If you have a senior girl in your family then you know that decorating graduation caps is a quite popular affair for young ladies. Adding inspirational quotes and fun designs with feminine flair are the standard formula. Hosting a graduation party after the ceremony is a great way for the grads to mix and mingle with their family, but why not host a morning crafting party where they can hang with their closest gal pals and decorate their caps in style instead?
Kate Spade Inspired Decorations
When I think of Kate Spade style, classic black and white stripes, bright pink and bows with bits of whimsy come to mind. That's the exact feeling we wanted to evoke when we came up with this graduation cap decorating party.
To achieve the look of striped walls, we simply added strips of both black and white striped ribbon and bright pink ribbon. I absolutely adore the way they provide another layer of dimension to the white shiplap. The larger than life mylar balloons spelling "GRAD" certainly let everyone know that you're here to celebrate a major milestone in life.
Decorated felt graduation caps adorned the walls and look suspended in the air just like when new grads throw their hats in celebration. Guests at the party were more than happy to practice this feat at the end of the party! You can read more about the details of our graduation cap backdrop here.
To continue the young and whimsical feel of the party, we added a bright pink bow to celebration flags, which were then added to the gorgeous pink peony filled gold vases.
A layer of black and white striped ribbon and bright pink ribbon gave the otherwise simple white taper candles a little bit of glam. Gold flecked mercury glass votive holders also added to the sparkle factor of our table.
Five long strips of the black and white striped ribbon stretched the length of the table and acted as a table runner on top of the magenta sequin tablecloth.
No matter your age, balloons bring the fun and add to the décor of any party. We pulled the whole look of this party together by tossing hot pink, black and white balloons on the floor. The guests were more than happy to play with them while taking selfies at the end of the party!
Gold Terrariums were filled with black, gold and silver acrylic gems, pink and purple faceted jewels, and irridescent jewels, which upped the sparkle factor for our graduation cap decorating party. When the grads-to-be ran out of baubles in their individual paint palette trays, they helped themselves to more by scooping them out with a candy scoop.
The rectangular paint palettes looked so chic sitting at each setting when filled with oodles of gems and jewels. Each palette also held glitter fabric paint pens at the ready.
Craft Time
An afternoon full of giggles and crafting with your friends is an afternoon well spent in my opinion, and is the perfect way to celebrate one of life's most momentous occasions.
Graduates brought their graduation caps and set to work decorating them. Each grad chose a different quote for the cap and used a printed template to trace them onto their caps. To achieve this look, simply type a quote and print it out onto regular printer paper. Turn it over and with a piece of white chalk, lightly rub the back side of each letter. Flip the paper over and position onto the cap, then using a pencil, trace around the outside of the letters. The chalk will then transfer onto the surface of the cap and you can then fill the letters using a fabric paint pen or Sharpie marker. Once the paint/marker has dried, any remaining chalk marks can be lightly brushed away.
Once guests finished applying quotes to their caps, they added bits of black, gold and silver acrylic gems, pink and purple faceted jewels, irridescent jewels, and gold leaf. My personal favorite is a take on Kate Spade's quote "she leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes".
Place Settings
Once the crafting was finished, we set the table with Gold Confetti Graduation Luncheon Napkins and dessert plates that perfectly coordinated with our theme. To ensure guests didn't go home empty handed, we sent the guests home with favor tubes filled with pink, black and white chocolates. We printed congratulations tags on white paper stock and tied them to the tubes using gold baker's twine.
Each place setting was personalized by clipping the girls' names onto a champagne flute filled with bubbly pink soda and a gold striped straw. Names were printed onto white paper stock and attached with a mini clothespin, which was painted pink to coordinate with the theme. The glasses were dressed up with a band of black and white striped ribbon.
Sweet Treats
As Kate Spade herself says "Eat cake for breakfast". We would never dream of arguing with that, so we kept yummy cupcakes close at hand.
Store-bought vanilla cupcakes were topped with edible gold leaf stars and hot pink macarons. Why settle for only one treat when you can have two?
Selfie Session
At the end of the party, we moved the table away so our graduates could pose for photos that will undoubtedly become keepsakes for them to look back on for years to come.
Be sure to check out the Graduation Cap Decorating Party Backdrop for details on creating your own Kate Spade inspired decorations! For more graduation inspiration be sure to check out our list of 20 Easy Graduation Party Ideas!
Photography: Moments by Maredith
