Graduation Party Invitations

Hello! I hope you all have been having a great week!  Only one more day to go until the weekend!  Whoo hoo!!

This year seems to have flown by and I can't believe that we are almost at the end of the school year.  Connor will be heading to Kindergarten next year {*sniff, sniff*} so next weekend we are going to be having a preschool graduation party for him and all of his little graduating buddies. We had one for Matthew and it was just so cute that I knew we had to do it again.  Designing the invitations is always one of my favorite things to do with party planning and I had fun creating these little graduation cap invites {well at least for the first 3 or 4 of them anyways...}

Even if you don't use them for invitations, they make great boxes to hold a little gift, treat, or some good ol' cash!

MATERIALS

• 4 inch diameter paper mache circular boxes {I found the best deal at Walmart}
• black acrylic paint
• foam brush or paint brush
• black cardstock cut into 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 inch square
• white embroidery thread
• white eyelet {and eyelet setter and anywhere hole punch}
• double sided tape or pop dots
• glue
• vinyl or letter stickers

Start by painting the entire paper mache box black {both the inside and out}.  I initially tried to spray paint them but it didn't work out too well.  In the end, my trusty acrylic paint and foam brush came to the rescue.

To make the top of the hat, glue the 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 piece of cardstock onto the top of the lid.  Cut 7 or 8 pieces of embroidery thread to the length that you would like leaving approximately 1 inch extra to secure on the inside of the hat.  Using an anywhere hole punch, punch a hole in the center of the lid through the cardstock and the lid.  Place your eyelet in the hole and feed in the embroidery thread.  Set the eyelet with an eyelet setter and stick down some tape to secure the embroidery thread. 

{NOTE: If you do not have eyelets, just make a small hole to insert the embroidery thread and tape it down really well.}

Tie a knot towards the end of the embroidery thread leaving about 1 inch below for the tassel.  Now "fluff up" the tassel! 

Add a greeting on the inside of the lid to cover up the tape and embroidery thread.  I used some foam pop dots to attach mine but glue or double sided tape would work too. If you would like a copy of mine, you can download it here.  Make sure to print it out as a 8 x10 rather than "fit to page" so it fits inside the hat and just cut them out. 

{download here}

Add the party details to the inside of the box. 

{You can download a copy here.}

I also added the preschool name and graduation year to the outside of the box with some vinyl that I cut out on my Silhouette and added a few little wrapped treats to the inside of the boxes.

Now to get ready for the actual party!!  I am REALLY hoping for a sunny, outside kind of day.  With 14 kids and their families, things could get a little crazy!

Have a great day!

I linked up with Tip Junkie, Funky Junk Interiors, Too Much Time on My Hands, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Delightful Order, Lil Luna, Not Just a Housewife, Tip Junkie, A Bowl Full of Lemons, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Home Stories A to Z, Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Under the Table and Dreaming, CRAFT, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Tatertots and Jello, 30 Handmade Days, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Whipperberry, Tidy Mom and Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons.