight. When you come back the next day refreshed, you see something you could have done better, or not at all as the case may be. Play around with backgrounds and personal customizations like adding funny eyeglasses, hats or animals to your ‘artwork.’ Even if it’s for work, who says you can’t have a bit of fun? Actually, most of your clients might just get a kick out of seeing a bit of light-hearted humor!

Did We Mention Purpose?
Having the ability to play around a little with your artwork brings to mind a very important element. One of the things you should keep in the back of your head is purpose. Sometimes a sticker needs to be a serious undertaking like those being distributed to Covid vaccine recipients. Sometimes there is no room for humor but having said that, the image on your sticker is also a very effective marketing tool.

Once you are satisfied with the photo or graphic you will be using for your sticker, it’s time to get them printed and cut. These can be easily done with a user-friendly die casting cutter like those produced by Cricut. Or, once you’ve downloaded your finished sticker template you could have them printed up at a local printer. All in all, it’s an easy, straightforward process that can be loads of fun – and did we mention cost-effective?