A Picture Really Is Worth A Thousand words (And Dollars Too!)

Hi Everyone,
Not sure if anyone is still with me as my health issues keep me at a minimum crafting level.  I try and try to keep crafts in my life and do manage to get into the craftspace here and there.  I must say the space is a mess and I say everyday I am getting in there to clean up and organize.  Well, that just never happens!  My general health is not great and the month of February was not kind to me. I ended up in the hospital twice. The first time for four days and the second time for six days.  Amazing how the Doctors and Nurses can bring you back to life. Okay enough of the cancer drag and onto the thousand dollars.  A friend at work son is getting married. Yeah, I so love a happy occasion. My friend  Cindy asked if I ever made a money cake as she wanted to give them one at the bridal shower.  I told her "No, only diaper cakes".  After a bit of research I thought the money cake looked like an easy and fun project.  I must say I was a tad nervous when I fell ill as I had $1,000.00 of Cindy's money in my house.  It all worked out as I worked on it a little at a time over the course of 2 weeks or so.  I think I spent about 3 hours total time on the assembly of the cake and the project got me out of my sick bed and into the craftspace (A huge thanks to Cindy).  So let me start by saying I had to put my own spin on the cake.  I started with figuring out the money.  I use my CraftArtist2 software to create the 3 tiers of the cakebase (which are 10", 8", and 6") I then created 3/4 inch circles to go around the base circle placing them in a format of bills that added up to $1,000.00 dollars.  This template was great as my friend could clearly see the bills she needed to get from the bank.  My research showed that most people roll the bill and secure them with small rubber bands. Not me as usual because I wanted all the rolled bills to be the same size.  I had an idea to create 3/4"X1/2" tubes out of the candy bags I use for Hershey nugget crafts and it worked like a charm.  I simply used my wood burning tool to divide and seal the bag and then cut that strip into 1/2 " lengths with a pair of scissors.  Worked great and all the rolls were the same size. If you look close in this picture you can see them centered on the bill.

The best part is when the cake is given to the Bride, all she has to do is pull up on the roll to get the money.  No need to disassemble anything.  Following the template I used glue dots placed on the plastic sleeves to create the strip of bills and then glue dots to attach the strips to the base.  No glue dots touch the money only the plastic sleeve.  I left open spaces for decorative elements.  This worked out perfect to keep the bills centered and organized. Again the template was worth taking the time to make.  Here is a picture of one of the die cuts used to fill the spaces:

Here is a close up of the topper:

Lots of ribbon on the cake make it pretty:

And here is the finished cake ready to go:

I really did enjoy this project. I used my CraftArtist2 software along with my Brother Scan N Cut to make the die cuts.  I want to thank my friend Cindy for inspiring me to get up and get moving.  I also want Cindy to know that I always feel just a bit a part of the wedding and the family when something I made appears at the shower or the wedding.  I am truly blessed to have peeps that still think of me as more than a person who is ill and do their best to help me to keep on keeping on. Much love and blessings to the happy couple for a wonderful wedding and long life together.  Thanks for stopping by,
Lysa