Graduation Money Lei

Congrats to all the graduates out there! No matter the grade or level of education this makes a fabulous gift for any grad! We were actually asked if we knew how to make one of these by a coworker. Her daughter was about to graduate junior high school. We told her confidently, “no, but we’ll figure it out!” Which we did. This was a lot less complicated than we anticipated.

Step 1: Gather your supplies:

-Money ( this works with any bills $1, $5, $10, $20 etc. ) so use how ever much you want to. It just depends on how generous you want to be. The more volume of bills the fuller your lei will be. So using a mixture of different denominations works best.

-Colored scrapbook paper. Use whatever color you’d like. Usually you use coordinating colors for the school the graduate attends.

-Scissors

-Pencil

-Scotch tape

-Ribbon ( we used 5/8” thick satin ribbon)

-Beads or embellishments ( optional)

Step 2: Cut out your scrapbook pieces so they are the same size as the money. We just used one of our dollar bills and traced that. The amount you’ll need depends on how full you want your lei to be. We ended up with 12 blue and 6 white. Once they are all traced cut them out.

Step 3: Fold all your bills and scrapbook pieces. Your basically making sort of an accordion shape. These don’t have to be perfect. Trust us, they will look adorable once there all strung together. Make the first fold, then flip the bill over to make the next fold. Repeat the process until you end up with a little accordion. Do the same thing with all your money and scrapbook pieces.

Step 4: Now you’re going to take your accordions and fold them in half. You’re going to be taping each side so that they make a flower shape. Use the outside folds on each side and place a small piece of tape to keep them together (don’t go crazy with the tape… you want the grad to actually be able to use the money at some point). Repeat with all your money and scrapbook pieces.

Step 5: String your paper flowers on the ribbon. The pattern is completely up to you. We chose to use white beads to add a little more interest. But, you could use anything you want. Add your own flair to it! You could use something sparkly to add a little bling or even some sweet ribbon bows. These can really be personalized to anyone’s specific taste. Use one of the holes naturally made with the paper flower to string it on your ribbon ( it doesn’t matter which of the two you use). It will all even out in the end. Just have fun with it!

Step 6: Now that you have all your paper flowers strung on your ribbon your almost done. Center everything and cut your lei to size. The length of your lei is up to you. We would consider the approximate height of your graduate. For example, if they are really tall make your lei a little longer. Leave a little length on each side so you can tie it off. We chose to have a pretty bow in the back for a more feminine touch but feel free to just use a knot or two. This will be towards the back of someones neck so it won’t be a focal point.