Uses For All Those Mismatched, Leftover Stickers

If you've been crafting for any length of time, you probably have a stash of something cool. For paper crafters, it can be any number of things - eyelets, ribbon, die cuts, stamps, even paper itself. But for many of us, it's stickers!

Stickers come in all shapes and sizes, plus all price ranges, so they're super addictive. Even if you have them organized in bags or folders, it may seem impossible to get them all used in creative ways.

Never fear! Here are 10 uses that you may not have thought of, a little something to put your own personal take on.

1. Create a seek-and-find game. For our Youth Group lesson last night, using the hidden treasure parable in Matthew 13:44, I made this sticker game. I found a floor-sized paper pad and covered the first page with stickers. We gave them lists of things to find among the hundreds of images on the page, and the first one to finish their list won a prize. This used up LOADS of stickers in a fun and useful way.

2. Use stickers to decorate a new water bottle. We give each of our youth their own water bottle when they join the group, and every week they get to pick a new sticker to add. My own water bottles all have stickers on them, and many of them have been conversation starters about my faith.

3. Customize your gifts with cards and wrapping paper accented with stickers. Coordinate them with the recipient's likes and interests to make them even more personalized. 

4. Create a custom border for a journal or scrapbook page. Think random stamping like you would do to create a patterned paper, but use stickers instead. This is a fun way to thin out your stickers and make one-of-a-kind accents.

5. Make sure every envelope you mail out has a sticker on it. To friends and family, yes, you may do that already. But what about a happy face on your bills? Flowers on a get-well card? Scripture stickers can touch anyone's heart. Get creative and make someone's day.

6. Leftover alphabet stickers have so many uses. Make a personalized bookmark with just their initials, collage them for backgrounds on cards and pages, or let the kids mix and match them in a game.

7. And don't throw away the sheet when you've used all the stickers. You can adhere them to paper and use ink or chalk on them like a stencil. Just peel away the backing and create a brand-new design.

8. Getting them organized may be the spark of creativity you need. I found tons of stickers I didn't even remember that I had when I was creating the seek-and-find game. Having them tucked away for several months made me forget them, so now I have ideas for many of them. Put them in new bags, folders, or albums until you're ready to use them.

9. Have a swap and share. It doesn't even have to be an event, though it could be. Let your friends and family bring you their stickers, and you send some of yours with them. Not only will you find a new home for your overgrown collection, but you'll also be able to spread the love - and the savings - with other crafters. Plus ... inspiration!

10. Maybe it's time to donate some of those stickers to a school, church, or retirement community. They'll love having something new and creative to use, too.

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