date night scratch-offs

For our first anniversary, I wanted to make a sweet little gift for my husband that was fun yet practical. These date card scratch-offs were just the ticket. These will help us with the "what do you want to do tonight?"..."I don't care, whatever you want to do" moments. _______________________________________________ Here's what you'll need to make your own:

scratch off templates (here & here)

scissors or paper cutter

clear contact paper

dish soap

silver paint

paint brush

_______________________________________________

First, start by cutting your date cards apart (there are little light guide lines printed on the cards to help you out). Once they're cut, fill in the blocks with your date ideas. I used a computer to do mine but I think handwritten dates would be just as cute (if not cuter). Tips: if you use a lighter pen, you won't need as many coats of paint to cover your options. (NOTE: I've blurred out my date options so my husband won't see... He'll just have to wait and scratch them off later).

Next, cut your contact paper into small squares just big enough to cover your date boxes. Peel and stick your contact paper in place.

After all of your contact paper is applied, make your paint mixture by mixing 2 parts paint to 1 part dish soap. Make sure you mix it around really well so that the soap and paint are well blended.

Apply 2-3 coats of paint over your contact paper (or however many coats it takes to cover your hand written date ideas). I used a metallic paint and I feel like the coverage was not as good as a normal paint. I had to do 4 coats. Oh well - lesson learned.

Allow your scratch offs to fully dry and you have a fun, unique gift! These scratch offs were accompanied by a "date jar"... I filled this with money, movie tickets, groupons, etc... perfect for those nights that we feel like we shouldn't go out and spend a lot money. We can simply grab a few bucks out of the jar and have ourselves a little date.

Images I used to make the coupons were found here:

hamburger, movie reel, cherry pie, "recipe book", bed, bicycle, popcorn, & car [p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]