Show me the money

With graduations, birthday parties, etc. I am often stuck with no idea what to get the participant. Money always seems to be the answer. However, I find it boring to give money. Are they going to remember you for it? "Oh yeah, Aunt Kathleen gave me $20 for my birthday." Not really. So I am always on the lookout for a clever way to give money or giftcards. I saw a wonderful idea on Patty's blog for presenting money. It's for this wonderful booklet made out of 3 x 3 envelopes. See her tutorial here.

I made this one for our neighbor boy's birthday. The mom LOVED it! She went on and on about how talented I was. Don't we creative types just love that? It made it all worth it. She loved it so much she wants me to make some up for her. What I did was take five 3 x 3 envelopes,tuck the flaps in, turn them to the side and decorate them with designer paper. Then I made a cover and back and punched holes and bound it with my bind-it-all. You could punch holes and tie ribbon or use rings if you didn't have a bind-it-all but the BIA works slick!
In the first envelope we put $2, the next $3, the next $5, the 4th $10 and the final envelope we slipped a notecard in it with a note from my son(the gift giver). I also used my It's Your Birthday stamp set and used a different greeting on each page. I'm going to make something similiar for my nephew's graduation party. They will remember me for the clever way I presented the money. I put a little more thought than just sticking some money in a card. Mission accomplished.