Scratch Tickets

I was asked to come up with two different projects for this year's RS Fabulous Friday. Thankfully they decided only to do the greeting cards (it is kinda hard to run two stations(!) and Caleb has a Cross Country meet that night so I'm not sure how much I'll actually be there). But I did  go to the effort to create this project so I might as well share!  Perhaps someone out there can make use of them.

These are customize-able scratch tickets. (I would have gone crazy over this as a teacher!) They can be anything you imagine!--rewards for homework, chores, instrument practice, smiling, good hair days, good manners--whatever!  The set I made is a reward for my girls if their room is clean at bedtime.  I also designed a set to be lunch box notes(see below), but they could also be used for other things as well--what kid wouldn't love a scratch off love note from mom in their lunch box?  They are fun and very easy! 

Here's what you do:

Print them out.

Write your messages.

Laminate--the surface to be scratched-off needs to be glossy. (I do them back to back and slice them apart with an exacto knife to save lamination, but I'm also cheap!)

Punch or cut a template out of clear contact paper. (You could skip this part and go directly to painting if you are not a perfectionist or have a steady painting hand, but they will take longer to paint.) If you are using a punch and your punch can't handle the plastic of the contact paper, punch a piece of paper with it.  That seemed to make all of the difference for me.  (But I do own a very temperamental punch.)  Adhere the contact paper to the tag, taking care to center the opening on the circle as much as possible.

Mix some paint with dish soap. (about 2 parts paint, 1 part soap) I used a Jo-Sonja silver paint because it's what I had on hand, I'm sure other paints would work as well.  I also have used regular acrylic paint; it works just fine but doesn't dry glossy.

Paint 3-5 very light layers as needed. Make sure each layer is as smooth as possible. I like to use a soft bristled brush. A foam brush seems to make the mixture foam up and creates unwanted texture.

Let them dry completely.  To remove template without ruining the edges, place a cardstock punch of the same size/shape over the paint. Hold firmly in place as you gently pull up the contact paper.

You're done! Try to resist scratching one off yourself! (Use a coin!)

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These are the lunch box notes. I used a 1 1/4" square punch for the template. I still haven't received my samples back yet, but you can get the idea.

If you are interested in these projects, I'd love to share (I made them to share afterall!) However, I don't have time to be a cool tech girl, so making a clickable, printable pdf file isn't happening. I will, however, email you the files all ready to print. Email me or leave me a comment if interested: chart@utwire.net

(Note: this is my spam email so if it's been a while since this has been posted and you don't want to wait two weeks to receive it, leave me a comment to check that account.)


Happy Scratching!