Gift Tree

Gift trees can be filled with a variety of times such as lottery tickets, gift cards, money or photos.

Materials:

• Container - we used a glass bowl but you could also use a pot
• Stones - Small decorative stones work best
• Curling ribbon in two colors
• Stapler
• Small branch with several smaller branches coming off of it
• Lottery tickets, cash, gift cards or photos

The instructions are given for the Lottery Tree but suggestions for how to attach money, gift cards, and photos are at the bottom of the instructions.

If you cannot find a suitable branch, you can use a premade tree from the craft store.  Skip to step #2 if you are using a premade tree.

1. Fill your container with the stones and insert the branch into the center of the stone filled container.
2. Cut two 12" pieces of curling ribbon, one of each color.
3. Lay one piece directly on top of the other and place the two of them on the lottery ticket.  Line the edge of the ribbon up with the top of the ticket. Having an even amount of ribbon extending on each side of the ticket staple the center of the ribbon to the ticket.
4. Repeat for each of the lottery tickets.
5. Tie each of the tickets to a different branch on the tree.
6. Curl the ends of the ribbon with a pair of scissors.

When crafting try to work with what you have on hand. We didn't have enough of the small rocks so we put some larger rocks in the bowl first then poured the smaller ones in the center and on top since the smaller ones hold the branch in place better.

Staple the ribbon to the top of the lottery tickets. Smaller tickets look better on the tree than large ones do.

Tie the ribbon around a branch on the "tree".

You can transform your "Lottery Tree" into any type of "Gift Tree" by changing what you attach to the tree.

Some other great ideas for gift trees are:

• Money Tree - Start on the short end of a dollar bill and accordion fold the bill.  Once folded, tie curling ribbon around the center and tie it to the tree curling the ends of the ribbon.
• Gift Card Tree - Buy a variety of gift cards and hang them on the tree. If they are on a cardboard holder with a hole in it, you can hang it by the hole.  If not, tape a piece of ribbon onto the gift card and use the ribbon to tie it on the tree.
• Picture Tree - Make a family tree or any type of photo tree.  To attach the pictures, punch a small hole at the top of the photo.  Fold a 12" piece of thin fabric ribbon, curling ribbon or raffia in half. Put the fold of the ribbon through the hole. This will form a loop. Then, pass the ends of the ribbon through the loop and gently pull. Now you can tie the photo onto the tree by the ribbon.  If you don't want to make a hole in the photo, tape a piece of ribbon to the back of the photo instead.

Idea: At Christmas time, if giving a lottery or other gift tree, use a branch from an evergreen.

Tip: If the ticket is too large to hang from a branch or if you want it to stay in a particular spot, tape a branch to the back of the ticket.

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