Lawrence.com

This past week, I "celebrated" my birthday. However, when a vast majority of your closest friends are out of town on a cruise that you couldn't attend because of work obligations, little option is left for celebration.

Thinking about how I had little to do aside from sit on my futon listening to Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" on repeat, I guess you could say I was feeling a little depressed about my birthday this year.

So image how ironically fitting it was to receive a tissue box in the mail. "Another year older? It makes you want to cry. Have a tissue," was written in black sharpie on one side of the box.

Now at this point, I'm sure you're wondering what my pathetic birthday tale has to do with an arts and crafts blog. Well here comes the crafty part.

Discarding the box at first, I later found a need for a tissue and returned to the box. Drawing on a tissue then resulted in pulling a long chain of money taped to the end of the tissue. Now here was the real present!

Though I hate re-gifting, I have no problem re-gifting this idea. This brilliant gift is a great present for any friend or family member because it is common to feel blue about getting older, it's crafty and finally everyone loves money.

Doing this yourself is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll still outline the steps just in case.

How to make a tissue gift box: Materials: 1 Tissue Box Tape Sharpie marker Several bills - recommended at least five individual bills minimum (Bills can can be $1, $5, $10, etc)

Step 1: Get a tissue box and take out the top tissue.

Step 2: Tape the first bill to an edge of the tissue. Use one of the shorter bill sides.

Step 3: Tape another bill's short edge to the remaining short edge of the bill taped to the tissue.

Step 4: Continue taping bills together by matching the short edges until you've used all the bills you wish to include.

Step 5: Fold the bills up accordion style into the box, leaving the tissue on top and sticking out of the box. Some adjusting may need to be made to keep the money hidden under tissues.

Step 6: Decorate the box with the sharpie marker. "Another year older? It makes you want to cry. Have a tissue," works pretty well. Or try, "Don't cry on your birthday."

Step 7: Deliver your gift.