How do you make a homemade graduation cap?

Cover round mini boxes with paper in the graduate's school color; top with a matching square envelope and tassel . Stash candy or a class ring in the box, and a big-ticket item (hello, crisp check) in the envelope.

How do you make a flower crown for a graduation cap?

Take your flowers and remove most of the stem, leaving about 2-3 inches. Align your flowers on the crown as you want them to look, and wrap the floral tape around the stems and tape to secure. 3. Slip the DIY floral crown over the graduation cap.

What are the rules for graduation cap decorations?

Graduation caps must not have any advertisem*nts, symbols, words or slogans conveying messages inappropriate at a dignified commencement ceremony . Caps must not threaten the safety of others or use any hate speech of any kind.

How do I personalize my grad cap?

You could get beads or rhinestones from the dollar store to surround the outside of the graduation cap . You could add washi tape or clear back stickers to the graduation cap to add some decorations.

What glue to use to decorate a graduation cap?

Apply a generous amount of Aleene's Tacky glue to the cap. Spread it out with a paint brush to cover it completely. Sprinkle glitter over the entire cap.

What is the tradition of decorating graduation caps?

Graduates use their decorated caps to express religion beliefs . Mortarboards also serve as sites of expressing emotions ranging from appreciation and gratitude… …to frustration. Popular culture references are very common, and graduates often use humor to playfully disrupt the formality of the occasion.

How do you attach flowers to a graduation cap?

Position the flowers on the cap where you want them. Use the hot glue gun to add glue to the bottom of a flower and press it onto the graduation cap, holding it down for 3-4 seconds to secure . Continue doing this until all the flowers are glued down and the glue is dried.

What to do with graduation tassels?

A cute way to display your tassel after graduation is by putting it in an ornament . Although it may only be seen once a year, tassel ornaments are a great way to ensure it is safe from being damaged or lost. Simply purchase a clear ornament and delicately place your memory tassel inside and safely secure it. Voila!

How do I style my hair for graduation cap?

Create a small part on the left or right side of your head, then brush your hair straight back and secure a ponytail at the nape of your neck. Take a small section of hair from the bottom of your ponytail and wrap it around your hair elastic for a polished look.

What is the special character for graduation cap?

Unicode Character “🎓” (U+1F393) Name: Graduation Cap Category: Other Symbol (So) Bidirectional Class: Other Neutral (ON) Combining Class: Not Reordered (0) Character is Mirrored: No 8 more rows

What paper to use for graduation cap?

Always start with a 9.5″ by 9.5″ square topper in hard or decorative paper or felt . If your favorite paper is thin you'll want to glue it to a stiffer piece of paper. You can also use felt. Cut a small X in the center so you can work it under the tassel.

What material is a graduation cap made of?

Polyester and Acetate Both fabrics are ideally suited for single use graduation caps and gowns. Both are made of lightweight manufactured fibers, are cool, shrink resistant, mildew resistant, quick drying, and available in a wide range of colors and lusters. There are some differences between these two fabrics.

What kind of vinyl do you use for graduation caps?

What kind of vinyl should I use on a graduation cap? Because graduation caps are covered in fabric, iron-on vinyl (a.k.a heat transfer vinyl) is the best choice. I like to use glitter HTV personally but you can use matte or glossy iron-on as well. You will also need a weeding tool and a heat press to apply it.

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas

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Crafts | Cricut

Posted onFebruary 20, 2019November 1, 2023Updated onNovember 1, 2023

It’s almost Graduation season again! If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate the Graduationof someone you love, then you may like today’s craft project. I’m sharing with you lots of fun Graduation Cap decoration ideas and how to decorate a graduation cap with a Cricut machine.

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (1)

I am thrilled to be working with Cricut as a Brand Ambassador on this project. This is sponsored content.

Table of Contents

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but all 3 of my kids graduated from something this year—1 from college and 2 from High School. I obviouslyexpected the twins to graduate the same year, but when I realized my oldest would also be graduatingcollege simultaneously, I had to giggle.

This April, May & June will be crazy busy for us with all of the graduation celebrations (3 kids graduating, and none of them from the same school or during the same month… way to stretch things out, LOL!). Let the celebrations begin!

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (2)

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Ideas

I’ve noticed a trend latelyof decorating graduation caps. I know that this is not allowed at some schools, but I still think the idea is genius! I’ve seen all kinds of graduation cap decorations ranging from inspirational to funny. I think that it is a great way to celebrate what is a pretty amazing accomplishment.

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (3)

I’m not sure if my kids can wear a decorated grad cap, but I thought that it would be fun to decorate some for them as a keepsake. I will take the decorated caps and use them in Graduation shadow boxes.

Should I Buy an Extra Graduation Cap to Decorate?

Since I didn’t want to alter the graduation caps they would be getting at school, I ordered an extra set of caps online. My plan is to replace the tassel with their actual graduation tassel in the shadow box after they graduate. I’m also going to add a few photos of the commencement ceremony.

For those of you with eagle eyes looking at the shadow box and wondering why it’s not complete. My oldest graduated in December from BYU. They don’t do commencement in December, so she will walk in April, but her graduation year was still last year. So we don’t have an official graduation tassel or photo of her to use in the box yet.

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (4)

To decorate my Graduation Caps and matching shadow box, I used my Cricut Machine. In the Cricut Design space, I found loads of fun images perfect for graduation caps. All of the images shown in this post are Cricut SVG files, not mine.

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What Materials Should I Use to Decorate Graduation Caps?

For the Graduation Caps, I used Cricut Iron-On Vinyl, and I used regular vinyl on the shadow box. Here’s how I did it.

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Supplies

Supplies are linked:

How to Decorate a Graduation Cap

Melissa Mortenson

Use your Cricut to make an iron on to decorate a graduation cap.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Active Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Equipment

supplies

1 roll Cricut Every Day Iron On Can also use Foil Iron On
1 Graduation Cap

Instructions

STEP ONE: DESIGN THE CAP

The first thing you need to do is design the cap. If you look in Cricut Design Space thereis a collection called “The Tassel is worth the hassle”. There are lots of fun graduation phrases in that collection. You can also type keywords like “adventure”, “Goals”, “I Did it” into the search box and you should be able to find something you like.
Next, measure your graduationcap.
Open Cricut Design Space and draw a square the same size as your graduation cap, rotate it 45 degrees.
Insert the image you want to apply to the cap. Size it so that it’s the same size as the cap (remember there is a non-removable button on the top of the cap so plan accordingly).
After you’ve got your image the size you want,delete or hide the squaregraduation cap (it was only in there for size reference).

STEP TWO: CUT OUT THE IMAGE FOR THE CAP

Send the image to the machine, and cut it out from Iron-On Vinyl
Weed the vinyl until only your image remains.
If you are using two different colors of vinyl, you’ll need to cut out the 2nd color as well.
Place your image on your graduation cap to see if it fits the way you want it. You may have to cut parts of it apart to get it to fit around the button.
When you’ve got it where you want it, you’re ready to set it with the EasyPress.

Top Tips

Since you’re working at an angle that you might not be used to, it’s a bit harder to get the words straight across the cap. Remember the cap is worn as a diamond, not a square.
Use a large ruler to help you place your image in the correct spot. Just place the ruler on the cap from the outside corner to outside corner and you should be able to check the placement of your image easily. Also, make sure you know which end is the front of the cap!

STEP THREE: HOW TO SET THE IMAGE WITH THE CRICUT EASYPRESS

Set your EasyPress to 305 degrees and 30 seconds. Since your cap is polyester you’ll also need a pressing sheet to protect the fabric.
Place the pressing sheet on top of the iron-on then the EasyPress on top of that and hit the button and wait for the timer. When you’re done, move it to another section of the cap and keep moving until you’ve adhered the entire iron on.
If you’re using a 2nd color, apply it now, again making sure to use the pressing sheet to protect both the fabric and the iron-on you’ve already attached.
Then just peel off the plastic backing.

Love this tutorial? Get the behind the scenes on Instagram

How To Make a Graduation Shadow Box

In Cricut Design Space, spell out the phrase you’d like on top of the glass of the shadow box. Measure it so that it will fit on the glass. I used the Cricut Varsity font.

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Cut out the image from Vinyl. Peel away the excess. Apply a bit of transfer tape to the top of the image. Then peel off. Place the image/transfer tape on the glass and use the Cricut tool to adhere.

The last thing you need to do is peel away the transfer tape.

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For the last step, arrange the items you want in the shadow box.

That’s it! There are so many fun possibilities when it comes to decorating graduation caps! You can even design your own lettering if you’d like.

More fun Cricut DIY Projects:

How to Make a Canvas Banner for a Dorm Room

DIY Custom Backpack

Run Disney DIY T-Shirt’s

Answers to your FAQ’s about the Cricut Rotary Blade

How to Make a Fabric Scallop Banner or Pennant

Make a Personalized Wood Sign using your Cricut Machine

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (21)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

DIY Graduation Cap Decoration Tutorial & Ideas | Polka Dot Chair (2024)