Hi! My name’s Maple, and if you’ve never heard of me, I am rapidly approaching you at a very fast speed to talk about putting paper up on phone boxes. Wait no why are you running why are yoU RUNNING
For the past few years of my life I’ve been taking up the hobby of sticker slapping and it’s been a very fun way of interacting with the world. Being able to leave a message or a drawing anywhere you want for anyone to potentially see and become inspired, joyous or just plain confused by is an extremely powerful feeling I’ll never tire of, and it’s helped me to connect with a whole new world of artists I may not have otherwise. Of course, I’m always looking to indoctricate and assimilate new victims into the craft and I’ve had quite a few friends ask me how I make stickers and where they should start. Hence this guide, which should cover a lot of the basics! I can’t promise I’ll cover everything - while I’ve been at this for a while I do NOT claim to be an expert on this, I’m mostly just writing this up for fun - but I hope it inspires you to at least give sticker slapping a try!
[warning - this is long]
I really love this thread, thank you for assembling it! It's an amazing and incredibly comprehensive primer on sticker slaps!
I love slaps myself so I want to add my two cents on some stuff:
Legality
- Be aware of your local laws and do research on what kind of offence it is in your area. Slaps do absolutely have the potential to carry a penalty up to and including jail time. In a lot of cases slaps are seen as harmless since it's certainly easier to remove than paint and it's a small enough act for law enforcement to not bother dealing with in the moment, but I would really like to emphasize that this doesn't mean they are harmless and often are covered by similar laws as graffiti. I do know some artists who have certainly been arrested for sticker slaps. If a cop is in a bad mood or a security guard is looking for a power trip you can still get in more trouble than warranted, and this also means it can potentially be even riskier for marginalized folks.
Materials
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Echoing that postage stamp accessibility depends on your country's methods. I want to say when I last checked Canada Post had moved away from blank labels, and most often just does print per-package or requires you to buy some. Check out your local post office to know for sure!
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Without a coat of something protecting it, a slap's colour can fade over the span of a couple of weeks due to the sun's UVs. To make sure your slaps last, you can use clear coat spray-on enamel applied to your work once you make it. It's easy to find in hardware stores, mechanic shops, or online as it's usually used for car body repairs and comes in matte or glossy finishes. Ideally apply it to your work in a well-ventilated area while wearing a respirator, leave it for 24 hours, and you're good to go! As an added bonus, this means that what kind of paint or pen you choose to use matters less, since it's now protected rain-or-shine :) Depending on how much you slap, one can of this stuff can also last a long time!
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When slapping you can bring an exacto-knife with you to 'score' your slaps. After putting a slap down cut it with a knife in a grid-like pattern a few times, just enough to break the sticker into pieces. This makes it more of a bother for some random person to come along and remove the slap completely without spending a bunch of time tearing off every piece, which also helps survivability.
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+1 on Stickerapp recommendation. It's relatively affordable in bulk (like 50 stickers for $12 + shipping I think), they offer die-cut options and whatever materials they use are amazing because I've had slaps last upwards of a year with zero fade. Very good stuff!
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I never personally had patience to make slaps by hand, so I prefer to create digitally. A standard printer and printable sticker paper is perfectly fine, combined with a treatment above. Make sure to use waterproof paper in this case. A Cricut or Shilouette crafting cutter can be used to create die-cut shapes which I also prefer to make.
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If you're trying to spread a message of some kind I'd highly recommend using a printing approach instead of hand-drawing each as it's far less time consuming for bulk output. Alternatively, wheatpaste is a tried and true method of spreading a message.
Placement
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Start in familiar areas and then branch out; this way you'll be aware of where the good locations are for putting up slaps.
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I made this mistake when starting out but: respect all forms of graffiti when slapping. Just as you shouldn't place slaps on other artist's slaps, also don't place slaps over graffiti artist's works! This includes the smaller 'cursive-like' tags you might see on poles and surfaces where slaps go. Just like slaps, this is seen as being deliberately antagonizing to the writer, so unless you're explicitly looking for enemies don't do this.
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I disagree about placing on private property being a no-no but where you get up depends on personal preference, and you'll develop your own standards as you work and get comfortable. You're always going to make someone mad by slapping, but how mad depends on where you choose to slap. This is why it's important to know the culture of graffiti as well as use common sense about what's acceptable given the standards of your area. For example, I'd put one on someone's fence or on a transport truck I walk by, though I wouldn't put one on someone's personal vehicle because I think that's too far.
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Knowing how your city operates is helpful to know where to place things. For example, in my city civil workers clear off garbage bins as they empty them which is fairly frequently (~once a week). I never see slaps on them, and I know not to bother slapping those. Bus stop signs here are also cleared frequently, as well as public billboards.
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Typically if you see a slap in a location for a while, it means no one monitors it too closely. This is often a good indicator that it's worthwhile to put a slap there, since no one is clearing it frequently. You can also place slaps on areas and check back later to test - you might find things get cleared less frequently than you'd expect.
Similarly to OP I definitely love getting people into graffiti, so feel free to reach out with comments/questions/thoughts!
