Paint by Sticker

Apr 12, 2017

$1-50

Byline

Katherine Hickey, Librarian, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Stickering is a fun alternative to the coloring craze, and it requires few supplies. I purchased three "Paint by Sticker" books — two for children and one for adults — to use at the event. Participants were invited to pick out whatever image they wanted from the books and go to work!

The children's images took about 30 minutes to complete, and the ones for adults took approximately an hour.

Watch the video below to see how painting-by-sticker works.

Advanced Planning

Prior to the event I purchased the following books:

Paint by Sticker Kids
Paint by Sticker Kids: Zoo Animals
Paint by Sticker: Masterpieces (for adults)

I also set out rulers on each table, which can help align the stickers.

Marketing

I created a large poster that we hung in the library and half-sheet handouts that I distributed at all of our programs. (View the poster under Attachments at right.)

Budgeting

The books are very cheap ($8 to 10 each on Amazon). In total, the program cost approximately $30.

Day-of-event Activity

Set-up was simple: I set up five tables with chairs, had water bottles available and put on some background music.

Program Execution

We hosted this at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and anyone wandering through the library could stop by. Twenty-two people attended. I made an announcement on the library overcom when the program was beginning, which helped attract more people.

As patrons entered the room, I explained the concept to them and had them choose the image they wanted to work on. The images and sticker pages are perforated in the book, making it easy to tear them out.

Advice

This is a low-cost and low-risk program that worked great at my library. I believe the success was, in part, because there was a book and activity for adults, too. I received very positive feedback from attendees who said they had never heard of the concept but thought it was great fun.