There are so many things to take care of when one of your children is graduating. You have to order the invitations and thank-you notes. You have to get senior pictures done. Its one thing after another - one expense after another. Theres not much you can do about some of the costs related to graduating but one thing youll need, that will cost you little, is a centerpiece for your celebration table. Make a centerpiece that looks like a graduation cap and, not only will the guests be impressed, but the graduate will be thrilled with the personalized attraction.
A cardboard box works great to form the top of the hat. The box should be square and very shallow. If you dont have such a box use a thick piece of cardboard - even glue cardboard squares together to make the cap thicker. Wrap the box or cardboard piece as if it were a gift. Center the box on black felt or fabric then pull the sides around to the back. Use hot glue or tape to secure. Cut a square of black fabric and glue it to the backside of the box so that it covers the whole back.
Use a large margarine bowl - or something similar - to form the headpiece of the cap. If the bowl is just the right size in diameter, but way too tall, simply cut it down to the size you need it to be. Wrap black felt or cloth around the bowl and glue in place. Theres no need to cover the bottom of the bowl. If you want, you can spray paint the inside of the bowl with black paint. Be sure you select a spray paint that works well with plastics. If you are going to spray paint the inside of the bowl do so before wrapping the sides with the fabric. Glue the fabric-wrapped box to the bowl bottom. The arrangement will sit on a table with the inside of the bowl facing the table. Purchase a tassel - if you can find one with the graduates school colors, or easily make your own. Browse a store that sells sewing notions and look at embroidery threads and similar threads. Purchase the colors needed then cut lengths of each to make the tassel. Take a rough measurement from the center of the cap to slightly below the margarine bowl. This measurement does not have to be exact. Cut six pieces of thread, each one twice the length of your rough estimate. Fold the threads in half and temporarily wrap a small rubber band around the top, going down a couple of inches from the fold before wrapping. Wrap a piece of foil - or a bendable metal piece - around the rubber band. Use a button in the center of the cap to hang the tassel. The button can be fabric-wrapped or just a decorative shank button. Other options include a nail button or a gimp tack. Cut one piece of thread and put it through the opening of the folded tassel threads. Tie it in a knot around the fold. Take the other end and wrap it around the button. Glue or otherwise secure the button to the center of the cap. Purchase small charms to hang on the tassel, like metallic numbers to represent the graduation year, and string them on a thread. Wrap this thread around the tassel before using the rubber band to secure. Now you can embellish the cap in any number of ways to personalize it for your particular graduate. For example, if the schools mascot is a lion, you can purchase a small stuffed lion and glue or set it by the cap. Whether you attach objects to the cap or not you can still personalize it by using fabric paints to write the school name, graduation year, and graduates name. Or, write the school slogan on the hat. There are many different things you can do to make the cap more personal. Instead of fabric paints you can glue on cloth letters or even appliques. All the guests at the party will be very impressed with the graduation cap centerpiece but dont be surprised if you see that centerpiece again soon. After all, the parents of future graduates were at your party and liked the centerpiece so much they had to make one themselves! Dont be upset with them, though, it only goes to show how much they appreciate your decorating style!
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