Have Glue Gun, Will Travel

Favors: Check! Glue gun: Check! Hooker shoes: Check! What? Your weekend bag doesn't look like this?

If you're from the Philly area (or maybe another major city? Comment! I'm curious!!), you know what a big deal eighth grade graduation is. If you're not, you just won't get the hype (or at least that's the common consensus of those in The Sticks). Suffice to say, we treat this event a lot like a high school graduation. For the curious, let me 'splain... 

So, late June in Philadelphia. The Girl and her friends are part of this year's crop of eighth graders *sniffle* She and her BFF are bound for one of the highest ranked high schools in the city (actually, in the state, but I don't wanna brag...too much). Note: my Philly-BFF, the aforementioned Agent S, is the mother of The Girl's BFF. She and I couldn't be prouder (no, really, I'm going to make entirely pompous t-shirts).

Pictured: Goody Two-shoes. "Most likely to dime out their own parents to the cops."

Right. So the windows had all been decorated, and a party was being thrown for The Girl's BFF. The Girl didn't want one, but she doesn't have a choice when they graduate Class 276. As Agent S said, "OMG! A double party!!" Right on. Anyway, I digress. There was a party in the planning and I agreed to make the favors. Partly because Agent S had enough on her plate with 300 meatballs  (ha! See what I did there?) to be made as well as the other arrangements. I mean, there was a helium shortage and everything! Apparently, the medical field doesn't understand eighth grade graduation in Philly! So that's where friends come in. To make 200 favors for you when you're too busy to do it yourself. The other reason I offered was NOT because I'm a glutton for punishment, but because favors are so cute. I just love little things. 

So I asked Agent S's opinion about what I was thinking of making and eventually made an executive decision to go ahead with those ideas (she had enough to do and trusts my judgement. That's just how we roll.) I decided on two favors, actually, 100 of each.

Wee lil' graduation caps and diplomas.

I had to travel back to Philly from The Sticks for this event. I finished the diplomas in their entirety ahead of time I was afraid the caps wouldn't survive the two-hour trip, though, so I crafted the "mortar" at home and planned to attach them to the Reese's cups when I got to Agent S's. The night before the party, I packed my bag full of shoes, favors, and my glue gun as well as extra glue sticks because I knew Agent S would only know where one of her two glue guns were. Far too early the next morning, I was on a train bound for Philly.

Both favors are pretty self-explanatory, so here's just a quick tutorial on both that includes some tips that helped me not throw anything through a window during their creation. I'll start with the easier of the two, but first a note on selecting colors. Obviously, you want to use the graduate's school colors. In this case, they were blue and yellow, so I selected yellow for the diplomas and blue for the caps with a gold tassel. In hindsight, I should've reversed the colors as it turns out her gown was yellow :/ So, ya know, just something to think about before you get excited and just start buyin' stuff ;) 

Smarties Diplomas:

I didn't even take pictures during the process because it's really just that simple. Sorry to you voyeur types ;)

What you'll need:

• Smarties (in the wrapper)
• 1/8" width satin-feel ribbon in school color(s) (I used Offray polyester ribbon)
• Computer/printer/printer paper
• Scissors

Step 1: I created a table in Word and sized, and printed, and resized, and printed again until I got the right dimensions. Boots helped. It is SO worth the time to watch this video.

Feel free to save yourself the trouble and use mine. Just don't forget to change the name/year! I left the some of borders showing for easier cutting. You can hide these in the settings of the document, but they really don't show once it's assembled. Once you've edited my super handy document, print! There are ten per page on mine, so, ya know, print as many as you need according to the maths. 

Step 2: Cut along my possibly handier-than-the-document lines and wrap around the Smarties. I'm a stickler for detail, so I actually had My Fella glue the overlapped (long) ends to keep the paper in place. You CAN skip the glueing step, but I'm tellin' ya, this helped two-fold. Firstly, well, it held it in place. That was kinda obvious, huh? Seriously, though, it keeps it from getting wonky when you let go of the paper to tie the ribbon. Also, it let us set up a nice little assembly line. So grab a friend, or your fella, and give them something to do! Or do it yourself. Glue a bunch, throw 'em in a bowl to be tied later when you're not sick of looking of Smarties anymore. And that will happen. Just so ya know.

Step 3: Cut short lengths of ribbon (about an inch and a half). Or have your fella do it. Whatever works. Tie around the center of the "diploma". That's it! 

Reese's Cup Minis Graduation Caps:

What you'll need:

• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures
• 12x12" Card stock in school color (each sheet makes 64 favors)
• Puff paint to match card stock
• Thread in alternate school color. If you can find something with a little more weight to it than, say, sewing thread or embroidery thread, get it! I started with a heavier thread, ran out, and had to purchase a lighter-weight thread. Guess which was easier to work with?
• Plastic floss bobbin or piece of thin cardboard (like from a cereal box) approx. 1.5"x1"
• Ruler and scissors or a paper trimmer
• Glue gun

For the "mortar":

Step 1: Using your ruler and scissors or paper trimmer, cut 1.5 inch squares from your card stock.

For the tassels:

Because of the size of these, it REALLY helps to have a second set of hands for some of these steps. More so if you're stuck using a sewing/embroidery thread. 

Step 1: Cut 4" lengths of thread (as many as tassels you'll be making). Cut the same amount of 3" lengths of thread. Set aside, but keep separate.

Step 2: Using thread still on the spool, wind thread around 1.5" end of bobbin five times (or more if you want. The more times, the thicker the final tassel). Cut end.

Step 3: Slide thread off bobbin, keeping loops intact!, and tie center with pre-cut 4" lengths of thread.

Step 4: Grab your fella, your bestie, your kid, whoever is nearby with thumbs. Fold the loops "down" and hold the 4" piece of thread "up" (or left and right, diagonally, whatevs). Steps 4 and 5 are difficult to see in the pictures just because the damn thing is so small, but just know I thought of yous and I tried. I really tried!

Step 5: Using a 3" length of thread, tie just under the center knot, forming the final tassel shape. Trim ends (loops) to the length that feels appropriate.

Assembly:

Step 1: If you haven't already, trim the long thread (4") so that the tassel hangs down from the center of your "mortar" as far as you'd like. I trimmed mine to about an inch. Yes, from 4". I wanted to start out with longer and, ya know, easier-to-work with lengths. See how I look out for you? Uh, except for the part where I don't actually have a picture of that, so, um, moving right along...

Step 2: Place the long ends of the tassel in the center of your square of card stock. Pin those little effers down with your nail, because they WILL separate and go all wonky on you and you do NOT want that. See how in the pic it looks like one piece of thread? It is NOT. WITCHCRAFT! No, not really. I was just careful. Do that.

Step 3: Once you have them in place, grab your puff paint and put a little dot on top to 1. glue the tassel on and 2. create the "pin" on top of a graduation cap. 

Step 4: After the puff paint is dry, open your bag of Reese's mins and eat one. Have another one. It's ok, if you did the math right, you have, like, ten extra cups anyway, so it's totally cool to eat four.

Step 5: Place your "mortar", upside-down, on a flat, sturdy surface. Using your glue gun, put a small dot of glue in the center and place a Reese's cup, also upside-down, on top of the glue. Smoosh it down to hold, flip right-side up, and you're done! How cute are they?!