Big Paper Tassel Money Gift for Graduation
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Merriment Design
Looking for a creative money gift idea for your favorite graduate? Make my big paper graduation tassels with bills rolled inside!
It’s no secret that graduates like cash. My big paper tassels accommodate a wide range of dollar amounts …just choose your desired denominations and roll 4 or more bills inside each paper tassel.
My niece is graduating from high school soon, and I wanted to design a creative way to give her money. I played around with 12” x 12” Astrodesigns® Cardstock and devised an easy way to roll cash inside paper graduation tassels. I mean, what screams graduation more than tassels?
Start by choosing two sheets of 12” x 12” Astrodesigns® Cardstock, then follow my step-by-step instructions below. Personalize tassels by choosing paper colors that match your graduate’s school colors. You can also write a special message inside that graduates will see when they unroll the tassel to retrieve their cash.
Have fun making my easy graduation gift idea!
Supplies:
- Kathy Beymer’s printable Big Graduation Tassel Templates (PDF and SVG)
- 12” x 12” Astrodesigns® Cardstock that match your school colors (Two Sheets per Tassel, PLUS one sheet of Solar Yellow™)
- Scissors OR Craft Knife and Metal Ruler with Self Healing Mat OR Paper Cutting Machine
- Removable Washi Tape OR Painter's Tape
- Permanent Clear Tape
- Glue Dots
- Yarn
- Cash Money: At least four bills recommended
Step 1: Choose two sheets of 12” x 12” Astrodesigns® Cardstock that match your graduate’s school colors. For each sheet, cut 9” strips of tassel fringe approximately ¼” wide along the bottom edge of the paper. This will leave an uncut 3” x 12” strip along the top where you’ll affix money in step 5. (NOTE: You can adjust your fringe length to fit currency other than US Dollars).
To cut fringe, you can either use a craft knife and metal ruler with self-healing mat like I did or download my SVG file for your paper cutting machine, or just use scissors. The fringe takes less time to cut than you think and doesn’t have to be perfect to look cute.
Step 2: Place the two fringed paper squares on a table so they’re touching side-by-side. Tape them together along the 3” solid paper seam to create one large paper rectangle (there’s no need to tape the 9” fringe section). If you chose two different colors to create your tassel, I recommend first cutting both 12” x 12” sheets in half and alternating colors before taping them together which will create a more mixed-color tassel. The color on the right side will be the outside color of the tassel, so arrange colors accordingly.
Step 3 (optional): You can choose to write a personal congratulations message to the graduate along the 3” uncut edge that they’ll see when they unroll their cash.
Step 4: Cut a 20” piece of yarn and fold in half. Using clear tape, tape the yarn’s cut ends onto the far-left end of the paper rectangle.
Step 5: Now it’s time to add cash! Flip the rectangle over so the message is touching the table. Then align one bill along the top edge next to the yarn. Using small pieces of removable washi tape or painter’s tape (it’s important to only use removable tape on money), secure left and right edges of the bill onto the cardstock paper. Repeat for all bills; feel free to overlap the bills as needed based on the amount of money that you’re giving.
Step 6: Flip the rectangle over so the taped yarn and message are visible, and the bills are touching the table. Starting at the yarn end, tightly roll the cardstock paper and money to create a big tassel, adjusting the bills as needed while you roll. Keep rolling until the tassel is complete, then add removable washi tape to secure the tassel.
Step 7: Now we’ll add the ‘metal band’ and graduation year in Solar Yellow™. I designed all the graduation years from 2024-2030 for you. Print your desired graduation year and the ‘metal band’ onto Solar Yellow™ and cut out or use my SVG template with a paper cutting machine.
Step 8: Wrap the yellow ‘metal band’ around the neck of the tassel and secure it with glue dots, ending at the rolled seam so that it can be easily unrolled in step 8. You can add a yellow piece of Washi tape to help hide the seam. Then glue the graduation year to the ‘metal band.’
Step 9: Give the big tassel to your graduate so they can unroll their cash!
Be sure to see more of my paper crafts for Astrobrights® and Astrodesigns® including my Valentine's Day Jokes for Classroom Exchanges and my Mugs & Kisses Coffee Bar Treat.
Be sure to see more of my paper crafts for ASTROBRIGHTS paper including my S’mores Campfire Playset, Tent Camping Playset, Paper Bead Jewelry, Geometric Dinosaur birthday party, Upcycled Paper Vases, Family Birthstone Birthmarks, and many more.
Kathy Beymer
Instagram: @kathybeymer
Pinterest: @merrimentdesign