Paper Money: The Perfect Graduation Gift Idea

Everyone Loves Paper Money Flowers

June is a popular month for graduations, and while traditional gifts often include bouquets, many graduates might prefer cash. A creative twist on the usual gift is to make paper money flowers using dollar bills. This combines the thoughtfulness of a monetary gift with the charm of a handcrafted item.

You can create a single money flower or an entire bouquet. While we used dollar bills for our flowers, you can use fives, tens, twenties, or even hundred-dollar bills for a more extravagant gift.

These paper money flowers are not only a fun and practical graduation gift but also make a unique present for weddings or bridal showers. Unlike real flowers, these will last indefinitely and can be disassembled so the recipient can use the money as needed.

**Supplies Needed:**

– Silk floral rose
– Green floral tape
– Green floral wire
– Wire cutters
– Five crisp dollar bills
– Pen or pencil
– Hot glue gun

Remove the Silk Flower Head

The first step is to remove the silk flower head. You can save the rose petals for another craft project. Cut off the bulb at the top of the stem with wire cutters. Make sure to keep the sepal because you will be attaching it to your money rose in a later step.

Prepare the Dollar Bills

Lay the five dollar bills in a row. The first bill should be face up. This dollar will be the center bud of the money flower. The other four should be face down. The face-down bills will be the petals that surround the flower bud.

Curl the Corners of the Bills With a Pen or Pencil

Curl the corners of the four downward facing bills with a pencil towards the center of the bill. The dollar bill that is going to be the flower bud has two corners curled downward, and two corners curled upward.

Form the Petals with Floral Wire

Pinch the middle of the bill with your fingers and wrap floral wire around the center of the bill. Do this with the remaining four bills.

Form the Paper Money Flowers Centers

Squeeze the bill that is to be the flower bud gently with your hand, pressing the petals into a rosebud shape.

Form the Paper Money Flowers Head

Arrange the money petals around the center bud into a pleasing rose shape. You may have to arrange the petals a little bit with your fingers to get a pretty flower shape. Wrap the stems together with floral tape.  Cut the stem with a wire cutter so that the stem of the flower head is approximately three inches long. Place the rose next to the top part of the stem and wrap with floral tape to attach the flower head to the stem.

Attach the Silk Floral Sepal

Cut a line between two of the sepal petals into the inner circle. Wrap the sepal around the floral stem and attach it to the base of the flower head with hot glue.
Present the Rose to the Graduate
Your graduate will appreciate this gift in several ways. The effort you put into making the gift and the monetary value will make this a treasured graduation present.