The "Money Tree"

When I was little I can vaguely remember my grandmother making "Money Tree" gifts, and letting me help. I wanted to re-create my grandma's tree with my own twist. I made one for a friend when she got married a few years back and it turned out nice for a first try. {Side note: do not use hot glue on a money tree and let it sit in the car on a hot July afternoon, bad things happen} I wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't. But, here are a few I made recently.

This is a gift for a friend that had a baby girl. There is money {hence the name} tied all over the glitter filled branches. Cute gift, I think. For the medallions, I used 3" circle mirrors and zip-stripped the back off and then sanded it so that you could see through in the middle but the edges are still mirrored.

This is just a little something that I made for fall last year. It reads "Autumn Greetings".

Man, I wish my picture taking skills were better, because this one is my favorite and it didn't come out great in these pictures. I love decorating for Halloween!


And lastly, this is a gift I made for my future sister-in-law for Christmas. She loves getting lottery tickets and I loved not having to just give her money! I paper-clipped lottery tickets all over the branches & it turned out great. I used poinsettias and glitter and lots of Christmas things that I got on super clearance at Pat Catan's. If you don't have a Pat Catan's craft store near you, find one when you get a chance!! Again, not a great picture, but this pic from a cell phone was all I could get!

I was so excited thinking I could sell these, BUT... how in the world would I ship them?? So, they became gifts or just mine, sitting in my studio. I am thinking I might do a local craft show close to Christmas time, but we'll see...December is a long way away!