So, last Sunday, I graduated from my University and went through commencement, and because I am a terrible, terrible procrastinator, I didn’t decorate my graduation cap until the day before (and then some in the morning before the actual ceremony), and ended up hauling ass to get it finished, but in the end I’m really happy with how it had come out.
This is not a tutorial on how to make one, this is just my thoughts on making one and how mine ended up turning out. If you want a tutorial on how to make one, I found this video to be helpful. There are also lots of picture tutorials if you Google it.
The materials I used were simple: hot glue, card stock typically used for scrap-booking, and stickers. As I went, I also ended up using a thin piece of craft foam and clear sticker sheets to print my own images onto, but those aren’t pictured because by the time I had grabbed those, most of my materials had been used. Not pictured are the letter stickers and the silvery card stock I ended up using because they’re actually just out of the frame. I was really rushing it.
What I had done first was cut out and center the piece of card stock that everything was going to be going onto, and it ended up being a little harder than I liked simply because I suck at cutting holes in the center of things and really took my time with making that hole, the one that the button at the center of my cap goes through. I didn’t want to have to start all over with it. Once that was finished, I started drafting out what I wanted it to look like. At this point, I already had what I wanted it to say, the title of one of my favorite songs (yes, it also has a connection to my fandom, I know. I wasn’t the only one who thought the title/lyric was appropriate!) and from there all I had to do was make sure the letters were centered.
I forgot the progress shots as I was making it, so there are none! All it really was was me putting the letters on the card stock where I wanted them to be, followed by the star stickers. Another thing not pictured are the skill scrap-booking stickers I picked up to represent my major (anthropology), since apparently they don’t make stickers for that kind of an occupation. I printed out a couple symbols that I felt strongly about, mainly from the three fandoms I’ve had such a strong connection with that they’ve effected me in my years.
Once everything was finished, I situated the decorated piece of card stock onto my cap and glued it on one corner at a time to keep it from slipping around too much. And here’s how it came out!
It’s not nearly as elaborate as some people’s were, but I was pretty proud of it. Those clear stickers that I put on the pieces of craft foam were the hardest to work with, I had a lot more trouble with them than I had the last time I had hot glued craft foam for anything. But, I was happy with how it turned out! It was fun seeing everyone’s caps, too. I saw a lot of ideas I had found on the internet and almost done myself, but no one had the same cap as me and I was happy with that.
And that’s all for this! Feel free to share your graduation cap adventures if you’ve ever decorated one (I’ll need ideas for my next graduation, heh). Thanks for reading!
xoxo Nova WHOM FINALLY HAS HER B.A. IN ANTHROPOLOGY HOLY CRAP THAT TOOK FOREVER.
(Insert gratuitous shot of graduation wear and cap up close)
Confessions of a Literary Addict 