Spreads Layered
Ticket Stub Layer Cake
Eleven ticket stubs from one summer stacked in a single column, each one 4 mm shorter than the one beneath it so the whole pile still closes flat in a 200 gsm notebook.
11 layers 7 min
Why the column, not the fan
The obvious layout is a fan — stub, stub, stub, rotating outward. It photographs well and ruins the notebook: a fan spreads the bulk across the full page width, so the spine bulges and the neighbouring page cannot sit flat. A single vertical column keeps every added layer inside one 62 mm lane. That lane becomes a spine of its own, and the rest of the page stays a single sheet of paper.
The 4 mm stagger
If every stub is the same length you get a barcode, not a collage. Trim each stub 4 mm shorter than the one below it. Eleven stubs at 4 mm each is a 44 mm taper across the column — enough that the bottom edges read as a diagonal, small enough that no single stub disappears. Cut from the top edge, never the bottom: the bottom edge is what the eye follows, and a ragged bottom line looks like a mistake rather than a decision.
Hinging so the pile can move
Run a single strip of low-tack washi across the top 8 mm of each stub, half on the stub and half on the backing strip. This is a hinge, not a bond. Paper and card expand at different rates when the room humidity swings between 40% and 65%; a fully glued stub tears along the glue line within a year, while a hinged one just tilts. The glue stick is only for the backing strip to the page.
Reading order, left to right
Stack the stubs so the earliest date is at the bottom and the latest on top. Then the taper doubles as a timeline: the tallest edge is the most recent, and the diagonal records how the summer filled up. Number them in pencil on the reverse before you start — once eleven stubs are stacked, the dates are buried.
Assembly order
- 1Sort the stubs into date order and pencil-number the backs.
- 2Trim the first stub to 116 mm and each following one 4 mm shorter.
- 3Glue the kraft backing strip to the page, 30 mm in from the fore-edge.
- 4Hinge each stub to the backing strip with an 8 mm washi strip.
- 5Burnish the hinges with the bone folder, then close the notebook and leave it under a weight for an hour.
About 7 minutes of bench time, plus whatever the adhesive needs.
Supplies
- Ticket stubs, trimmed to a 62 mm width 11 pcs, 62 mm
- Kraft cardstock backing strip 180 gsm, 70 x 230 mm
- Repositionable glue stick 8 g, acid-free
- Low-tack washi tape for the top hinge 10 mm wide
- Bone folder 150 mm
Column geometry, as built
| Layer | Trimmed length | Hinge offset | Added bulk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (bottom) | 116 mm | top 8 mm | 0.28 mm |
| 4 | 104 mm | top 8 mm | 0.28 mm |
| 8 | 88 mm | top 8 mm | 0.28 mm |
| 11 (top) | 76 mm | top 6 mm | 0.26 mm |
Where this goes wrong
Do not trim the stubs with a rotary cutter against a metal ruler while the stubs are stacked — the blade walks and you lose the 4 mm rhythm by the fifth stub. Trim one at a time against a marked card gauge.
