10 Fun Ways to Reuse Graduation Caps

Graduation Day is an exciting milestone in your life that can leave new graduates feeling both thrilled by the possibilities in the future and nostalgic for the past. Far too often, the precious mementos of your graduation gear end up stuffed in a box under the bed or in storage or hung up in the closet, never to be looked at again. Your graduation cap may already be personalized for your personality or college major through hours of hard work, and it would be a shame to just throw this precious item away! Reuse your graduation cap as a decoration or an everyday item to remind yourself of the hard work and fond memories of the past. 1. Make a poster! Carefully cut the elastic portion of your hat off or fold under, leaving just the square cardboard section visible, and glue the hat to a piece of poster board or poster matting. Use a set of shaped scissors from your local craft store to cut a variety of edge shapes for pictures from your graduation ceremony and graduation party to glue around your hat. Use a poster frame or hanger to put this lovely piece of art up on your wall as a reminder of how hard you worked to get to that special day!

2. Make a scrapbook! Use super glue, fabric glue, or rubber cement to attach your graduation hat to a page in your Graduation scrap book! This can be especially fun if you decorated your hat prior to the ceremony. If you weren't allowed to decorate your cap, you can always decorate it now!

3. Make a decorative bowl! Place your had upside-down on a table and use a strip of cardboard painted to match your hat's color or a strip of clear plastic to hold the cloth section up to make a decorative bowl! You could set this on your desk to hold pens, pencils, paper clips, and the rest of the supplies cluttering up your work space, or use it to hold a variety of bite-sized candy bars for a sweet treat.

4. Make a button and pin holder! Hang your cap on the wall or from the corner of a bookshelf or dresser and attach all of your favorite buttons and pins for easy access!