You can either use leftover gelatin from one of my other recipes or use this quick and easy gelatin glue for making your own stamps. This glue would also be perfect for sealing up homemade envelopes!
In a small bowl, mix together the unflavored gelatin with one teaspoon of either cold water or fruit juice. I used pomegranate juice to give it a slight pink color and a hint of flavor.
Allow the gelatin to "bloom" (swell and absorb the liquid). Meanwhile, heat up a tiny bit of water.
Add the hot water to the gelatin mixture and stir constantly until the gelatin dissolves. If you can't get it all to dissolve, you may have to heat up the mixture over a double boiler or in the microwave. (You don't need to heat it much, just enough to help dissolve the gelatin.)
If you are instead using leftover gelatin from another recipe, add a tiny bit of water to the pan with the remaining gelatin mixture, and dissolve as much of it into the water as you can. I used a spatula to get as much of it out of the pan and into a small container as I could.
Make your postage stamps (or stickers)
Either print out a sheet of fun postage stamps or make your own by drawing a grid and making small drawings within the grid marks. We made several sheets of each. Cut off the excess blank space around the stamps.
Paint the entire back of your sheet(s) of stamps with your gelatin glue. I'd suggest using either a pastry brush or a paintbrush that you have reserved only for use with food.
Set aside to dry. We left ours alone overnight.
The next day, cut out your stamps. If your child is old enough, it's great practice to have them cut the stamps with your supervision!
Your lick-n-stick stamps are ready to use. Lick & stick, of course!
Video
Notes
Free printable stamps for Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Halloween, and Christmas can be found below this recipe card at https://thethingswellmake.com/fun-make-gelatin-stamps/After cutting a few stamps out, I remembered that I have a paper cutter that cuts little slits in the paper, and used it to perforate along the stamp lines to make more authentic stamps. My son really loved the stamps that I made with the perforator because he was proud of the fact that he could separate the stamps all by himself!