How a Dumb Little Cartoon Becomes a Sticker (That You Can Slap on Your Water Bottle)

I get asked a lot how I make my stickers, and honestly? It starts on the couch. My husband and I watch a lot of cartoons. We’re talking old-school Nickelodeon, adult animation, weird indie stuff, you name it. Somewhere between laughing and zoning out, one of us will blurt out a one-liner—something offbeat or irreverent or just plain dumb—and we both just know. That’s the sticker.

From there, I grab my iPad and open up Adobe Fresco. Fresco is my go-to for digital drawing because it mimics real brush textures and lets me keep that hand-drawn, slightly chaotic look I love. I sketch directly onto the screen, usually in layers, adding chunky outlines and juicy colors that pop.

Once I’ve got a solid drawing, I test it. I’ll send it to Printful to make a prototype. This step helps me see how the art translates in real life: do the colors look good? Does the shape feel right? Does it look weird at 3 inches tall? (That happens more than you’d think.)

Once I’m happy with the prototype, I bring it into Adobe Illustrator for the finishing touches. This is where I work my sticker magic—offsetting the path to create that classic sticker border. You know the one: the crisp little white edge that makes it feel official. I tweak the spacing to make sure it’ll cut well but still look cute and professional.

Then it’s time to bring it into the real world. I use my Cricut Maker to print and cut each sticker individually. (She’s a diva, but she gets the job done.) I’m constantly testing new materials: waterproof vinyl, holographic sheets, matte finishes. I want my stickers to survive the wild—laptops, water bottles, notebooks, you name it.

Sometimes the finish flakes, or the ink smudges, or the cut goes rogue—and that’s part of the process too. I tweak, I test, I curse a little, and then I land on the right combo that feels good and lasts.

Each sticker is a tiny piece of my weird little brain. They’re funny, sometimes unhinged, and totally handmade—from a one-liner on my couch to a glossy, slap-worthy sticker that ships out of my Tucson studio.

Wanna see which little chaos nugget is waiting for you?

Visit thisisexciting.org and snag your new favorite sticker.

Your water bottle will thank you.