Frugal Friday...and Other Uses for Raffle Tickets

Throughout the year I get offered chances to win raffles…raffles at school functions, raffles at scrapping functions, even a raffle at a plant sale at the local community college. I always keep the raffle tickets to use in scrapping. They come in all sorts of colors from tan to blue to red and even yellow. Sure, they aren’t as pretty as say Tim Holtz Adage tickets, but they work…and they are free!



I use both the fronts (with all the numbers) and the backs of the tickets in my layouts, but nine times out of ten I make them look sort of vintage-y (and if that isn’t a word, it should be!).

Here’s what I do, in five simple steps…

Step One: Ink and/or distress

I usually ink the edges and sometimes ink lightly over the top with distressing ink. Chalk ink on the edges would work just as well. Additionally you can distress the edges of the ticket for a really worn look, although I didn’t have that idea until after I made these tickets…well, next time.

Step Two: Apply Glue

Next you want to cover the entire top of the ticket in glue, but be sure to use hard drying glue like Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents. Apply a fairly thick coat of glue. On two of my samples the glue wasn’t thick enough for step #4…I reapplied glue and it fixed the problem, but required patience while waiting for the second coat to dry!

Step Three: Wait…and Wait…and Wait…

This is by far the easiest step, if you’re patient, and by far the hardest step if you aren’t patient. The drying time will vary, but it will be at least a few hours to get it nice and dry…remember you need a thick coat of glue! Patience is a virtue..so work on something else in the meantime…and wait…and wait..and wait.

Step Four: Crack!

After the glue has dried hard and shiny, simply bend and CRACK! The topcoat. Don’t crumple the ticket, but rather crack it purposefully in several places.

Step Five: Re-Ink

If you like, the final step is to re-ink the ticket. I run my distress inking foam over the top of the ticket working the color into the cracks.

And here is a sample layout using my upcycled raffle tickets.


And the tally is:
Cost: $Free! (I had everything on hand…but a bottle of hard glue, if you don’t have it, is about $5)
Cats Annoyed: 2 (As usual, I had to shoo them out of the drying glue + 1 sad dog, who was scolded for trying to lick the drying glue…)
Time: Long! (The inking and cracking are quick, but plan on waiting a few hours to let the glue dry)
Skill Level: basic

So there it is vintage-y styled upcycled raffle tickets! Easy Peasy…and Cheap! Cheap!