Before you start

Work at a flat table in good light, with dry hands. Oil from your fingers is the most common reason an edge lifts a week later, so wash and dry them first even if they look clean.

Slide a piece of scrap paper or the sticker backing sheet underneath the page you are working on. Bible paper is thin enough that pressure travels through to the pages below, and the scrap sheet keeps the impression off them.

Have something smooth on hand to press with. A bone folder is ideal, but the flat edge of a credit card wrapped in a soft cloth works just as well. Your fingertip will do in a pinch, though it is harder to keep even pressure.

Dry fit before you peel

Lay the sticker on the page while it is still on its backing and look at how it sits. Check that it clears the text you want to keep readable, that it is square to the page edge, and that it is not creeping toward the spine where the paper starts to curve.

This takes ten seconds and it is the step that prevents nearly every regret. Once the adhesive touches the paper, your options narrow considerably.

The hinge method

Do not peel the sticker off completely and drop it flat. That traps air and almost always leaves a bubble or a wrinkle. Instead:

• Peel back just one edge of the sticker, about a quarter of it, and leave the rest on the backing.
• Set that exposed edge down where you want it and press it lightly so it holds position.
• Pull the backing away slowly and at a low angle while sweeping your card across the sticker, moving away from the anchored edge.
• Go back over the whole surface once with light, even pressure to seat it.

The sweep is what pushes air ahead of the sticker instead of sealing it underneath. Keep the motion slow. Speed is what causes wrinkles.

Choosing where it goes

You have three good options, and the right one depends on the sticker and the page.

The outer margin is the safest and the most common. It keeps every word of the text visible and gives you a clean edge to align to. Chapter openings usually have the most white space if you want room to work with.

A facing or blank page suits larger designs. The pages between testaments, at the start of a book, or in the back matter give you a full open field.

Directly over the text works with our transparent sets, where the printing is clear enough to read straight through. This is the placement people love most, and it is worth practicing the hinge method somewhere less precious before you try it.

One thing to avoid: placing stickers at the same spot on both sides of a single leaf. The combined thickness shows through and the page will not lie flat.

Standard or mini

Measure the outer margin of your Bible before you order. It takes a second and it settles the question completely.

Standard is sized for journaling and wide-margin Bibles, and for full-size study Bibles where the margins are generous.

Mini is sized for compact, thinline, and pocket Bibles, and for any edition with a tight margin. If your margin is narrow, mini is not a compromise. It is the size that will actually look right on the page.

If you are between the two, mini is the more forgiving choice. A sticker with breathing room around it reads better than one crowding the text block.

If it goes crooked

If you catch it in the first few seconds, before you have pressed it down, lift slowly from a corner at a shallow angle and reposition. Most of the time the paper comes through fine.

Small bubbles often settle on their own over a day or two. If one does not, press it gently toward the nearest edge with your card rather than pushing straight down on it.

What is in each set

Every set is precut, so there is no trimming. The scripture lists below tell you exactly which passages are included before you buy.

Scripture lists for Old Testament, Old Testament Set 2, New Testament, Women in the Bible, Jesus Christ: Parables and Miracles, and the Apocrypha go here.