Graduation Money Lei and Matching Card

Last week I discovered that my right hand is sprained and I also have a partially torn tendon from the fall (tripping on a curb) I took while walking the dogs on April 4th. I mention this because the graduation gifts I have been working are a true labor of love. Doing just about anything with my right hand aggravates the injury and it is often painful or I struggle with a dull ache after over use. Since I am right handed it is sore quite a bit even with the wrap the doctor is having me wear to stabilize the injury.

I have two graduation money leis that I am creating. Each lei will be accompanied with a matching handmade card. Both the leis and the cards are in the kid’s school colors. The leis are a bit more labor intensive than I first anticipated. There are hours and hours of folding, sticking and stringing involved in the creation of each lei. I am hoping to have pictures of the kids in their leis once they receive them.

I also made a bonus card with the same colored paper that I was using as the base since I almost always make two cards simultaneously when I craft.

Lei Instructions:

Supplies:

30-35 Crisp $1 Bills (or what ever denomination you prefer)
Printing paper or very light weight card stock in school colors cut to the size of dollar bills (30-35 total)
Glue Dots
Ribbon
Flowers (optional)

Directions:

Turn your dollar bills into accordions. To do this you will zig-zag your dollar bill (see above). Fold the bill in half to create an indent. Stick 2 small glue dots or one large glue dot and pull the sides of the bill down so it sticks. Do this on both ends. Glue dots work very well because they stick nicely, but also come off pretty easily so they do not ruin the money. Be sure not to put the glue dots too close to the indent because that is where we will be sticking the ribbon through to string the dollar bills. Follow the same process with the colored paper. String your dollar bills with ribbon alternating between the accordion dollars and the accordion papers. I ran my ribbon through both sides of the wheels to stabilize the lei. When you are finished, tie it off. You can also stick other items in between the bills/papers like I did with the flowers to add additional texture.