Friday, October 18, 2013

DIY Scratch Off Coupon Book


This post is overdue. And that is an understatement. What I mean is that I made this scratch off coupon book over a year ago. I gave it to my fiancĂ© last October. Yes, it's been a year. And yes, I should have shared this months ago... but hey, I am just getting around to it, so take it or leave it. 

I first got this idea when I was trying to figure out something special and unique for Dan. I feel like I'm always giving him things I make, and while I know he enjoys them, I wanted to do something different. This coupon book won. 

First, I made each page on Adobe Photoshop. They look like the example below, but there are 14 coupons in total in the book I made. 


Then, I printed the coupons out from my inkjet printer at home. They're nothing fancy, but they look nice enough to be considered "special".

After that, I chopped them up so they were the right size. I needed them to fit on 5x7 cardstock that I had picked out, so I just cut them down.


Before gluing them onto the cardstock, I used my "fancy scissors" to make them look a little nicer and less plain.


And then I glued them on. I chose several different colors of glittery cardstock so these would look fun and go with the "scratch off" theme. Dan loves gambling, so I thought this would be especially fun for him.



After they were all glued on, I decided to make the "scratch off" part. This wasn't difficult, but it was slightly time consuming. I first covered each circle with clear packing tape. This took a while because I wanted the tape to only fill the circles, and tape is difficult to cut. Trust me. If you haven't tried, have fun. Then, I mixed liquid dish soap with silver acrylic paint to make the "scratch off" solution. I simply painted the mixture (sloppily) into the circles. The first ones looked awful. I got progressively better at it. I feel like if I do this again, it will look much better. If you want to try this, do a few practice circles first!


After the paint dried, I put the cardstock pages in the order I wanted them in (obviously arranged by color because I'm just like that) and hole punched the sides. I held them together with binder rings. I am such a teacher, but it worked really well. 





Overall, I am extremely happy with how this project turned out. Dan had a lot of fun using the coupons for various things. The great part of this project is that you can customize the coupons so that your boyfriend/fiancé/husband loves each of them!
  • Have you ever made a coupon book?
  • What's your favorite homemade gift you've given your significant other?
  • Does your significant other enjoy the projects you make for him?

2 comments:

  1. This turned out SO cute! I really want to try these! Question- why did you cover with clear packing tape first? Would the scratch off paint/soap mixture ruin the paper if applied directly?

    XOXO
    Chelsea
    http://anchorsaweigh-ouradventure.blogspot.com/

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  2. Those are so cute!! What a good idea!!

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