Secret Santa - "Show me the Money!!"

This year, our Secret Santa theme was "Show me the Money!". I had to put my thinking cap on, and decided to make a Money Tree. I had planned to buy a terrarium style container, but I found a pair of coach lights for tealight candles at a discounted price (the box was damaged), so even if the "tree" is removed, you still have a nice pair of lights....

I used some florist wire to make the stem, and some Aussie play money for the flowers. I had hoped that it would be brighter, but unfortunately they were purchased as-is from a $2 shop. I had also hoped to get proper play coins also, but I could only find pirate money, and I was trying to be as authentic as possible, so used actual coins.

I used a very simple origami fold for the flowers. There are numerous tutorials for "money folding" but this one looked the easiest. Basically, you fold the length of the paper concertina style, and then bring the edges together with a but of glue. It needed something else, so I used some 5cent pieces for the centres...

 

The stem was based on a twisted wire technique used for gemstones. Below is an example.... 

I used a citronella candle as the base, mainly because it meant that I could just push the wire into it and it would be pretty stable, but also because it was a cute little pot. I had hoped that it would fit into the tealight holder, but it didn't. I taped a tealight to the bottom so it would fit, and built up the base to look like it was meant to be that way. This can all be removed, since it is a novelty item, and the tealight can still be functional. I put all the extra flowers in the the bottom, to look like they had fallen off....

In order to continue the theme, I included some Money Tree Seeds. I used a small box that had some perfume in it and put a hole in it for a window. More 5cent pieces for the seeds suspended in a bag at the height of the window. It worked perfectly! I used a piece of plastic from a sturdy bag for the window.... 

I also thought about some witty text to put onto the back - a mix of financial terms and gardening. I think it's quite clever!

I hope whoever receives my gift appreciates all the thought that went into it! I will find out tomorrow.... ;)

Tree is finished..

My little tree is done! Pretty good effort, if I do say so myself.

Got me thinking about Christmas, and how I can translate this design to a type of Family Tree. Should I use photos, signatures, handprints?? Maybe some other method?? Oh, the choices!!!

Apples...

After re-doing the apples twice, I'm still not happy with them. Even though they all started the same size, they appear to be so different! I think the difference in fabric is to blame, but I already had them on hand so I can live with it!

So far I've followed the instructions pretty closely, which means its turning out pretty well. Not sure about binding yet.... Striped, checked, patterned?? My colours are all darker than the original, so maybe even a plain will work best? Like a window frame, perhaps??

Family Tree...

Got Bernie back from the service centre and she's running like a dream, so got back to the appliqué tree.

Found some sky fabric and a brushed cotton for the grass. Cheap, too! Fat quarters were only $2, and the sky fabric was on the cheaper end of the scale, so very little spent on this so far.

The original design had the tree hand blanket stitched in all the same green, but since I used a couple of autumn greens, I decided to use matching thread. And I don't hand stitch!! Bernie has a really nice "fake" blanket stitch which will do just fine!! Couldn't find a matching thread for the spot, though, so looks like a trip to the markets tomorrow to see what they've got.

Happy with it do far. If it turns out ok, I may do a Family Tree style quilt for my grandmother for Christmas and get all the family to sign one branch each. Still in the thinking stages so far - maybe I could photo print them??? That could work.... Hmmmmm......

Something a little different...

Although my machine is in for service, my new iron was working fine! Decided to do some appliqué prep instead.

I found this tree in a magazine (the same one as the sunbathers and snorkeller) and I knew I had a couple of fat quarters in green. The hardest part was the trunk!! But now I've got 19 yoyos to make. Good thing the heating is working!

The final background won't be white, not sure exactly what it will be instead!! Or whether to make a hanging, or a bag, or something else?? Definitely going to be machine quilted, whichever option I choose...