How To Use Bus Tickets to Design Your Notebooks

Art materials are expensive, so I thought of a way I could get materials for free and turn them into art. What came to mind were bus tickets. When you pay the conductor, you are paying for the ride, so in a way the bus ticket is like a freebie. This freebie can be used as an art material because it’s essentially colored paper. You can also get extra tickets if you get the ones that are left by previous passengers which are crammed into the seats and windows.

Bus tickets are good art materials because they come in different colors and designs. Some bus tickets are fully shaded with color, while other tickets have a white or grayish background and are inked in color. You can create different patterns and color palettes using these tickets.

Monochromatic, rainbow colors, two-toned, all shaded, all unshaded, a mix of shaded and unshaded–you can go crazy with your design. You can also use bus tickets from the same company or two companies with designs that go well together. The possibilities are endless.

I liked the idea of using bus tickets because they are ordinary things that are often ignored but are ever present in our lives. I wanted to do something where I can celebrate these ordinary things, and for once make people look at them and appreciate them for what they are. These tickets have sentimental value too–your first bus ride, your field trips when you were a child, your fun travels with your mom, your spontaneous solo adventure to nowhere.

They contain the common man’s history, the kind that will never be written on books but on faded memories of an aging generation–the travels of the Filipino people throughout the metropolis, the rebel who dared to run away from home so that he could live in an infested city of dreams, the vendor who hops from one bus to the next selling orange candy.

The bus companies have designed their tickets according to their generation’s aesthetic sensibilities and worldviews. Through these tickets you will see the Filipino’s preference for bright colors, the predominance of the Catholic faith in Philippine society reflected in slogans like “In God We Trust,” and the warm and charming disposition of the Filipino people etched as a simple smiley. This kind of art might never find their way into exhibits, but they are part of real life.

So how do you make your own bus ticket notebook? Here are the instructions:

Materials:

-Bus tickets
-a notebook
-book covering tape (you can also use plastic cover and adhesive tape)

1. Collect then select

Start collecting bus tickets. Once you have a significant amount, you can start sorting them according to color. Think about what kind of design you want to create and the color scheme you want to use.

2. Stick em up with glue

Glue your bus tickets on your notebook.

3. Protect your design

Cover your notebook with book covering tape or plastic cover.

You’re done!

Other Ideas

Designing notebooks is not the only thing you can do with bus tickets. I’m currently covering my door with bus tickets. You can also think about other ways that you can use them. Go be creative and have fun!

More Crafts and Other Artistic Adventures:

• DIY Adult Coloring Book
• DIY Cellphone Case with a Stand
• DIY Storage for Clutter Under the Bed
• Turn Shoe Boxes into Mini Bookshelves

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All the opinions expressed in this page and in this blog are my own and do not represent the official stances of the companies, institutions, and organizations that I am affiliated with. I am a person. I’m not just a manifestation of corporate interests. I have an identity that is separate from my company because even if human beings are paid for a service by corporations, human beings are not owned by corporations.