So the exams are over and along with the joy, there’s a bit of disappointment for some of you, too. But dear kids, that’s all part of life. Sometimes you come out on top, and sometimes things don’t go as planned and that’s okay! Every experience helps us grow.

So to mark the end of your academic year, let’s make something to remember — a graduation cap pen — a fun way to honour how far you, your friend or your sibling has come. Let’s begin:

Things you need:

1. Two glitter sheets, golden and black

2. Scissors

3. A bottle cap

4. Ruler

5. A pen or a pencil

6. Hot glue

Directions:

1. Cut a 4-inch-long and 1-inch-wide strip from the black glitter sheet; picture 2.

2. Fold the strip in half to find the centre point. Then, from the centre towards each end, mark at one centimetre. Draw diagonal lines from the centre to the mark. Cut along these lines to create a slightly narrower shape on both sides; see pictures 3, 4 and 5.

3. Cut a 4 x 4 cm square piece from the black glitter sheet, and also cut a 0.5 cm wide strip that is at least 6 inches long from the golden sheet, see picture 6.

4. To make the graduation cap, start with the black strip that has a pointed centre. Wrap it around the bottle cap with the pointed side facing downward. Then, wrap the 0.5 cm-wide golden strip around the top edge of the cap, picture 7.

5. Paste the black glitter square piece on top of the bottle cap, picture 8.

6. Decorate the edges of the square with a thin golden strip, as shown in picture 9.

7. To make the tassel, cut a 1-inch-long and 1-cm-wide piece from either a yellow foam sheet or paper. Cut thin fringes into it. Then, take a 2-inch piece of thread, paste it to one end of the fringed strip, and roll it up to form a tassel; pictures 10 and 11.

8. Paste the tassel on top of the cap. For added detail, make a small white paper roll (to resemble a graduation scroll) and paste it on top of the tassel; pictures 13 and 14.

9. It’s time to cover the pen. Cut a 1 cm wide strip of golden glitter sheet. The length depends on the size of the pen — it should be no longer than 6 inches, then wrap the pen with it. Cover the top of the pen with another piece of golden sheet to make it a bit wider, picture 15.

10. Finally, paste the pen inside the bottle cap; picture 16.

The writer can be contacted at ithecraftman@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 24th, 2025