When I originally wrote this tutorial, the punches and dies for creating tickets were not available. Now that you can find them everywhere, I wondered if I should still keep this tutorial on my blog. I decided that it was still viable for two reasons: some folks may not have access or funds for dies or punches, and you may want a different size of ticket than the size of the punch or die. SO - here it is, still...
Items Needed:
- Paper Trimmer (not shown)
- Ruler
- Rotary Tool with Perforating Blade
- Ticket Corner Punch
- 3/8" Round Punch
- Stamps/Inks of Choice
Measure the outline stamp you plan to use for your tickets. Add 1/4" to the width and 1/2" to the length to determine the finished size of your tickets. For this example, Close to My Heart's "So Sweet Seasons" stamps are used. The outline stamp measures 1" x 1 3/4", so the finished tickets will measure 1 1/4" x 2 1/4". Use the paper trimmer to cut a strip the finished width of your tickets (for this example, the strip is 1 1/4", as determined above).
Use the ruler and rotary tool with perforating blade to mark perforations close to the very end of the strip (this will be torn off and discarded), then at the measurement of the finished length of the tickets down the entire strip. For our example, the lines are marked every 2 1/4". There will probably be an uneven leftover at the end of the strip. Tear this off and discard, as well.
Align the 3/8" round punch so the perforated lines are centered and the edge of the paper is not quite halfway into the punch. Punch out this area at each perforation down both sides of the ticket strip.
Use the ticket corner punch to punch the corners at each end of the strip. If you do not have a ticket corner punch, you could use the round punch as described above before you tear off and discard the excess at each end of the strip.
This is an example of what your strip should look like at this point (although it will probably be more than three tickets long...)
Stamp the outline stamp in each panel of the ticket strip. (Alternately, you could just use a pen and ruler to mark the outlines.) Stamp a word, number or sentiment at each end of the ticket panel, then use a pen and straightedge to "define" this area.
Stamp desired image in center of each ticket panel. Color as desired. You can leave your tickets in a strip, or tear them into individual tickets, as shown here.
Originally published October 4, 2007