How to make stickers and sticker glue for children's party favours

Stickers are easy to make at home and can be a quick and easy filler for your kid’s party favour bags. You can even add a small bottle of home made sticker glue with a small brush and printed instructions to the favour bag so the party guests can make their own stickers at home.

Left over gift wrapping and magazine pictures can be used to make the stickers. You can also do a search on the internet for images and clipart that will fit in with the theme of your child’s birthday party.

Print out the pictures on a sheet of paper and apply home made glue to the back of the printed sheet. Let the glue dry completely before cutting out the stickers. The paper and/or stickers tend to curl when it is dry, so just press it overnight under a heavy book.

Leftover home made sticker glue will gel after a while and can easily be kept in the refrigerator for a few months if you store it in glass containers with a tight fitting lid. (Baby food jars are ideal as containers). To re-use the glue, place the container in a bowl of hot water until the gel dissolves again.

Moisten the backs of the stickers by licking or using a damp sponge or cloth.

Sticker glue recipes:

1. Jello sticker glue:

One of the easiest (and tastiest…lol) home made sticker glue recipes is to simply mix 1 tablespoon (12.5 ml) of jello (any flavour you like) and 2 tablespoons (25 ml) of boiling water. Stir until the jello is dissolved, leave to cool.

Use a paint brush or finger to apply the glue to the back of the pictures, leave to dry completely. Cut out the stickers and let the kids “lick and stick”.

2. Vinegar sticker glue

2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or any flavor that you like)

Bring vinegar to a boil in a small pan. Add gelatin, reduce to a low heat heat and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Add extract and stir until mixed. Leave to cool. Apply to pictures and let dry.

3. Home made sticker glue with corn syrup

1 tablespoon cold water
1 packet unflavoured gelatin

Using a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin on the water, leave for 5 minutes to soften.

Now add:

3 tablespoons boiling water and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Add 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup and 1/2 tablespoon vanilla/lemon/peppermint flavour.

Mix well and let cool.

Tip: I used glycerine (from the beauty section of the pharmacy) in place of the corn syrup and it worked just as well.

The sticker glue can also be used to seal envelopes. Just brush a small amount on the back of envelope flaps and leave to dry.

Idea: Make a few personalised envelopes for the party guests and fill with the stickers. Don’t forget to add personalised or party theme stamps to the sticker collection.

Party activity: Let the party guests make their own stickers as part of the party activities. Have a printed sheet of pictures ready for each party guest, supply home made sticker glue and tell them what to do. By the time they have eaten and played some party games, the glue should be dry and they can sit down and cut out their stickers.

I found the images/clipart for the stickers on the photo at http://www.dailyclipart.net/