Cap & Gown Grad Card & Tute

Hi ya friends,
Today I have a cap & gown style graduation card to share with ya.
Here it is:

I made one similar to this one last year & thought I'd make another one & create a tute for those who have asked how I made the one from last year.

Here are the innies:

Lots of pics & details coming your way, so grab a cup of the good stuff & get crafty!
Here's what you'll need:

I started by creating a template for myself (which I will share with ya, of course :)
Start with a sheet of cardstock: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and score at 4 1/4"
 (or start with a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock, cut in half to get 2 card bases.)

 Trace the template

and cut out that triangle section. Erase any pencil marks.

TRIM: cut 3 strips from 8 1/2" cardstock as shown in pic: 3/4", 1/2", 3/8"

 I used 3 colors to match the school colors but you can use as many as you want.

 Adhere all three strips together.

Cut the strip in half. (As you can see, I eyeballed "half" so it isn't perfect, but it's OK, really *Ü*
Next:

 Leave about 1/8" of "V neck" edge & adhere the trim. You want to be sure you have excess hanging from the top but doesn't go off the sides of the card base.

Flip it to the back & cut off the excess trim.

It should look something like this:

(Don't worry that the bottom edge of the trim doesn't look even. I got this!)

Moving on to the INNIES...

 Cut a white piece of cs at 4" x 5 3/8" (or cut a tiny strip off 5 1/2" ).  Find the center point (2") and make a mark with your pencil.

 I cut 1 3/4" down the mark i just made.

 Take the top corner edge & paper airplane fold it forward.

 Do the same thing to the other side. That creates the collar.

Adhere to the card base, making sure the collar is centered from the front.

This step is OPTIONAL:

 Add a couple of adhesive squares under the triangles to hold them down, but maintain dimension.

The TIE:

 I simply make a knot using  1/4" piece of satin ribbon. (you can use cardstock or wider ribbon.)

 Tighten the knot a bit...

 and trim off the excess.

Use glossy accents to adhere it to the shirt.

Here's what it should look like so far:

That trim edge still buggin' ya? don't worry, I GOT THIS!

Next, we'll work on the mortarboard:

I used a Square Nestie, but if you don't have one, simply cut a square 1 3/4". I like the way the die leaves a debossed edge. A 2" square will work too for those of you that don't want to fuss. I used the 4th largest die from the SMALL set.

 I also used it as a guide for making the tassel. I simply wrapped the gold floss around it a few times...
(By the way, NO, your eyes are not playing tricks on you- I have removed my Acrylics & my Gel nails that I've worn for YEEEEEARS... now they're shorties...tear, tear, but that's another story for another time...)
I digress...

 Gently pull off the floss & use the end of it to wrap around the top to create the tassle.

 Trim the bottom edge to the length desired- voilà!

 Pierce a hole in the center of the square

 Add a brad, but don't push it all the way down & open the prongs just yet.

 Decide on how much you want the tassel to hang & wrap the end under the brad. Now, press it flush with the square & open the prongs in the back. This will secure the tassel.

Add foam squares to the back to give it dimension.

Now we'll take care of those pesky trim ends by simply covering them up with the mortarboard *Ü*
You want to be sure the point of the board is just slightly over the tip of the "V". (see arrow)

Guess what comes next... yup! Dunzo! Like a boss :)

NOTE: Omit the tie if the card is for a female graduate. Add little pearls or blingy instead :)

Last Note: If you want to stamp something on the front, be sure you do it before adhering the mortarboard to make it easier.

Here's the finished card:

and a group pic:

Hope you liked my interpretation of this fun card style which leaves the door wide open for other types of these cards. Hope that you enjoy *Ü*

Oh, I also used the template on the scrub card:

Download the template---> HERE.

If there's anything that's clear as mud, let me know & I'll try to explain it better and/or answer your questions.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Tute-tootles!