Now that the recipients have their gifts, I can begin sharing some of the homemade gifts I made! First up, a second version of a Dollar Bill Dispenser.
I have four boys ranging from 13-21 on my gift-giving list. I'm pretty sure that teenage boys are the most difficult people to shop for, unless you have a large budget and very specific instructions of what to buy. Since I had neither, the choices were:
I have four boys ranging from 13-21 on my gift-giving list. I'm pretty sure that teenage boys are the most difficult people to shop for, unless you have a large budget and very specific instructions of what to buy. Since I had neither, the choices were:
A) Choose something random and hope for the bestB) Gift cardC) Cash
I chose cash. The Dollar Bill Dispenser I gave Courteney for her birthday was such a hit that I decided each of the four boys would be getting a Dollar Bill Dispenser of his own. I went to the bank and got a bundle of ones.
I made my cousin's son Ryan a red Dollar Bill Dispenser that was similar to the purple one that went to Courteney. I thought I took a picture of it before mailing it off to Spokane, but apparently I did not.
For my sister-in-law's two boys, Ian and Sean, I decided to try a different style of Dispenser. I started by painting two empty square Kleenex boxes with a coat of gesso.
When that was dry, I painted one box black and the other red.
While they were drying, I started taping dollar bills together, end to end. Then I rolled them up. I rubbed-banded the two bundles and set them aside.
Next, I covered the sides of each box with Christmas-themed patterned paper. I pushed one square of tissue paper down into the box and fluffed it to cover the top of the box. Then I stamped the word PULL onto a piece of white cardstock, used a border punch on the end, and taped it to the roll of dollars. I placed the roll down into the Kleenex box with the PULL tab protruding out of the tissue paper.
Here's the candy cane box for Sean.
And here is the snowman box for Ian.
They were a hit. Both were a bit nervous to pull the tab, thinking it was going to explode or something. Once money came out, they kept pulling and pulling and pulling. I was really happy that this design worked as well as the cardboard tube style.
On Monday I'll share the way I gave cash to my nephew Timothy. I had a LOT of fun putting it together and couldn't wait to see him unwrap it.
My parents bought a cash box for Adam and he loved it too!! But I like the idea of making them, like yours!! Such a great idea!! And having a teenage boy ... I totally agree ... they are IMPOSSIBLE to buy for!! LOL!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Cindy! I especially like that it's in a good sized box giving the recipient absolutely no clue as to what is inside! Funny that they thought it might explode! LOL!
ReplyDeleteAnother great idea, Cindy. Will remember this one for next year. They boxes turned out great!
ReplyDeleteCool, Mom! I am going to try that for my grandkids.
ReplyDeleteVery clever! Great idea for teens!!
ReplyDeletevery fun
ReplyDeleteLove it! We did that once for my nephew, but we didn't wrap it as cute. That definitely takes the gift up a notch, and the crisp new bills are a nice touch. Thanks for sharing!!! We also did the one where you stuff dollars in balloons and wrap 20 balloons in a BIG box. That was fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome idea!!! One to remember! TFS!
ReplyDeleteThis is so great! :) I'll have to try this one on my nephews birthdays this year! :) Thanks so much for always having such awesome ideas! :)
ReplyDeleteSo much fun!!! I'm going to have to try this someday with my nephew when he gets older :)
ReplyDeleteDid you use regular Scotch tape to tape the bills together?
ReplyDeleteYes. It takes a little effort to separate the bills, but after dozens of these, none of our recipients have had any tearing.
DeleteHow do u get the tape off
ReplyDeleteIt peels off easily. It takes some time, of course, since there's a lot of tape.
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