Have you ever wanted to create your custom stickers—maybe for your planner, laptop, or even to sell on Payhip (read our review), Redbubble, or Etsy?
I’ve been experimenting with Canva a lot lately (it’s one of my go-to tools for all design-related tasks), and I've discovered just how fun and easy it is to create stickers right inside Canva.
You don’t need any design degree or fancy tools—just your creativity and a free Canva account!
In this step-by-step tutorial - How to make stickers on Canva, I’ll walk you through how to create vector stickers, text-based stickers, and even photo stickers in Canva.
Whether you want to print them at home, use them digitally, or turn them into products for your small business, this guide is for you.
Let’s get started!
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How to Make Stickers on Canva?
In Canva, we can create different types of stickers, including Vector (Illustrations), Text, and Photos. Below, in this tutorial, I will cover how to create vector stickers on Canva.
By following the steps mentioned in the tutorial, you can easily create vector stickers and sell them on third-party eCommerce platforms.
Creating Vector Stickers on Canva
To make stickers on Canva using vector art or digital illustration, you don't need to create these yourself. There are thousands of vector graphics and illustrations on Canva that you can use to create your custom stickers.
Let's get started and learn how to make vector stickers on Canva.
Step 1: Set Up Your Canvas
Before you start designing, let’s create the perfect canvas for your stickers.
- Go to Canva and click on “Custom size”.
- I usually go with 1000 x 1000 pixels for a standard sticker square, but you can customize this based on your needs.
- Set the background to white or transparent (for printing, white is fine; for digital use, go with transparent).
In the screenshot below, you can see that I have selected Custom size for designing my vector sticker.
In the screenshot below, you can see that after selecting Custom size, a pop-up window will appear where you'll need to choose your own custom width and height, or you can select from the suggested design sizes.
For this tutorial, I have selected the 1000 x 1000 px design.
After selecting the design, Canva editor will open (see the screenshot below).
Step 2: Choose Your Vector Graphics or Illustrations
This is my favorite kind of sticker—cute, quirky, and fun! After creating the blank canvas, it's time to choose the illustration or vector to design your sticker.
Follow the steps given below.
- Head to the Elements tab in Canva.
- Search for stickers using keywords like “doll sticker,” “cat sticker,” “coffee doodle,” “emoji,” or whatever theme you're into.
- Choose “Graphics” or filter results by “Stickers” for animated ones (which you can still use as still PNGs).
- Place your chosen element onto your canvas and resize as needed.
- Duplicate, rotate, or mix multiple elements to create sticker packs!
For this tutorial, I have entered the search term - doll in the search option under the Elements tab. So, click on the Elements tab and enter your search term as I have shown below, and press the Enter button.
Next, you'll need to click on the See all option as shown below to only see graphics related to your search term. In my case, I will only see graphics related to my term - doll.
Step 3: Resize, Add Text, and Download
After adding your vector graphics or illustration, you'll need to resize it as per your requirement and also add some text to your design.
Please note that adding text is completely optional. For the sake of this tutorial, I have also shown how to add text to your stickers.
To add text to a design, click on the Text tab from the left and click on the option - Add a heading, as shown below.
Now, input your text related to the image you've added in the previous step.
After adding both the image and the text, we will download the design to our computer. To download the design, go to the Share button located at the top-right, and click on the Download link as shown below.
Next, under Download, choose the option - Transparent background, and click on the Download button as shown below.
The design we created will be downloaded to our computer.
Step 4: Add a Blank Page
Next, in this tutorial to create stickers on Canva, we will add a new blank page. To do this, click on the icon shown in the screenshot below.
After adding a new blank page, change its background color. To do this, click on the Background color option as shown below and choose the color.
After changing the background color, upload the design we downloaded in the earlier step. Below, you can see that I have uploaded the design created earlier.
To upload your design, click on the Uploads tab on the left, then select Upload files and choose your design. Within a few seconds, it will be uploaded as shown below. Now, click on the uploaded file to add it to your newly created page (see the screenshot below).
Also Read: How to flip text in Canva
Step 5: Add a Cool Border Around the Image
Now, we will add a border around our image to give it an effect like a sticker. Stickers usually contain white borders around them to make them look more attractive.
To do this, select the design, and click on Edit as shown below. Next, click on Shadows under the fx Effects.
Under Shadows, click on Glow.
After clicking on the Glow, you'll get some additional options like Size, Blur amount, and Intensity.
Make changes to these options as shown below - Size (77), Blur amount (0), and Intensity (100). Play with these options to find the perfect border for your design.
After making the above changes, you can see that my design now has a cool effect of a sticker.
Step 6: Download Your Sticker
The sticker we created on Canva is now ready to be downloaded. Download the sticker to your computer in PNG format with a Transparent background. Please review these Canva license terms to understand your usage rights.
This is how you can make stickers on Canva in just 6 easy steps.
Also Read: How to flip an image on Canva
Wrapping Up
Making stickers on Canva is seriously addictive—and so rewarding!
Whether you’re doing it for fun, planning, journaling, or even to start a small sticker business, Canva has all the tools you need. I’ve used it to make stickers for my digital planners, my vision board, and even as branding for my online shop.
So go ahead—get creative and start designing your first sticker pack today. You’ll be surprised how quickly it all comes together!
Get started with Canva using the link below.
