Adventure Graduation Card

Graduations are a time for celebration. It is for one to celebrate the achievements they have made and the ways they have changed. Graduation is a checkpoint in one's life, allowing them to stop for a second and take in their surroundings. The spring and early summer seasons are perfect for graduations of every type with the sunny days symbolizing sunny futures.

This past week my cousin, who last year took a year off school to travel and explore, graduated high school. With his adventurous year in mind I made him a graduation card that exemplifies his passions.

Congratulations to all who are moving forward in their schooling and lives!

For this project you will need a few basic supplies including:

• Double sided foam tape
• Scissors
• A ruler
• A card base*
• A piece of card stock (I used a dark blue, but you could use any color)
• Map -- fake or real (I got mine from the Recollections Everyday Snapshots paper pad, which can be bought at Michaels Craft Store)
• Calligraphy Pen or Sharpie
• String

*Learn how to make a card base here

To make the base of the graduation cap cut a 4 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch (11.43 cm x 11.43 cm) square out of the card stock. Then place it onto the card base oriented like a diamond. Flip the card base over and mark the overhanging triangles so that you can cut them off.

Alternatively the overhanging triangles can be left if you want the full cap.

Trace the Cap base onto the "map". I made sure to include a portion of the compass to add the adventurous feeling. Once you have it traced, cut on the lines and glue the "map" to the Cap base. Trim up the sides to fix any overhangs.

Only two more things to finish the cap before you can start decorating!

First cut a small circle out of card stock. You can use any color, but the most realistic color might be black. I did not have any black so my circle is dark blue. To make the circle you can trace the base of a small glue stick.

Once the circle is cut out, cut a strip of the foam tape stick the circle to the center of the "map." Then cut 2 more strips (they can be a little bigger if wanted) and stick them, centered, on the underside of the cap base one on top of the other.

Now comes the more tedious steps of perfecting the lettering and creating the tassel.

To stick with the adventure theme I wrote "Adventure is out there", but any little saying you want to put would work. When I wrote my saying I first used a calligraphy pen, but it was not dark enough so I went back over it with a fine point black Sharpie. Then, to make it pop a little I created soft shadows with a white gel pen. While this is the way I did it, take charge of your card a be a little creative!

Tie a small tassel using string and wrap it around the circle you made in the last step.

If you do not know how to tie a tassel click here to see how Martha Stewart suggests how to make one.

Once this is done you can stick the finished graduation cap onto the card base and admire your hard work!

Tip:

Use a thin bridge of glue over a small portion of the tassel to secure it to the card.