More than Money

Homemade gifts are my favorite, both to give and to receive. There is something special about a gift that you know someone put time, energy, and love into making it just for you. On the other hand, sometimes money is the best gift for an occasion (think graduation when it is customary). Even when that is the case, I want to put a little extra love into the gift and make it memorable. As a result, I have come to love money origami.

Here are a two options for turning your next gift of money into something unforgettable.

$ Flower(s):

         The bouquet that will never die.

Supplies

Supplies:

• 3 bills per flower
• Floral wire
• Wire cutters
• Pliers (optional)
• Vase (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)

Step by Step:

1. Start with a flat bill. I find it helps to get crisp bills from the bank because they fold better; another option is to iron the bills but that only helps a bit with soft, worn bills.

2. Fold in half horizontally (A). Unfold. Fold in half vertically (B). Unfold.

Step 2 (A)

Step 2 (B)

Step 3

3. Fold each corner into the horizontal centerline created in step 2.

Step 4

       4. Fold the top and bottom edge to horizontal

       centerline.

Step 5

5. Fold in half along horizontal centerline (A). Fold along vertical centerline.

Step 6

       

       6. Repeat steps 1-5 twice to create three

       identical pieces. 

       7. Cut an 18" pieces of floral wire. Fold in half.

Step 8

8. Place the three bills together between the folded floral wire at the vertical centerline.

Step 9

       9. Twist the two ends of the wire together
       making sure it is tight against the bill. (I found
       holding the wire with pliers while twisting made
       it easier)

Step 10

10. Separate bills from one another. Open each of the six petals up and fold up/away from the wire stem.

Step 11

       11. Fold all petals out and evenly space.

Finished Flower

Then you can repeat all the steps as many times as you want to create your bouquet. As you may have noticed, each flower I created is made of 2 $1 bills and 1 $5 (meaning with four flowers this bouquet totals $28).

Once you have finished all your flowers, all that is left to do is to decide how to display them. I like to put them in a vase and add some ribbon to it. In this case, I included some small glass marbles and colorful confetti in the vase

Finished Flowers

$ Hearts:

       A simple way to show your love.

Supplies:

• 1 bill per heart

Step by Step (or rather fold by fold):

1. Start with a flat bill. I find it helps to get crisp bills from the bank because they fold better; another option is to iron the bills but that only helps a bit with soft, worn bills.

Step 2

2. Fold left edge up, creating a crease from the top corner to the bottom edge. Unfold.

Step 3

       3. Fold the left edge down, creating a crease
       from the bottom corner to the top edge. Unfold.

Step 4

4. Fold sides in to center to create a point on the left end of the bill. If you are familiar with origami, you are basically creating a water bomb base at the end of the bill.

Step 5

       5. Flip the bill over and fold the point you just
       created over. Unfold.

Step 6

6. Flip the bill and fold both loose (right side) corners of the triangle to the point on the left end of the bill.

Step 7

       7. Open up each of the "pockets" created in
       step 6. Fold down to create two squares.

Step 8

8. Fold the open edges of the square to the diagonal centerline of the square. Repeat on second square.

Step 9

       9. Open up each of the "pockets" created in
       step 8 (similarly to step 7) and fold down
       creating four kite shaped pieces.

Step 10

10. Repeat step 2 through step 9 on the other end of the bill.

Step 11

        11. Fold bill in half, matching up the points and
       the ends. Unfold.

Step 12

12. Unfold on one side along the crease created in step 5, creating a square to with the extra middle section in the back folded to one side.

Step 13

       13. Flip bill over.

Step 14

14. Fold the top and bottom edge of the middle flap to meet top and bottom edge (respectively) on the left side of the square part of the bill.

Step 15

       15. Fold the top corner down to meet the
       bottom corner.

Step 16

16. Fold the right and left corners in towards the middle.

Step 17

       17. Flip over and you're done!







You can repeat (if desired) to create as many hearts as you want for your gift. I have gifted these in a few different ways:

• The heart(s) can be arranged in a box with on top of tissue paper or easter grass
• The two corners on the back of the heart can be tucked into slits cut into a card (some tape may also be necessary to make it stay)
• The hearts can be attached to a piece of string/twine with small clothespins and put in a bag/box

Finished Heart