If you've got a pile of leftover alphabet sticker sheets — missing all the E's and N's, with rub-ons going crumbly at the edges — this video is exactly where to start. I show a bunch of different ways to actually use those leftover letters, numbers, foam stickers, and partial rub-ons, so they end up as something you're genuinely happy with instead of just sitting in a drawer.
What we cover
This is a roundup of project ideas built entirely around using up leftover alphabet and number stickers — including thickers, foam numbers, die-cut letters, and crumbling rub-ons. The projects range from black-and-gold raised letter art pages and laminated writing boards for journals, to bookmarks, embellishments, and cut-out shapes. Along the way I share the thinking behind each one: what made it work, what I'd do differently, and a few honest "I'm not entirely sure about this one" moments too.
What you'll learn
How to make a raised black-and-gold letter art piece using mixed letter types glued to a cereal box base, including:
- Painting the whole surface black first so everything reads as one unified piece
- Dry-brushing gold paint over the raised surfaces with your finger (or a brush for thinner, flatter letters)
- Adding a final spritz of gold mist for scattered metallic flecks
How to mix letter styles from different sticker sheets to spell out words when you've run out of specific letters on any one sheet — and why the mismatched sizes and fonts actually tend to look better than perfectly uniform type
How to make a laminated writing board for a journal using words built from leftover stickers, including how to go with a theme (family, vintage, art journal) to make mixed letter styles feel intentional rather than random
Using leftover sticker backings and partial rub-ons in laminated projects, where they can't peel off and the worn, fragmentary look adds texture rather than looking like a mistake
Creating a letter-frame embellishment or bookmark by arranging random letters around a central image — treating the letters as a decorative border rather than words that need to make sense
Using alphabet letters as pure shapes — arranging them in a circular or symmetrical pattern with a button or image at the centre, where the letters stop being text and start being visual elements
How to cut shapes by hand from a sticker-covered scrap page, including:
- Covering a scrap piece of paper entirely with leftover stickers
- Drawing a shape on the back (heart, butterfly, whatever fits) and cutting it out freehand
- Connecting cut pieces with chain or other found embellishments for a layered dangly bookmark
Building an art journal page with a "raining letters" effect — letters and numbers scattered and falling across the page to create movement and visual interest
Tips & gotchas
When you run out of a specific letter on one sheet, just reach for another sheet with a different style. The mixed result looks more interesting than the uniform version anyway — I've come to prefer it.
For the black-and-gold raised piece: paint everything black first, let it dry completely, then put a small amount of gold paint on your fingertip and lightly skim it across the surface. The gold catches only the raised bits and leaves the recesses dark. That contrast is what makes the piece. For thicker foam letters this works beautifully with just a finger, but for thinner, flatter letters use a brush so you have more control over where the gold lands.
Leftover sticker backings — the little negative-space frames left after you peel off a sticker — look like rubbish but work really well in laminated projects. Same goes for rub-ons that are starting to crack and flake. Once something is laminated, nothing can peel off, and those worn fragments read as texture rather than damage.
Laminating in general is a good friend to these projects. It keeps everything in place, gives writing boards a smooth surface to actually write on top of, and means you can use materials you wouldn't trust to stay stuck otherwise.
Going in with a theme before you start — family, art journal, vintage, starry night — helps the mismatched letter styles feel like a choice. When everything points in the same direction, the mixed type looks curated rather than chaotic.
For the cut-out shapes project, skip the die-cut machine. Drawing and cutting by hand gives you an organic edge that suits this kind of collaged, imperfect work better than a perfectly punched shape.
One honest note: not every project in this video is a favourite of mine. The letter-frame bookmarks feel a little young to my eye, and the all-black random background writing board didn't turn out quite how I imagined. I'm including them anyway because your supplies, your colour choices, and your instincts are going to take them somewhere completely different — and that's the point.
My daughter saw it and immediately asked me to make one with her name on it, which says something. It's one of those projects that looks more complex than it is — a cereal box base, a pile of misfit letters, two colours of paint — and the result genuinely surprises you. Once you've made one, it's easy to imagine a whole series: a different word for each family member, a name plaque for a child's room, an art journal spread built around a single idea. The materials cost almost nothing, and the leftovers you've been avoiding suddenly start looking like a resource.
