How to create and sell aesthetic digital stickers with Canva

The WFH team
2 days ago
5 min read

Learn how to Create Aesthetic, Sellable Stickers Using Canva AI Without Overthinking It

If you’re looking for a quick way to make aesthetic stickers that actually look intentional and usable, I’ve got you.

This guide walks you through the exact workflow I use to create premium, planner-ready sticker sheets using Canva AI; the kind of stickers people genuinely use in digital planners, Notion dashboards, and even physical planners.

Let's get into it.

Sticker creation Workflow using Canva AI

Step 1: Decide What the Stickers Will Be Used For

Before you open Canva or AI, decide one clear purpose for your sticker sheet.

Ask yourself: who is this for, and what will they actually use these stickers to do? Is it fitness planning? Journaling? Goal setting? Weekly planning?

Once you answer that, everything else becomes easier, the wording, the layout, even the colours.

Step 2: Write a simple sticker content list

Even though you’re using AI to speed things up, you still need to give it direction.

For example, if I’m creating a fitness-themed sticker pack, I’ll write a list of texts, simple illustrations like dumbbells or water bottles, and maybe a couple of functional elements like a notes box that I would like to be included. This list will be used directly in the AI prompt.

AI works best when you tell it what to create, not when you leave it to guess. There’s a huge difference between “make me a sticker sheet” and “make a sticker sheet with these exact text phrases and visuals.”

Step 3: Generate the Sticker Sheet in Canva AI

Log in Canva
Open Canva AI
Click “image”
Paste your prompt In the space where it says “Describe the image in your mind”

Example prompt:

"Create a Sticker sheet of 12 cliparts for a girl who loves wellness and fitness. In addition to graphic illustrations like dumbbells, yoga mats and a water bottle, add some fitness goals and motivational quotes.”

Result:

New flash: yes, Canva AI will almost always produce some gibberish text. That’s normal.

What you're looking for at this stage is the overall vibe. Does the layout feel right? Do the stickers feel cohesive? Is the aesthetic heading in the direction I want: soft, retro, playful, minimal, feminine?

If the visuals are there, don’t worry about spelling errors or nonsense words yet. Those are easy to fix later. Layout and style are harder to force.

For me, this sticker pack looks feminine and playful enough, so it’s time to move on to step 4.

Step 4: Clean Up the gibberish Text Using ChatGPT

This is the step that turns an AI draft into something sellable.

Once Canva has generated the sticker sheet, upload that image into ChatGPT and ask it to replace all the gibberish text with real phrases and short motivational quotes. Example prompt:

“Create an updated image of this sticker sheet. Remove all gibberish text and replace them with short, planner friendly fitness goals that fit the purpose of each sticker e.g Run a 10k, Drink 8 glasses of water daily. Do not change the style, layout, or meaning of the stickers.”

Give ChatGPT a few mins and you'll see the magic happen. This step alone is the sauce that makes the difference between “AI-looking stickers” that no one wants to buy and “oh, these are actually nice.” Remember the initial sticker pack I showed you with gibberish text? This is the outcome after it’s been updated by ChatGPT.

Note: If ChatGPT gives you text suggestions on how to modify the original sticker sheet without generating a new image, give a follow up prompt asking it to “create the updated image with all suggestions”.

Step 5: Split the Stickers Into Individual Assets

Once you’re happy with the set of stickers you have, the final step is to make each sticker usable. To do this,

1. Import the sticker image from

ChatGPT back into Canva

2. Duplicate the sticker page multiple times 3.Crop the image so you have one unique sticker per page.

When each sticker is its own asset, you can reuse them across different packs, rearrange layouts easily, and build bundles without redesigning everything from scratch.

Step 6: Export your Stickers

To make your stickers usable across platforms:

Click Share
Export as PNG
Enable transparent background
Use high quality

Your stickers are now ready for Notion, digital planners, or print.

Why This System Works

This workflow works because it removes guesswork.

You’re not relying on AI to “figure it out.” You’re guiding it. You’re deciding the purpose first, defining the content second, and only then letting AI handle visuals.

That’s why it saves time, reduces burnout, avoids AI text issues, and creates assets you can reuse again and again.

Once you’ve done this once, you can apply the same process to fitness planners, budget trackers, student planners, business dashboards, lifestyle Notion templates, seasonal themes, and even clipart packs.

The system stays the same. Only the theme changes.

How to Make Your Stickers Sell

Designing is only half the job. Selling is where most people get dissapointed and give up.

01. Validate demand

The first and most important step is validating demand.

Search Etsy, Amazon, Creative fabrica for your idea
Look at bestsellers
Note themes, colours, wording, pack sizes

Validating demand should be one of the first things you do with your time before you start this or any other business.

02. Use Aesthetic, Scroll-Stopping Visuals (Not Basic Mockups)

For stickers, traditional mockups don’t always convert and that’s because sticker buyers are buying vibes, not functionality.

What works better are aesthetic, layered images that show lots of stickers together, overlapping, colourful, and playful. These visuals instantly communicate value and trigger that “I want this pack” feeling.

When someone sees a full, cohesive collection like this, they’re not analysing how it works, they’re imagining owning it.

That doesn’t mean mockups are useless, but for stickers they work best as supporting images, not the main one.

03. Promote, Promote, Promote on Pinterest (Long-Term Traffic)

If you choose to sell your stickers on Etsy, you get built in traffic. However, the competition is fierce, so you need to find a way to get eyes on your stickers. Pinterest is especially powerful for aesthetic products like stickers. By creating and scheduling 3-5 pins a day that link directly to your product, you can drive traffic for months without logging in daily.

How Much Should You Sell Stickers For?

Pricing doesn’t need to be complicated. Sticker buyers expect affordable, impulse-friendly prices. Simply check the price of your competitor and keep your prices in a similar range.

Dont make the common mistake of pricing too low because buyers may associate your lower prices with worse quality and design.