I found myself suddenly with a whole bunch of stickers. More than 600 of them actually. Reason being is that these stickers were very cheap. Each set of 50 pieces of non repeat stickers cost 27 baht (about USD80 cents!). I got a few sets and when I add to cart, they further were discounted to 17 baht per set with free delivery. So I look through the designs I like and ended up buying 13 sets for 187 baht (USD5.5).
Here is a short video on how I create my own DIY sticker album:
Easy, cheap and effective way of making a DIY sticker album:
To view the video of my sticker collection on my DIY sticker book, you may visit this post. Below is just an example of the collection which I really love:
This method would work well if:
- you do not place emphasis on the look but the functionality of the sticker book
- you wish to cut cost to make your own DIY sticker book
- You are sticking most individual stickers and not peeling them off as you wish to move the stickers around (if you intend to peel off the stickers, then you may want a proper and professionally made book which is of course going to be much more expensive)
While waiting for the delivery of the stickers shipped from China, I wanted to find a way to organize them. Through some trial and error, I created my own sticker book to organize and store my stickers without peeling them off.
And yes, my sticker book is kind of ugly but it is really functional and I enjoy flipping through them. I am able to insert new pages easily as the collection grow.
Items required (that you can find easily):
- Copy paper (even used ones that you wish to recycle)
- Binder rings
- Hole puncher
- Packing tape (about 2 at least)
- Double sided tape (about 2 at least)
- Sciccors and blade
- Long ruler
I have made 2 reusable DIY sticker books using just the items above. These sticker books are suited to individual stickers, ie stickers that are cut in individual sizes instead of in a booklet or sticker sheet. Without a sticker book, it is time consuming to have to sieve through the piles each time to find the stickers that we want.
Steps required to make your own DIY sticker book:
1. Determine the size you want and prepare the pages
First, you know the size that you want in order to determine the size of the paper that you need to cut. If you choose A4 size, then you would not need to cut your copy paper. For me, I prefer A5 which is half of A4 size.
I had a bunch of copy paper in lilac colour which I had printed some calendars which I do not intend to use which was a little wasteful to just throw away. Because most of the surface would be covered with stickers anyway, if the print on the paper is not too distracting, you can use it for your sticker book.
2. Lining the pages with packing tape
After I cut each of the paper to size, I use packing tape to run over the surface of the paper on both sides (since I would use both the pages). Best practice I feel would be to run over with tape first before punching the holes on the page so that the page is more durable and would not tear with repeated flipping.
Yes, the process of lining all the paper surface with packing tape does take a bit of time. For me, I find that the end result is worth it because the pages can be reused again and again.
The wonder of this is that you need not perfectly line the pages and worry too much about the air bubbles when the tape is unevenly placed on the surface, which would usually happen if we are not experienced and wanted to do it quick. It would work just fine because most important the packing tape is to make the sticker easily removable.
Alternative: If you could source thicker paper that are of matt glossy finish, such as those used in high end brochures or calendars, you can also turn this type of paper into your own sticker album. If you use For example, we have brochures from a paint company because we have bought a lot of paint. Rather than throwing the brochure away, I cut it into A5 size to turn into a sticker album. The advantage of using this type of paper is that you do not need to cover every inch with masking tape. The gloss finish enables you to use double sided tape to secure the sticker to the surface.
Refer picture below where the 3rd book is from a paint brochure. I use the masking tape over the area where I wish to punch the holes to put in the page binder:
3. Making into a book
After the pages are completed, put them in the rings and viola, you get your own sticker book. The taped paper itself is thick enough so technically you do not need a cover. But I happened to have a printout of a cover of next year’s calendar so I used that as the cover. After the books are ready, I wait for my stickers to arrive.
As the stickers were shipped from overseas, there was so delay in the customs resulting the stickers arriving a few days later. When the stickers arrive, I lay them out to take a look at them and then started putting set by set on the sticker book.
As mentioned, I do not peel the stickers off as I prefer to be able to move the stickers around easily. Since I am new in decorating with stickers (which would not have been possible had not the stickers were so cheap), I wanted to be able to do decoration via trial and error. Hence, I place a small double sided tape behind each of the stickers and then use it to stick to the pages. It really turned out the way I wanted. Granted, they sometimes do fall off but generally almost all the stickers stick well to the pages or on my desktop calendar.
I have made 3 sticker books using this method and both the books are almost filled up.
Hopefully you would find this method useful as well. The sticker books are very useful in organizing my stickers and I enjoy flipping through them. For me, looking through my stickers helps me reduce stress and increase my creativity.
