It’s January once again and it’s time to get ourselves organised. Packing away decorations, cleaning out a closet to make room for gifts received, and working on those New Year’s resolutions. What are your resolutions this year? One of mine is to become more consistent in my letter-writing. One way to become more enthusiastic about this is, of course, by using new stationary and accessories. I’ve found that custom stickers are a great way to make my envelopes and gifts pretty and personal.
Last year we did a review of a laptop skin by CaseApp, so when StickerApp asked if we were interested in trying out their new bespoke stickers…well…of course we said yes, I mean, what’s better than specially-designed stickers?
Making custom stickers
I was quite excited to design my own stickers…and a little intimidated a well. If the thought of coming up with something original isn’t for you, StickerApp has lots of ready-made stickers to choose from as well. It took me much more time than it should have, but I wanted something that would be perfect for my own uses. But what? I tried out a couple of designs for this project.
The first and most obvious choice for someone who loves to send post, or has their own business is, of course, return address labels. I used my Castle View Academy cherry blossom header background on a 5x3cm template. Then I overlaid it with the CVA sign in the bottom right corner, and then added in my address. This wasn’t too complicated; the most difficult thing to do was decide on the type of sticker I wanted.
For reasons I’m sure you can understand, I don’t feel comfortable showing you the completely finished product, but here’s an example of how it looks:
Each sticker is available in 4 materials:
- Glossy coated vinyl stickers
- Transparent stickers
- Mirror stickers
- Brushed Alloy
And there are 6 styles available:
- Die-cut
- Square
- Circular
- Round corners
- All on one sheet
- Wall Stickers
I ordered both the glossy coated vinyl and the mirror finish to see how they turned out. Personally, I love the look of the shiny mirrored stickers; but the text shows up better on the glossy vinyl. So I have a choice of when to use these; mirrored if I want to be extra-fancy, and glossy vinyl when I need to be more practical.
Now…it was time to try something a little more fun. I chose to try out the circular designs with my cherry blossom image again. It’s easy to position and move an image to be in just the right place. Then I overlaid the image with this phrase:
Just For You
From
Castle View
How I’m Using My Stickers
These stickers are perfect for adding a special little touch to homemade gifts. I used one in the box I made for the Great Ormond Street Hospital fundraiser.
I also placed them on the Christmas goodie bags I made for some friends.
I also made another custom sticker using the die-cut method. I thought this could be tricky, but I managed it on my own. I found an image on line (always make sure the image you use has the permission of the artist to be used for the project you’re working on. This one was available for commercial use without attribution). I think it’s very suitable for this year as I will be running a series of posts all about Japanese culture.
I used Photoshop Elements to take out the background and turn it to a .png. Then I removed the red rising sun of Japan and replaced it with a portion of my logo. I think it looks quite nice, and I’ve received compliments from those who have seen it.
I uploaded this final image into Stickerapp and it automatically took care of all the die-cutting; you have the choice between a thin or thick outline. I used the glossy vinyl finish on these stickers, and it worked really well.
I have used some on packages I sent overseas and to giveaway winners. Talk about looking professional and feeling the part!
Should you want to reorder more of your own creations, you don’t have to create it all from scratch again; just log back into the site with your original order number and it’s all saved there for you!
I’m telling you, my photos aren’t doing the stickers justice. I LOVE them! Now I want to write to everyone I know, just to use them!
I’m really tempted to design one for our wheely garbage bins as the stickers are weather-resistant.
And they also do wall stickers that use a special adhesive so they won’t ruin your walls. How fun would that be to have on your home office wall; or as a special gift for your child. The possibilities are endless.
Now that I have such beautiful stickers, surely I will be more motivated to reduce my pile of personal correspondence that should be answered. Perhaps I’ll even by inspired to design my own note cards and paper!
A Special For You
Until February 4th, you can get a 20% discount on your StickerApp purchase using the code, CASTLESTICKERS20
If you’d like to know more or would like to follow StickerApp, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
