Scratch On, Scratch Off

Several years ago my mom and I were transferring a car from Utah to North Carolina.  We were listening to a book on tape about positive thinking when I as pulled over for speeding. We were only 6 hours into our drive so you can imagine my frustration.

As the police officer took my information back to his car I started to wallow in self pity. The book was still playing in the background so I said to my mom, "It's time to test the theory of this book.  That cop is not going to give me a ticket.  He is going to see my North Carolina drivers license and the Utah plates on this car and he is going to have pity on me because we have we a very long drive ahead of us." (These are not the droids you are looking for)

The cop came back, asked a few questions about why we were taking the car to NC then he said "I just did the same drive a few months back. It's a long drive.  I'll let you go with a warning but make sure you slow down." HA! Jedi mind tricks do work!

If only that positive thinking would work on my kids "you will potty train yourself and not have any accidents."

When I saw a pin about making your own scratch off card I implemented this same type of positive thinking the whole time I was working on them.

Being able to make your own scratch off?!?!?  There are so many things you can do with that. Door prizes, Fathers Day cards, games for a kids birthday party etc and etc. I wanted them to work so badly that I kept repeating in my head "it will work" while making them. 

The original poster has cute templates for Valentine's Day cards that you can turn into scratch offs.

Scratch Off cards

1. Acrylic Paint (I used silver, but any color can be used)

2. Dish Soap

3. Pen

4. Small paint brush

5. Card printed on card stock

6. White crayon

1. PRINT: Print card design on card stock (see my designs below which can be downloaded).

2. WRITE MESSAGE: In the hearts that will be scratched off, write sweet things for your Valentine with a pen. In my case I offered small acts of service, but it can be anything...be creative. Warning: Before you move onto the next step make sure the ink is COMPLETELY dry. A thin Sharpie may work best, but not necessary.

3. CRAYON: Cover message, and where ever the scratch-off area will be, completely with a white crayon. 

4. MIX PAINT: Mix two parts acrylic paint with one part liquid dish washing soap. You don't need a lot a little bit goes a long way!

5. PAINT: Paint mixture over the area that you covered with the crayon. You will need to be very liberal with your your application, as the wax from the crayon will act as a repellent. I applied very thick amounts of paint on in a dabbing motion. You can also repeat this process once it has dried.  If the paint appears bumpy or uneven don't worry because when it dries it will be perfectly smooth. 

6. DRY: Due to the thickness of the paint and the fact that the paint can't be absorbed in the paper, the valentine will need to dry for about 1 hour before it is completely dry. 

7. SCRATCH: Provide a penny for your Valentine to scratch off their personalized message that is just for them. 

 

So I grabbed my materials while chanting my mantra "it will work," and started the process.  I used a colored pencil and a pen to see if it mattered what you write with and to try two different colors on. I wish I could tell you why that DIY in colored pencil is off in it's own world, but I have no idea why I wrote it there and not by the others.  I then scribbled over them with white crayon, making sure the completely cover the area.

Using a medicine dropper I put 2 parts of paint to 1 part of the soap.  Then I realized that this was time consuming and way to precise.  So when I went to mix the next color I just let drops fall from the bottle and it mixed up just fine.

 I mixed my colors then dabbed them on. The crayon didn't fight the paint as much as I thought it would, but dabbing was a lot easier then strokes.  I let them dry then dabbed more paint on. 

The Verdict: After three coats of paint it still looked like this.  Not a very successful scratch off if you can see the words. 

I refused to think that this was a bust and decided to try again with black and add more layers with blue. 

The Verdict: EUREKA!!!! It's sloppy looking and it didn't dry smooth like the original poster said it would, but that black paint covered the words.  The blue didn't though, It didn't matter how many coats of paint I put on, the ink kept showing through.  

 
I grabbed a paper clip (all of my coins have mysteriously disappeared ever since my 2 year old learned what money is. I expect to find a stash some day since no coins have appeared in her diaper) and scratched away. The paint came right off and it worked great.  The colored pencil smeared a bit and faded so pen is the way to go.  

Once again my positive thinking pays off.  The force is strong in this one.