How to Make Photos Into Faux Postage Stamps

Create faux postage with your digital photos.

Counterfeit postage stamps are among the top 10 threats to the Postal Service budget. (See Reference 1) While it is illegal to send faux postage stamps through the mail, it is perfectly legal to create them for personal postage art and paper crafts. Use your digital photos to create fun, faux, postage stamps -- just don't try to mail them.

Things You'll Need

• Digital postage stamp
• Word processing software
• Digital photo
• Printer
• Scissors, fine-tip
• Glue stick

Instructions

1. Download a digital postage stamp image and save it in .jpg or .png file format. Open a new document in your word processing program. Select "Insert Picture" and browse for the stamp image. Resize the stamp to a realistic postage size if desired.

2. Insert your digital photograph into the document. Right-click on the photo and select "Text Wrapping." Choose "In Front of Text." Click and drag the photo on top of the stamp. Resize the photo to fit inside the stamp, plus a 1/8" border between the photo and stamp edge.

3. Insert a Text Box into your document. Change the Fill Color to "No Color" and remove the outline. Type your faux stamp price in the text box using a white font. Click and drag the text into a dark corner of your photo. Print the document and cut around the stamp edge with fine-tip scissors. Use a glue stick to attach the faux stamp to your art as desired.

References

• Fox News; Counterfeit Stamps Giving Postal Service a Lickin'; Jana Winter; December 2010
• Flickr; StampFrame; Daniel Russell
• "The Stamp Art & Postal History of Michael Thompson & Michael Hernandez de Luna"; Thompson, et. al.; 2001