Graduation Caps of Grandeur

Well, It’s finally happening, I’m graduating from college! One thing I really wanted to do at my high school graduation that was on the list of –strictly forbidden– which was a long list, was decorate my graduation cap. That 9.5″ square isn’t a ton of real estate, but I’m determined to make it magical.

After scrolling through Pinterest for far more hours that I ought to have, I had a decent understanding of what it is possible to adhere to a graduation cap without a, looking ridiculous in all the photos, and b, having to select a dress complete with a full Elizabethan ruff to support the weight of the hat. That accomplished, I still had to select a theme, after all what would a moment like this be without the weight of the American franchise behind it? But in fairness, I am a fan of many things and narrowing it down seemed an almost impossible task.

After careful consideration, I arrived at the conclusion that it ought to be based on either Harry Potter, or Doctor Who, or maybe Disney…

Choosing one thing and settling on it it not my strong suit–perhaps part of why I’m just now graduating, but I finally landed on Doctor Who, it coordinates perfectly with the school colors if nothing else!

I mocked up a design, and set out to the craft store to acquire the goods (I spent way to much on this project).

I did start out trying to stick to a budget, hence the several hours I spent carefully burning the edges of these dollar store roses to get them to behave, but when I finally made it past that point I gave up on frugality.

Although I had a design in mind, I wasn’t 100% sure how I wanted to execute it, so I got both the paper and the vinyl version of the galaxy design, as well as some vellum to add in additional nebulas, but both the vinyl and the vellum eventually proved to be a bit much for the size of the hat.

I once I cut the paper down to size, I needed to make a hole for the button so the tassel could still be attached, something easier said than done but we got there in the end.

I decided that the flowers were the last order of business despite being the first things I had thought of, as they would impede access to the flat surface for drawing and writing, so I pencilled in the flight path and the lettering and then took on the task of determining what if anything would write brightly enough on the dark paper to be read. I knew it would need to be metallic, and I was hoping a silver paint pen would do the trick, but if paint pens are the literal worst, and only ever work when you first buy them, a fact which I had glossed over in my attempts not to bring the entire contents of the craft store home with me. So failing that, I ended up back at a silver sharpie which is effective if slightly less legible.

Once the drawing was done, I printed and cut out a TARDIS, and then set to adding some sparkle.

Finally I was ready to add the flowers, and then s in with some silver foil for that final hit of pizazz!

And there you have it. I can’t believe I’m finally graduating, but this definitely makes it feel a bit more real!