High school and college graduations are right around the corner. First, I want to say congratulations to everybody graduating! You did that! If you are choosing to decorate your graduation cap, it’s time to start soon, as graduation dates are coming fast. I’m a senior at the University of Connecticut and recently picked up my cap, so I will be starting as soon as possible! Here are some ideas to kick-start your thinking.
Some tips to start
For many of these, you will need supplies. Craft stores such as Michaels and Hobby Lobby, or even Target and the dollar store, are great places to start, and they can be super cheap. Online resources such as Amazon can be a great shopping option as well! Also, many social media platforms, such as TikTok, are great resources and offer ideas, tutorials, and links to help you make your cap as close to your standards as possible. Now, let’s get to the ideas.
School/University
Decorating your cap with the logo or colors of the school you graduated from or are entering post-grad is a classic. You could make this anywhere from simple and easy to more intricate, while also keeping it super fun!
Major/career
Graduating with a degree that helps you get a career is a huge accomplishment, so why not showcase it? Did you graduate from nursing school? Theme your cap with different nursing quotes or supplies. Did you graduate with a degree in education? Decorate with classroom supplies. You get what I’m saying. You can make this one as complicated or simple as you would like, given time, supplies, and concept. Here are some inspirations for different careers and jobs.
photos
A really fun idea that I am using for my college graduation cap is to make a big photo collage of my experiences in my time here at UConn and glue it to the top of my cap. This one does take a lot more effort and time as you have to choose the photos, make the collage, and decide how you want to glue it to the cap. This is one of those ideas that I’d suggest watching a tutorial for if you need help! However, in the end, this can be so worth it, as it feels like your friends are graduating with you and you will have this collage forever, both in your camera roll and on the cap! This is where my inspiration came from:
Quotes
Quotes are a super fun thing to put on a cap. Find your favorite and turn it into a design. For example, if the quote is from a movie, write out the quote, then theme the rest of your cap based on that movie. Likewise, if your quote is from a singer, write it out and theme the rest to the song it is from. For my high school graduation gap, I themed it after Disney’s Tangled. I used the song lyrics “When will my life begin” from the song with the same title and altered it to “Now is when my life begins” with a purple and gold theme based on Rapunzel’s dress colors. Here was my inspiration:
Graduating year
This is another super simple and easy one. Simply putting the year you graduated onto the cap in any font or design your heart desires is quick and can look so cool! Here is a possible inspiration if you love anything with sparkles!
Funny/joke
If you’re someone who loves to make people laugh, you could do wonders with this idea. Write a joke or any funny line in any lettering you would like onto your cap, and know that everybody above you in the stands is reading that and will (hopefully) get a good laugh. For example, someone I graduated high school with put a big QR code on her cap and rickrolled everybody who scanned it!
hobbies
If there is a fun hobby that you participated in throughout your life and time at the school you are graduating from, this could be a really cute idea! A hobby can be a big part of who you are, and it would be wonderful to showcase it on your cap. For example, if you love to read, this could be a good inspiration.
Final thoughts
The options for decorating a graduation cap are endless and can be so much fun. Although this is completely optional, I hope you have fun decorating if you decide to do so. Again, congratulations on graduating!