1 comment ·Aug 03, 2022

How To Use Digital Stickers

by Tedi Bezna

Digital planning can be just as fun as traditional planning, and it only takes one thing: digital stickers!

I adore digital stickers for bullet journaling, planning, studying, note-taking and more. Digital stickers will help elevate your organisation, with the finished product resembling artwork.

This blog post is dedicated to all things digital stickers, and I can’t wait to expand your knowledge on them! Read on to learn what digital stickers are, why they're great to use, where to find them, and best practices for their use.

What are digital stickers?

Are you a fan of ‘normal’ stickers?

Well, you’ll be happy to know that digital stickers work in the exact same manner as ‘real stickers,’ on your traditional pages. The only difference is that they are, of course, digital!

When browsing for digital stickers, you will likely notice that they are sold as individual stickers, sheets, or entire books.

Depending on what you are looking for, you will find digital stickers in all sorts of styles, like:

Basic shapes
Designs
Funny images
Organisational tools
Post-it notes type stickers
Sayings or motivational quotes
Themed for certain holidays
Charming and Elegant themes

Digital stickers come in both JPEG and PNG formats. These different formats mean a few different things:

1. JPEG Digital Stickers. JPEG is a fancy digital term that stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group – but I promise that term won’t be relevant when it comes to your decorating freedom! JPEGs are a standard way of compressing pictures, so they are easier on your devices. A JPEG digital sticker file will usually come with a plain white background. They are a fantastic option if you plan on placing your sticker on a lined, coloured, or patterned page as you will be able to clearly see the sticker design and a slight background area around the sticker.

2. PNG Digital Stickers. PNG is another fancy term which means Portable Network Graphics. Regarding digital stickers, it simply means that each digital sticker is its file, complete with a transparent background. This style of stickers is great because they will blend seamlessly onto what page you place them on, without any background or need to copy.

Both JPEG and PNG digital stickers are fantastic. However, if you are opting for my wide range of digital stickers, please note that I make them in PNG form and offer them in sticker books – allowing a ton of versatility, accessibility, and bang for your buck.

Why Use Digital Stickers?

My question is, why not use digital stickers!? Digital stickers are the way of the future, as many people are now transitioning from paper-based planners to tech-based products. Digital stickers can be used on cell phones, laptops, desktop computers, and tablets/iPads.

Plus, and this has to be one of my favourite reasons, you can reuse them over and over! When you use a physical sticker, once the set is completed, you cannot use them over again. This also means that if you happen to make a mistake and place them in the wrong area (or change your mind and wish to relocate them) it's super difficult to remove and replace them. It can be sticky, leave residue, or even rip the page.

Digital stickers, however, can be reused again and again – for years to come! With each annual calendar, new budget planner, or new journal, your beloved digital stickers can come with you. Not only is this very convenient, but it also means you can save your money and put it towards other artistic endeavours, as you do not keep buying new stickers every time.

What’s more, you are very, very unlikely to lose digital stickers as opposed to regular ones and they don’t take up space in your home.

Finally, they are much kinder to the environment. As traditional stickers are made with adhesive and paper, they often cannot be recycled.

What can digital stickers be used for?

There is no shortage of ways you enjoy digital stickers. They can truly be used for just about anything. You can use them to complement your digital planners, bullet journals, flashcards, notes, and more.

Here are some suggestions of ways to appreciate digital stickers:

1. Digital Notes

When you are writing notes, digital stickers can break up monotonous writing.

This is particularly useful for studying, as digital stickers can help to remind you of different segments or significant topics, which can make reviewing your notes 10x easier.

If you use digital note taking for work, you can place stickers next to topics or tasks you want to review or act on, so you don’t forget anything again.

This means that Digital stickers in your notes are not only super practical, but they can make your notes look aesthetic. For anyone visual like me, creating appealing notes help me stay engaged and focused.

2. Digital Planner or Bullet Journal

I swear, the community of digital planners and bullet journalist users have life figured out! It’s such an incredible way to stay on top of life’s many responsibilities and be ready for what’s to come.

One way to keep things fresh is to add digital stickers to not only enhance but really personalise your planning experience. Check out some of my digital planners and digital bullet journals here!

3. Digital Budgeting

For something as important as budgeting, it sure can be boring. Zhuzh up your budgeting tasks with digital stickers, to help you stay on top of your finances and watch them transform budgeting into your favourite weekly task!

4. Digital Calendars

Digital stickers will revolutionise your calendar! With so many cool and trendy stickers, you might not even have to use words or sentences on your calendars, but instead stickers to highlight what you are up to and what’s to come.

5. Fashion Planner

One popular digital planner is a fashion planner! As the name suggests, this planner is great for fashionistas who love to plan their outfits in advance. These planners are perfect for digital stickers, to help enhance the visual aspect.

Digital stickers can transform your life and aid in habit tracking, colour coordinating and as a reminder of the important things.

How to use digital stickers

The good news is that it is similar to traditional stickers, digital stickers and nice and easy to use. In fact, it’s as easy as 1,2,3:

Step 1: Find and purchase your stickers, then download them and save them to your preferred device: phone, laptop, computer, or tablet.

Step 2: You will want to open up your digital planner/calendar and upload the stickers as images.

Step 3: Then, it’s time to get creative! As digital stickers can be scaled up and down, they allow you to make them to your desired size, which you can then drag to place where you want. Once you find the ideal spot, simply place it down and save it.

Not too hard, right?! I guarantee once you try it a few times, you’ll get the hang of it, and you’ll ask yourself: how did I live without these!?

There is another popular way to use my digital stickers and that is to print them out using the fantastic Cricut Machine. This allows you to have fun with my beautiful digital stickers on traditional paper, rather than on your computer. Popular planner influencer Plan On It has a video you can watch here where she demonstrates how to do this using my digital stickers.

What are the different types of planner stickers?

The world of digital stickers is just waiting to be discovered! There are so many incredible, exciting options to explore.

For the practical planner: A practical planner requires functional digital stickers. These types of digital stickers are perfect for creating lists or tracking important events. Functional stickers will help structure your day, week, and month with useful designs and the ability to colour code. For the practical planner, I suggest my This is my year pack with motivational quotes, functional stickers and my signature dolls, or the Teacher Life pack for you hard-working educators, or the I can and I will set which includes enough stickers for you to plan the entire year!

For the artsy planner: As a creative person, you will fall head over heels for decorative stickers because they add a splash of texture and celebration to your planner. There are many incredible options that I have, including my charming Breakfast at Tiffany’s pack, the Latina pack, the Parisian-inspired Enchanté pack, the Plant Lady pack for those of you with a green thumb, my marvellous body-positive #Curvy pack, Black Girl Magic pack, Zodiac pack and more!

For the festive planner: Holidays come but once a year and it’s the festive planner's time to shine! Make your planner pop with lovable Holiday/Seasonal stickers. Of course, you can use them outside of the traditional time – especially if you have upcoming travel planned. Some highlights include the Holiday pack featuring cosy winter-themed digital stickers, and the Holiday cheer pack packed with all you need for an incredible Holiday period. Freshen up your digital pages with a hint of my Spring Bloom pack or keep the summer sunshine alive with my Summer Fun pack.

For the Motivated Planner: One of my personal favourites is inspirational stickers, perfect for the motivated planner. These digital stickers are designed to give you an extra nudge while providing matching with your undeniable drive for life. Reach super-mom status with the help of my Mom Life pack, to help you stay on top of your children’s appointments, assignments, and events and of course: make time for personal self-care. Stand in your power with the confident and self-assured Wild Things pack. Or, slay your dreams and keep track of all you have done with the help of my Slay, Girl, Slay pack!

Whatever your organisation's approach, style and tastes are, I guarantee you’ll be able to find the right type of digital stickers that are perfect for you.

Where to buy planner stickers

Digital stickering has the power to absolutely transform your life, as it can alleviate stress and anxiety while supporting you reach your goals and staying on top of the often overwhelming every day.

When you begin digital stickering, it can bring about a true turning point in your life. Are you ready to start expanding your digital sticker collection?

You can start by browsing my extensive online shop which offers a ton of classy, cute and elegant planner stickers that I encourage you to look at.

However, there are plenty of talented artists that I love to shout out whenever I can. Here are some great online sellers:

Otherwise, I suggest checking out Etsy and Pinterest to kick off your stickering journey!

Tips and Tricks for Digital Stickering

You can layer your digital stickers! For special events or for added attention, you are able to stack stickers, which is a great way to draw attention to a particular event.
Copy a small section of your digital sticker for precision. We all love technology…when it works the way it is supposed to! When it doesn’t, that can get frustrating. One thing that sometimes happens when you are trying to copy your sticker into your planner is that you may end up carrying over an additional sticker that is above or below the desired sticker. To avoid this, just copy a small section of the desired sticker rather than the entire border.
Favourite your most used digital stickers: Depending on your digital planner, you should be able to ‘favourite’ the digital stickers you love to use for easy access.
Get ahead: You, your credit score and everyone else will thank you for doing this trick: place a digital sticker a few days in advance to when a regular bill is due! This will serve as an important reminder to ensure it is paid.
Colour coordination to save time and stress. If you assign different colours for different events or responsibilities, it will help your mind to connect to them and easily understand them. Digital stickers come in a wide variety of colours to help support this.
Scientific researchers have determined that when you write your ‘to-do list in your digital notes, it is best to do it at night. Researchers advise that this can result in better sleep and decreased stress.
Have fun! There is no rule book with digital stickers. Your digital planner and digital stickers should reflect your personality and interests.