12 Ways To Show Off Your Stickers and Patches

Stickers and patches are versatile accessories that people of all ages can enjoy. From stocking stuffers to travel souvenirs, it’s easy to collect stickers and patches in all kinds of themes and designs. Unfortunately, too many of these accessories end up forgotten at the backs of drawers or in the bottoms of sewing kits. How can you give your stickers and patches the spotlight they deserve? Check out these ways to show off your stickers and patches.

Personalize Your Laptop

If you’ve ever visited a college campus, you’ve probably seen this modern sticker trend. Decorating your laptop with your favorite stickers is a great way to let your personality shine through on an otherwise plain possession.

Laptop stickers can also act as a conversation starter. Whether you’re studying at the library or checking emails at your favorite coffee shop, other people can see stickers of your favorite characters, bands, or sports teams. It’s a great way to find shared interests between classmates, coworkers, and other potential friends.

Deck Out Your Cooler

Liven up your tailgates or campouts when you decorate your cooler with your favorite stickers. Cover the surface with designs supporting your favorite teams, national parks, or even your favorite breweries. No matter where your interests lie, colorful sticker designs are a great way to add a little extra style to your cooler’s exterior.

Pro Tip: Try to use waterproof stickers so they’ll stay on your cooler longer.

Make Hydration More Fun

Many people trick themselves into drinking more water by keeping a stylish water bottle on hand. There’s no better way to make your water bottle more enticing than with stickers. Cover your large water bottle with all your favorite designs. As with laptops, water bottle stickers can act as an excellent conversation starter—after all, your water bottle goes everywhere with you.

Remember to take care with any stickers on your water bottle. Because you’re constantly handling your bottle, the stickers will eventually get dirty and wear down. This is a great place for temporary or less precious stickers that you don’t mind replacing after a while.

Create a Travel Theme on Your Bags

Some of the best stickers and patches revolve around travel. You can buy them as souvenirs or collect designs from all of your bucket list destinations. If your stickers and patches revolve around travel, why not stick with that theme and use them to decorate your bags? Stickers work well on hard-shell suitcases, while patches are perfect for customizing your canvas suitcases or backpacks. In addition to showing off your favorite designs, this also makes your bags stand out at luggage claims.

Decorate Instruments and Cases

If you own any instruments, you might have a great way to show off your stickers and patches. Some instruments themselves—like guitars or drum kits—look great with strategically placed stickers. Even if you don’t want to place stickers directly on your instrument, you can deck out the case with all your favorite designs.

Stay on-brand with stickers of your favorite bands or albums, or keep it simple and just add stickers and patches that speak to you. No matter what you choose, you’ll get to put your unique personality and interests on display.

Stylize Your Kid’s Lunch Box

Make lunchtime fun for the kiddos by packing their meals in a lunchbox covered with their favorite stickers. Decorate with designs of beloved superheroes or cartoon characters. Alternatively, add stickers for every fun place you’ve traveled to as a family. Your kids will love showing off their cool stickers to everyone at the lunch table.

Customize Your Journal, Planner, or Binder

If you keep any kind of journal or binder with you, stickers are a great way to customize the cover. Instead of spending a lot of time and money trying to find the perfect notebook or planner to suit your tastes, you can create a custom design with gorgeous stickers from your collection. You can personalize class notebooks, work binders, bullet journals, and so much more. The results will look great and match your tastes perfectly.

Frame Stickers for Wall Décor

Are you looking for ways to turn your sticker collection into wall décor? There are many creative and stylish ways to frame your stickers and hang them on the walls. You can create your own sticker collage and place it in a photo frame for protection. Another idea is to upcycle old mirrors by covering or removing the glass, then using the frame to hang your stickers.

Attach Patches to Canvas Banners

You can also turn patches into wall décor by hanging them with canvas banners; sew or iron the patches on for a permanent display. Alternatively, install hook and loop adhesive so you can remove and rearrange patches as you wish.

Use Stickers and Patches in Shadowboxes and Scrapbooks

Shadowboxes and scrapbooks are a great way to put your favorite memories on display, which means they’re also perfect for showing off your stickers and patches. With various sizes and colors, the perfect frame to display your collection can easily be found. Arrange your stickers or patches to your heart’s content, and add other accessories or memories like postcards, tickets, and other items. For example, you can display your Colorado patches alongside a postcard from Rocky Mountain National Park, a ticket to a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater, or anything else you had the opportunity to see or do during your trip to Colorado.

Design a Custom Jacket

Patches on a denim jacket are a classic look that lets you create a style like no other. Once you add your favorite patches to your jacket, it becomes completely unique—no one else owns a design like that. Keep it simple by adding patches to the front, back, and shoulders, or experiment with other locations like sleeves or pockets. Be sure to try out a few designs by temporarily adhering patches with double-sided tape before you commit to the final look.

Create a Keepsake Box

A keepsake box is perfect for storing souvenirs and other memories you have from the trip where you bought your stickers or patches. If you’re filling a keepsake box with mementos, why not make the box itself match the theme by decorating it with stickers? Of course, you don’t have to stick to a theme; you can just customize your memory box with any designs you like. No matter what you choose to do, stickers are a clean, easy, and stress-free way to turn an ordinary box into something completely unique.