Apparently, I Needed Ticket Paper

I’ve been down the stationery aisle in my main two stores a million times. Somehow, on one of those trips, something I’d never noticed before caught my eye: printable tickets with tear-off stubs. Then, basically right beside them, perforated paper with a detachable section at the bottom. Welp. Now I had to look at both.

I was instantly intrigued, but I didn’t buy either one that day. Before I brought more paper home, I wanted to think about what I could actually do with it. I didn’t want another interesting supply just sitting up in my studio unused. But the ideas started coming.

For the tickets, I started thinking about creative challenges for the studio. Something I could pull and try, then keep a little record of how it went. That idea has been growing into something I’m calling The Wildcard. A separate idea for doing something with my kids grew into a family mystery ticket project. The perforated paper got its own list of possibilities, too. I’ve started exploring those in And Then There Was the Perforated Paper. Eventually, both made it home.

The first thing I noticed about the ticket paper was how sturdy it felt. It’s thick, which I'd expect from 65lb paper. One side also felt a little smoother than the other, which I wasn’t expecting. I only touched it briefly at first, so I went back to check. There is a difference, but it’s very slight.

Then came the part I had been putting off: actually tearing one. I really hate wasting materials, so of course I was hesitant. Yes, I know experimenting means everything won’t turn into something. I understand that and still hesitate before using a perfectly good sheet of paper. I’m working on that, though. I also need to measure the whole ticket and its separate pieces before I can design anything for them. So eventually, something had to tear.

I tried separating a ticket without bending along the perforation first. The tear wasn’t clean. Removing the stub the same way gave me another uneven edge. For the second test, I bent along the perforation before tearing. Much better. A clean, even tear, and the same thing happened when I bent and separated the stub. Such a small step, but a noticeable difference.

That’s where I am with these for now. No printed design yet, but I’ve handled the paper, tried the perforations, and learned to bend before tearing. Next, I need those measurements so I can start figuring out how the ideas will fit on an actual ticket.

For something I left on the shelf because I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it, it’s certainly giving me plenty to think about.