10 Ways To Make Over Your Stickers

I am a sucker for many things. One is makeover shows- I just love seeing how happy everyone is when they look prettier... and another is stickers.
Ahhh, stickers... fond memories as a child, collecting them and swapping them with friends. Before you judge, I actually do not have any of those stickers left from twenty-odd years ago. What I have are a million stickers, bought early in my papercrafting journey. Most of them were just cheap and there was little selection, so I got suckered in to buying ugly stickers :). So, here's a list of 10 ways to make over the drawer full of stickers you know you have too

1. Ink 'Em- this works really well to tone down and antique those shiny stickers, and adds a shabby chic look to matte ones. Lightly tap a brown inkpad over the top of the sticker, or use a piece of cosmetic sponge to apply a little ink over the top
2. Paint 'Em- This adds a bit of country charm, and is nice on bright colors to mute them. Using a very dry paintbrush and the smallest amount of paint, brush on white or light-colored acrylic paint. Or, you can use acrylic paint and fill in parts of a matte sticker to alter colors for your needs.
3. Bling 'Em- I love glitter... it hides almost anything by blinding you with its bling. Using Stickles or generic glitter glue painted on thinly with a paintbrush adds just a bit of bling. Painting the glitter glue on straight from the bottle will add a bit of dimension and glitz. Or, you can use white glue and glitter from a jar or bottle and add a lot of thick, chunky bling. This is cute on feminine, kids, or holiday stickers.
4. Chipboard 'Em- apply sticker to a piece of chipboard (I use old cereal boxes) and cut out. You now have a 'dimensional chipboard element', which sounds way more impressive than a sticker. This is easiest with sharp scissors, and bigger stickers with little detail to the edge.
5. Layer 'Em- if you have multiples of a sticker, apply one to a piece of cardstock and cut out a few areas you'd like to add dimension to. Using foam or pop-dots, layer the cut-out pieces.
6. Sand 'Em- using a piece of fine sandpaper or an emery board, lightly sand the sticker. The white underneath will begin to show. This works well to tone down shiny stickers, and works well for masculine or vintage themes.
7. Punch 'Em- sounds violent, huh? I mean, paper punch! Apply sticker to cardstock and use a punch to cut out just a small portion. A great reason to bust out the square, round or oval punches. This can also add uniformity to different-looking or various-sized stickers, since they will all be the same size and shape due to the punch.
8. Collage 'Em- Take a piece of paper, and just add stickers in random order, over lapping as you go. Cut strips or use a paper punch to add a fun accent to a scrapbook page or card. This is a great way to use up odd stickers you only have one or two of.
9. Use 'Em Together- if you stick a bear sticker to cardstock and cut him out, you can cut around his paw and tuck another sticker (say, a flower) underneath, so it looks like he is holding it in his paw. That theory goes for anything- layer a house underneath a car, and it looks like the car is driving past it. Layer a dolphin behind the waves and he looks like he's in the water.
10. If All Else Fails...Donate 'Em- preschools, grade schools, Senior Centers, VA Hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, scout troops, and many other organizations would be delighted to receive your castaways. Maybe the local Church has a cardmaking ministry, or the local Yeshiva has an afterschool program. Someone will use what you can't. Just use Google or the phone book to find a charity you're interested in and contact them.

How to make the useless more useful- thrifty papercrafting 101

I have a lot of random, useless-seeming supplies. As a craft-hoarder, I had to find a use for them.

• Foam Sheets- OK, STILL not sure why I bought these, except they were a huge pack on clearance. They have come in handy as dimensionals. I use adhesive to stick a bit of foam between layers to 'pop' them off the page. Much cheaper than 'pop dots', and I can cut any size I need- from teeny-tiny to 4x5 inches.
• Charms/ Beads- Charms can be strung on ribbon, or added to a bow for a new look. Tiny seed beads work well in shaker boxes, and larger beads can be used in the center of a bow.
• Baker's Twine- I loved the look, but not the price, of baker's twine marketed to papercrafters. So I headed over to the cake decorating aisle of my craft store, and found Wilton Baker's Twine. Sure, it was only in three colors- red, black, and yellow, but it was less than half the price. Use it to tie on embellishments, like beads, or even sew it into your paper projects.
• Packaging- Any time I buy something craft-related, it usually comes with a bit of 'oaktag' or thick cardboard backing, and a plastic domed front. The backing, I use to thicken up my ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), bookmarks, and my Inchies. I have also used cereal boxes, but the packaging pieces are usually a better size to work with.
• Old Books- There are two schools of thought. One the one hand, if a book is decent enough to be readable, I do not destroy it. But I did have four different dictionaries in my house, and one was a really lousy student version. I have since cut it apart, and use the definitions on my projects. If it was a hardcover, I probably would have hollowed out the pages inside and made an altered book.
• Instant Coffee- I wet down some paper and 'watercolored' a light wash of coffee and water. Then, I sprinkled on a few granules while it was still wet. This coffee produced an awful cup to drink, but pretty paper to work with.

Can you spare a moment for a hero?

Heroes give so much.... their time, their knowledge.... sometimes, even their lives.
How do you thank someone for being a hero?
Operation Write Home has figured out a huge need for deployed heroes- handmade cards! There isn't always a nearby Hallmark in the desert, and the heroes want to write home. While deployed, these men and women are missing out on loved ones' birthdays and holidays. Sometimes, they just want to say 'hello'. A handmade card is a beautiful, personalized touch for a hero to send home.
However, Operation Write Home has a two-fold mission. They also collect 'Hero Mail', cards or letters in which you write a thank you note to a hero, and pages colored by children.
There are only a few very important guidelines when making cards for OWH.

1. No glitter. Glitter gets on everything, and can be seen through night-vision goggles
2. No violent, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate cards. Remember, these cards go overseas to nations with different views on drugs, alcohol, and appropriateness.

Basically, that's it.

Link to Operation Write Home http://operationwritehome.org/
Link to free coloring pages for kids (or adults) http://operationwritehome.org/coloringpages.html
Link to warm your heart (card recipients) http://www.owhheroblog.org/

The website has great tutorials and ideas for improving your card making skills. Great place for inspiration!