Dollar Bill Roses

What do you think of giving cash as a gift? For some occasions like graduations or bat/bar mitzvahs, it’s very appropriate. For my mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day, she would rather have cash than anything else because then she can use that cash to take all her kids and grandkids out to a nice dinner. So I say, “Yay Cash!”

If you like to give cash, here’s an idea that makes it a more creative gift than just writing a check: dollar bill roses. Each rose is made of six one-dollar bills, and the roses are big, so you can make a really impressive bouquet.

Start by pinching a dollar bill in the center, right where the George Washington is (sorry George), so it looks like a bow tie. I find that the newer and crisper the bill, the better the rose will look.

Then get a piece of wire to wrap around the center where you’ve pinched it to hold it in place. Twist the wire on the back of the dollar bill. Do this for all six bills. I use floral wire, which you can get at crafts stores like Michaels, because the wire is straight and not curled up. The wires are around 18″ long, so I just cut them in half.

After you’ve made six of these wired bow ties, put them all together, stacking them one by one so you evenly space out the dollar bill “petals.”

The wires are all separate, so combine them into one “stem” using masking tape or floral tape. The picture shows green masking tape because most people have some kind of masking tape at home. But when I make more of these, I think I’ll use floral tape because it’s actually easier to use, and it’s less bulky. You buy that at the crafts store, too.

To make the petals look more rose-like, they need to be curved. Take a pencil on the corner of each petal/bill and roll the corner with the pencil. It really helps here if the dollar bill is crisp because a new bill will hold the shape better. Just go around the whole rose curving the corners with a pencil. You may want to go back and re-do some as you curve all the petals.

You know how the center petals of a rose are usually tighter? Let’s do the same with this dollar bill rose. Take the two petals in the center and smoosh them together. Go ahead, smoosh. There’s no right or wrong way. Now that looks like a rose.

Even giving a single rose makes an impressive gift. Look at that. It’s big.

But place just a few in a vase, and you get a gorgeous bouquet. Ka-ching!