Making Tracks with Kids: Cheeky's Security Blanket

Lindsay N. Lewchuck had always dreamed of being an author, but it wasn't until she brought home a little black puppy with oversized paws that she found the inspiration to write. The precocious antics, wonky ear and unique personality of her Great Dane, Cheeky, proved to be the natural subject for a series of children's stories.

Lindsay's first book about Cheeky--Cheeky's Security Blanket--is out this year from Castle Keep Press (an imprint of James A. Rock & Co.). Featuring illustrations by Isaac Klunk, the tale follows Cheeky as she learns that while her security blanket makes her feel happy and secure, there really are some things in life that are more important. The book is intended for 2-100 year olds and is mostly aimed at 3-6 year olds.

In order to promote her book to her pint-sized target market, Lindsay hands out lime green and purple "Cheeky Approved" stickers after all of her readings. These stickers have proven a big hit with kids, and they leave a Great Dane "paw-print" impression with their parents, too--not unlike the paw-prints hidden by the illustrator on every page of Cheeky's Security Blanket. 


Why Custom Sticker Makers? "CSM had very competitive prices," Lindsay told us. "That is what brought me to the site. But the low-VOC ink is what made me choose them over the competition. Whenever there is a choice available, I go with the healthiest."

Annals of Sticktivism: I Park Like an Idiot

Most of our posts from the wide world of Sticktivism deal with people doing their best to make the world a better place with stickers. (Yes.) Through Journalism Warning Labels, for example, or These Come From Trees.

These stickers, however, don't want to save the world. They just want to provide some stress relief for the driving public.

Now you, too, can turn your annoyance at the sheer stupidity of those who park badly into an instant laugh, for yourself and others. Just keep your I Park Like an Idiot stickers handy, when you see someone hogging two parking spots, blocking traffic, missing those white lines by a mile (or in any other way parking like an idiot) just pull out one of these stickers while no one's looking and...well, we didn't tell you to do it.

I Park Like an Idiot stickers are 10 x 3 inches and bright yellow, so no one will be able to miss them--and they're low-tac, so they're not that hard for the offending driver to remove. Available in packs of 20 for $10.

Band Promo: Mike Peralta Sticks with the Fans

When Southern California singer/songwriter Mike Peralta was in high school, his love of Nirvana inspired him to learn to play an old guitar his mother got him--but it wasn't until a tragedy rocked his school that he came home and wrote his first song. In the years that followed, Mike found he had a knack for turning life's difficulties and dysfunctions into music, and when he finally decided to take his solo act to the streets (in bars, coffee shops, fairs, private parties, farmer's markets, even out in front of movie theaters) he found that people responded.


Now, with 150 original songs to his credit--as well as an acoustic/folk album and a new Single on iTunes--Mike Peralta has made a name for himself in the SoCal music scene. Along the way, he's learned a thing or two about using the internet to connect with fans: currently, he has 800 email subscribers on his blog, 6,500 Twitter followers, 27,000 MySpace peeps, 352 Facebook fans, and a website, www.MikePeralta.com.

Off the internet, of course, Mike knew he needed a way for fans to spread the word. So everywhere he performs, you'll see custom stickers alongside CDs, shirts, and buttons on his merch table. At $2 each, Mike's able to make a small profit on his stickers while keeping costs within range for the fans. Over the years, he's sold and given away hundreds of stickers at shows, and considers them an important part of his branding.

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "They have a personal touch," said Mike. "I can send them an email or a question and expect it to be answered by an actual human, with a real answer (not just a template), in a reasonable amount of time." He adds that CSM hasn't grown so big that they "don't care about the little guy" and are willing to actually talk about orders, "instead of replying with some BS response like a copy/paste of a slightly related Question/Answer topic like some other companies do." He also enjoys being able to customize the dimensions of his stickers, both for aesthetics and cost-control, and CSM's competitive pricing.

Stuff We Like: Groovy 70's Skateboard Stickers

From Dogtown to downtown, skateboards have come a long way since the 70's--as have that equally venerable institution, the skateboard sticker. But some of the most memorable skateboard stickers we've seen recently are some of the oldest.

These groovy 70's era skateboard stickers (which come to us via Skateboarding Magazine) were taken from 70′s trading cards. Apparently, the front of these iconic cards featured pro skaters in action and the back of the cards featured stickers

For those who've been searching in vain for these collectibles, here's some small condolence: within the next ten years or so, presumably, these images will enter the public domain. At which point you'll be free to get these images printed into stickers of your own with Custom Sticker Makers =)

Hello Kitty Stickers Grow Up

Hello Kitty stickers, Hello Kitty stickers! You can almost feel your inner (small, female) child jumping up and down, can't you?

Well, maybe you can and maybe you can't. But here at Custom Sticker Makers, we like to keep track of hot search sticker search terms--and while stick figure families come and go, Hello Kitty stickers seem to have some real staying power.

Hello Kitty was "born" in Japan in 1974, when a young Tokyo-based company called Sanrio asked designer Ikuko Shimizu to invent a cartoon animal who would appeal to the preteen girl in everyone; they planned to use it to decorate a plastic coin purse. Thirty-six years later, Hello Kitty's adorable, oddly mouthless mug has adorned everything from erasers and barrettes to bowling balls and sewing machines--all with that distinct style of Japanese consumer culture ultra-cute known as kawaii.

Because so many grown women grew up with Hello Kitty, there are now all kinds of Hello Kitty items aimed at big girls--such as this Hello Kitty bumper-sticker.

But our favorite Hello Kitty stickers are the ones that are still most likely to send little girls into kawaii-induced fits, such as this massive sticker pack, perfect for slumber parties.

Annals of Sticktivism: Journalism Warning Labels

There has been plenty of bellyaching recently about the state of modern journalism, from the increasingly accepted use of unnamed sources to veiled (or not so veiled) political biases in ostensibly neutral publications.

Frustrated no end by this sort of thing--especially among the free publications he often found while traveling the London Underground--UK resident Tom Scott decided to take matters into his own hands.

His "Journalism Warning Labels" function like a DIY guerrilla media criticism class for travelers. They're available in both the UK and the US and formatted for print-out on standard sized Avery labels.

How do they work? Simply locate the offending article, select the most appropriate label from your sheet, stick it on or near the article, and leave the publication in the subway, bus, or coffee shop where you found it. Those who peruse the paper later will be forewarned.

Midterm Election Sticker Wars!: Road Rage Edition

As we gear up for midterm elections, campaign stickers are once again appearing on the nation's bumpers.

High dollar television ads and internet campaigns aside, nothing speaks more to a candidate's grassroots support than the number of bumper stickers and campaign lawn signs bearing his or her name.

However, amid the nation's current political climate, campaign stickers are also a heated subject. In Nashville, Tennessee, a man has claimed that he was the victim of road rage due to the Obama/Biden bumpersticker on his car. 

Curious what the assailant was most likely driving? Check out this site, which has unofficially tabulated a breakdown of political affiliations by makes and models of cars from the 2008 election.

Here at Custom Sticker Makers, we're hoping that those with strong opinions this election season will choose to express them via their bumperstickers, rather than their driving habits...

Mrs. Grossmans Stickers: the Woman Behind Stickermania

Stickermania: it's a phase most kids go through, at one point or another. (There are those of us, obviously, who never get over it.) But 'twas not always so. Once upon a time, there were more kids who collected stamps than stickers. That is, until Mrs. Grossman came along.

Andrea Grossman is a graphic designer who started her sticker business because of a printing error. In 1979, a local paper store asked her to produce a red heart sticker to decorate shopping bags for Valentine's Day. Grossman couldn't find anybody who made such a thing, so she cut a heart out of black artist's paper and sent it to a label printer. Instead of coming back on sheets of paper, as expected, the hearts came back on rolls, like ribbons.

A natural entrepreneur, Grossman created nine more designs and introduced "Stickers by the Yard" at a trade show. Retailers swamped her with orders, and within three years, stickers had become one of the hottest-selling products in the country. Grossman was featured in People Magazine as the woman who started "stickermania."

Here at Custom Sticker Makers, we tip our hats to Mrs. Grossman's Stickers--a business that operates today out of a 110,000-square-foot corporate headquarters with 90 employees, home to the world's only sticker factory tour.

Temecula Wedding Photographer Patrick Anibaldi: Stickers That Take the Cake

Anyone who's ever gone through the effort and expense of a wedding--plus, of course, the joy and beauty--knows that, in the end, it's all about the pictures. The right wedding photographer can make all the difference, and in Temecula, California, that photographer is Patrick Anibaldi.

Anibaldi's photographic style is creative, fun, and artistic. Rather than settling for the basic, canned shots, Anibaldi focuses on capturing the moments and emotions of a wedding as they unfold, creating a visual narrative that speaks for itself. He's been photographing weddings since 2007 and reports that he's fallen in love with both the technical and artistic sides of it. To Anibaldi, a great wedding is not necessarily a "Platinum Wedding" (i.e., one with a lot of bling) but one that has a "real-life love story begging to be told."

When customers work with Anibaldi, one of the final products they receive is a collection of wedding images on a CD. While the disk itself may not look like much, it is, in many ways, priceless--so the packaging materials need to help convey the value of the product. In order to accomplish this, Anibaldi knew he needed high-quality custom stickers.

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "I can upload my own design and choose the size of sticker I want," said Anibaldi. "Plus, ordering through the website is simple and the quality of the stickers is top-notch!"

Stuff We Like: Facebook Stickers

If there is any lingering doubt about the degree to which Facebook has taken over our lives, these stickers should settle the question. On Facebook, of course, you can click the "Like" button to express your enthusiasm for everything from causes to comments to relationship changes to what your friends had for breakfast this morning. Now, you can do the same in the real world, via Nooooel's hilarious "button stickers."

Even better, these stickers (which come to us via The Creative Times) provide us with what FB, so far, has failed to: a Dislike button. Let's face it, there are plenty of things (including causes, comments, relationship changes, and what our friends had for breakfast) that deserve to be Disliked. With these handy-dandy stickers, at least in the real world, we can have our say.

While they do not as yet appear to be available for purchase, we imagine that comparable stickers could easily be had via a little graphic design know how and an order to Custom Sticker Makers.