Welcome to peeloffstickers.org for all the information you need about Peel Off Stickers!
Peel Off Stickers are probably the easiest thing to use in card making and scrap booking - as their name suggests they are simply self adhesive stickers which you peel off a backing sheet and then stick into position.
Peel Off Stickers, or "Peel Offs", as they are more commonly known as, come in many different colours, shapes, sizes and finishes, although the traditional gold and silver seem to remain the most popular with card makers. They give the effect of having a stamped embossed image on your work, without you having to do the amount of work you would have to do for actual embossing.

However to give you a quick idea of what is  available:

Finishes:    standard (gold, silver, or coloured), holographic, pastel, mirror, 3D, transparent, glitter or blank (these are for use with punches, or for use in die cutting machines).

It is hard to categorise Peel Offs because no matter what the occasion there will be an appropriate Peel Off on the market! You can get standard sentiment stickers; outline stickers which show the outline of an image; solid stickers, which as the name suggests are solid images; alphabet stickers,sticky ribbon, pictorial, double embossed and stitching stickers to name just a few.
Unfortunately the worth of using peel offs is often under estimated. They are perfect for making quick cards, or for making an unusual card where buying a suitable rubber stamped image would not be cost effective, or for when you have a large number of cards such as wedding invitations to complete. The alphabet peel offs are perfect for turning a general  card into a personalised card.

Although they are very easy to use they do have be handled with some degree of care because if handled roughly they can easily stretch and distort. There are several different ways you can peel the sticker from its sheet:

  • Use your nail, or the edge of a craft knife, to gently raise the end of the peel off, and then use tweezers to gently lift the peel off away from the backing paper. The peel off will naturally curl and it is best to wait for a few minutes for it to "relax" before positioning it onto your work. Once positioned just smooth the peel off down by rubbing your finger over it.
  • If you are using a sentiment peel off then you can remove it by covering the sticker with a pieece of masking tape. Press the tape firmly down and then gently pull it away from the backing sheet. Work slowly to make sure that the sticker is coming away with the masking tape. Position the masking tape where you want to place the sticker and then run your finger firmly over the tape. Gently pull the tape away, making sure that the sticker is staying onto your work. If the sticker starts to come away with the masking tape just press it down again more firmly and start to peel away again. This is also a good way of ensuring that you get any sentiment stickers straight!

    • There are many ways to use peel offs - the most obvious one is just to stick it straight onto your card. If you use different background papers with a mix of peels off such as border peel offs, corners or images you can produce a pretty card or scrap book page.
    However they can look very effective, especially larger peel offs, when stuck onto another piece of card, then you cut them out and mount them onto your work using 3D double sided foam pads. You are in fact creating your own card toppers or card making embellishments. Using peel offs in this way is particularly good when you are working on vellum.
    When cutting around a peel off always use a sharp small pair of scissors or use a craft blade. Try to cut at an angle slightly under the peel off so that the edge is smooth. Alternatively you might want to leave a narrow border around the peel off to give it emphasis.
    Peel offs also work very well on acetate. To colour in an outline sticker on acetate you will need to use a special gel pen such as the Sakura range. Once coloured in leave the work to dry for a few minutes and you will then be left with a stained glass effect. This can work really well on aperture cards.
    You are not limited to just colouring in your outline sticker, you can also fill in with mediums such as glitter or fine Accent beads. Simply use some PVA glue, or similar, and then sprinkle what you have chosen to use over the top. Obviously allow time for the project to dry before using it further. When working with acetate and glitter it is common practice to apply the glitter to the "wrong" side of  your work, but if you like it better "on top" then that is up to you - it's your work!
    Stitching peel offs are a relatively new addition to the peel off family. The idea is that you fix the transparent sticker to your work and then use the series of dots which are reprinted on them to prick out the pattern with a pricking tool.  You then remove the sticker and stitch through the holes using either an embroidery thread or Spirelli thread.
    Outline peel offs can also be used as templates for chalking onto dark card.