Graduation season is just around the corner! Decorating your graduation cap is a fun way to add a personalized touch to your big day. Let’s talk about 3 easy ways to decorate your grad cap, so that you can get inspired and make your cap your own!
The items needed to make each cap can be found at your local craft store or even on Amazon, so they are all easily accessible. Customize the colors and design to your liking… let your imagination run wild!
1. Photo Cap
Items needed:
3-D Stickers
Alphabet stickers
Polaroids or other small photos
Double-sided tape
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Our family and friends play a huge role in our success as students. What better way to honor them and their support than on your grad cap?
Grab some Polaroids or print out small photos and get to work! This one is super simple. Arrange the photos however you’d like, leaving room for text or other decorative elements. You can stick the photos onto your cap with double-sided tape or using a hot glue gun!
Note: Your stickers should stick right on, but feel free to use some hot glue if they don’t feel secure. You don’t want to be worried about them falling off during your graduation ceremony.
2. Cardstock Cap
Items needed:
Glitter Cardstock Paper
3-D Stickers
Alphabet stickers
Scissors
X-ACTO knife
Double-sided tape
Add some personality to your cap! Show off your interests or academic major with a design like this. Grab a piece of glitter cardstock in a color of your choice and use your scissors to cut it into a square that fits your cap (mine was 9.25” x 9.25”). Then, use an X-ACTO knife to cut out a circle in the center of the cardstock that fits the button on your cap (mine had about a 1″ diameter). This will be the base of your cap.
Now for the fun part! Add a phrase or quote using alphabet stickers and decorate using 3-D stickers. You can find a variety of colors and designs at your local craft store, so the options are truly endless. You can even go with patterned cardstock paper instead of glitter, if that’s more your style! Attached the decorated cardstock to your cap with double-sided tape and you’re ready to go.
3. Flower Crown Cap
Items Needed:
Alphabet stickets
Artificial flowers
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
This flower crown design is simple but adds a fun element to your graduation day outfit.
Pick out some artificial flowers in your favorite color. You should be able to pull them right off of the stems, but trim off any excess parts of the back side of the flowers if needed. Add some hot glue to the back side of the flowers and press them firmly against the bottom of the mortarboard (square part on the crown of the cap).
When you’re done, feel free to add a phrase with the alphabet stickers or other decorative elements on the top of the cap. I kept mine simple with a short phrase, but let your creativity flow!
Final Note
Before you attach anything onto your graduation cap, don’t forget to check the inside of your cap! Most caps will tell you which side is the front of your cap. This will help you make sure your design is right-side up.
Both of these recipes taste so good and are a GO TO breakfast meal in the morning! Not only are they very filling, but you can also add in your protein powder to both the drink and waffles. You can completely customize these recipes to your own liking and preferences. There is nothing better like a refreshing fruit smoothie and oatmeal pancakes to get you energized and off to the beach, truly just a chef’s kiss combo! Make sure you check out the Instagram reel at the end to watch a step-by-step video. Hope you enjoy!
Protein Fruit Smoothie
Smoothie Ingredients
~Splash of milk of choice
~Yogurt of choice
~2 frozen bananas
~4 fresh strawberries
~1 scoop protein powder
~1 cup frozen fruit/berries
~Handful of spinach
*BLEND* and serve
Protein Fruit Smoothie
Protein Oatmeal Waffles
Waffle Ingredients
~1/2 cup oatmeal *blend* (or use oat flour)
~1/2 cup protein pancake mix *optional* (not used in this recipe)
~1 scoop protein powder
~2 eggs
~Splash of vanilla extract & cinnamon
~1 banana
*Now mix all together/ Or use a blender to mix ingredients together if you don’t want the texture of banana chunks in your waffles
We Bridge was a three-day music festival and expo from April 21 – 23, 2023 in Las Vegas to showcase Asian culture through music, art, fashion, beauty, and more! We Bridge acknowledges the growing Asian influence on mainstream pop culture around the world. So, their mission was to connect those creative expressions all into one experience. The We Bridge Expo held hi touch engagements, displayed art by influential Asian artists, showcased fashion, offered food samples, and featured activities as well as retail opportunities. We Bridge even brought in a lineup of highly influential K-pop artists to perform live! I was so fortunate and I am very grateful to have attended the expo and concert on April 22. Here is how my experience went!
Once my cousins and I arrived at the convention center, we were very nervous since we didn’t know what to expect. We registered, got our wristbands, then headed inside the expo. We were greeted with a welcome wall and as we kept walking in there were cardboard cutouts of artists displayed to take photos with. My cousins and I walked straight to the Grammy Museum stage but as soon as we got there, the q&a for the group Oneus, was about to end. We decided to take a look around and found a wall that we could write on. As I was writing on the wall, my cousin told me to move. Turns out that Enhypen, one of my favorite groups, was approaching the wall to write their signatures. It was such an unbelievable moment that I am so grateful to have experienced. After that happened, we were just in complete shock so we stood near the Grammy Museum stage for a while until lining up for GA hi touch. We waited about an hour in GA to see Enhypen on the stage. The group introduced themselves, answered a few questions for the q&a, performed their song “Polaroid Love”, and then prepared for their hi touch engagement. For those of you who don’t know what a hi touch is, it is basically an interaction with the artists to say hi and give them a high five! The hi touch experience itself went by pretty fast. My video of meeting the Enhypen members was less than a minute long. There were a lot of people doing hi touch which made the whole process go by faster. The moment we were anticipating the most was over and so we left to go eat before the concert started. We came back to the expo to look at some of the paintings and when it was almost concert time, we headed to the arena and found our seats. It was pretty cool to have five different artists perform in one night. Performing that night was BE’O, ONEUS, VIVIZ, BAMBAM, and ENHYPEN. It was pretty cool to hear some songs I’ve never heard before live. All I can say for the concert is that it was so exciting, fun, and it made me really happy. Just in case any of you guys were wondering, I paid a total of $242 for this experience and I would pay that much again to do it all over. I am I hope that you enjoyed reading about my experience, I would’ve been more specific but then this story would go on for a while! I’ll leave some links down below if you’re interested in looking at photos from the expo!
Do you know there is an organization that helps our community? Have you ever felt that you could do more for your community? Listen to my podcast. During our interview, Jason Hurst shared with us what Action VC is all about. How Action VC helps our Ventura County community.
Social media is a growing multi-use tool for everyone. Surfers and skaters have been able to capitalize on social media as a way to grow their audience and earn money by promoting brands. It can be tough, for local surfers especially, to get good quality clips showcasing their skills. This is where False Front Media can help. False Front Media records clips of surfers, skaters, and more on a high quality camera and creates video edits for their social media feeds.
Here’s a YouTube video that takes a behind the scenes dive into False Front Media.:
Filmed and edited By Schuyler Arevalo
False Front Media was created by Noah Gilbert, an Oxnard local. Him and his team help create and promote high quality videos on social media, they primarily operate on Instagram and YouTube. My experiences working with False Front Media have been positive. The process no matter the project has always been quick, enjoyable, and productive. Noah Gilbert has great ideas for video creation, once his vision is set and the video starts coming together I’m always able to appreciate the art of putting clips together to make a video a little bit more.
My interview with game designer, Sekoya, at Two Trees Escape.
Two Trees Escape is a Ventura-based, family owned business that describes themselves as “a unique venue for playing, exploring, and bonding. Our escape rooms are designed for players of all kinds: young, old, brave, curious, friendly, and eager to learn something new about themselves and their team”.
Use code “VCSOCIAL” when you book an escape room for 10% off!
The art shown above is the work of Sunimari Madrigal, a student at Ventura College. The art was made for her small business called The Moon’s Canvas. The art was made on a canvas about 13×9, made up of different art mediums such as paint, gouache, paint markers, and acrylic paint as well. The inspiration for this piece came from the beauty of the land we are lucky to have on Earth and also the beauty of the stars in the Universe.
Below is a video of her showing us how she created their piece.
Get ready to be inspired by this exclusive interview where the student Ana Zanin had the opportunity to have an insightful conversation with Andria, owner of Andria’s Seafood Restaurant. In this discussion, she reveals the remarkable story of this hidden gem. From its humble beginnings to its success, as voted #1 seafood market in Ventura.
Andria shares the struggles, secrets, and family traditions that have shaped the restaurant’s legacy. With a careful selection of fresh fish, secret recipes passed down through generations, and a consistent commitment to great quality food. This undeniable passion is what makes Andria’s Seafood Restaurant so loved by its’ community for almost 41 years.
Do you dream about opening up your own business? Do you want some business tips from a young entrepreneur? I had the pleasure to talk to a young business owner. He has some tips and tricks. Are you ready to step outside your comfort zone and do what you really want. Listen to my podcast! I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
L->R: Lexi Quolas (VCS), Sarah Fox (VCS), Jennifer Smith (co-owner), Sophia Smith-Grunder (co-owner), Kelyla Nelson (VCS)
A Family That Creates Together, Stays Together.
Ventura, California is home to many local small businesses, but there are none like Ex-Voto Chocolates and Confections. Offering handcrafted chocolates, organic based ice cream, toffee, house made nut butters, fresh caramel, espresso drinks and much more. This gem has captured the hearts of their patrons using gourmet chocolate that is fair trade and is of single origin.
Owned and operated by the mother daughter duo, Jennifer Smith and Sophia Smith-Grunder, it took time for them to come up with a name that would fit their passion for confections; that is when they settled upon Ex-Voto. The term “ex-voto” is Latin for “milagro” and by definition, it means an offering given in gratitude for an answered prayer.
This small but mighty business started in 2015 with Jennifer selling her decadent chocolates at the local farmers market in Ojai, California. Two years later, they opened their storefront and flagship business in Midtown, Ventura. Initially, Jennifer encouraged her daughter to focus on a cooking and baking career of her own. It just so happens that Sophia makes a phenomenal caramel, amongst other things, better than Jennifer could of dreamed. Thus, Ex-Voto grew into a run and operated family business. The business has boomed since the duo settled in Ventura and have been making history ever since.
VC Social got the chance to sit down with Jennifer and get to know the history behind the business and what ignited their future. First things first, a bit about Jennifer: she began cooking when she was just 5-years old and is completely self taught. Her passion led her to culinary school in San Francisco studying pastry and bread making. Although, she continued to educate herself, take specialty classes online and certifications courses in hopes to figure out what avenue truly felt right to her. Jennifer’s intuitive spirit led her to chocolate as she started to see the word popping up in more ways than one. It was enough to spark her interest to teach herself the craft.
Hand painted and crafted chocolate truffles.
Chocolate, Chocolate And More Chocolate!
Jennifer fell in love with how complex, scientific, challenging, and creative chocolate can be. In turn, she draws inspiration from culture, food and nature resulting in truly complex flavor profiles that otherwise wouldn’t be found elsewhere. Her creations take form of one item and converging it with another. This can be seen in Ex-Voto chocolates, like the Sweet Pecan & Chili Gianduja (in dark chocolate) or the Key Lime (paired with white chocolate ganache).
Jennifer has developed close relationships with her patrons; she pays close attention to what customers are asking for and most importantly when they want it. This has played an important role in their business model and identifying their target market. Ex-Voto began focusing on seasonal items to pay homage to the time of year and most importantly what the seasons represent. Almost all year around you can find your favorites like their Turtles (salted caramel with slow roasted almonds) or the house-made peanut butter buddhas in milk or vegan dark chocolate.
Salted Caramel & Roasted Almond Turtles
Seasonal Easter themed chocolates
Sophia airbrushes flower mold for truffles
It’s Springtime here in Ventura and the Ex-Voto team has been working hard on their seasonal selection; it comes in different shapes, colors and textures including: eggs, bunnies and flower molds. A few of their Spring seasonal items include the Baklava Caramel eggs (using honey cinnamon caramel and pistachios), Pomegranate Rose in dark chocolate, Orange Blossom in white/dark chocolate, and Bananas Foster in milk chocolate, just to name a few.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Featured Ice Cream menu and additions.
The Unique Ice Cream Flavors
Both Jennifer and Sophia come up with recipes by combining different notes, textures and complementary flavors that are well balanced to make heavenly combinations.
Ice cream is a childhood favorite for Jennifer and she has created each one offered at Ex-Voto to perfection. We asked her how she comes up with the recipes for her batches and she shared that most is trial and error. Like her banana honeycomb recipe, Jennifer explained that she had to experiment to find the best way to bring out the banana flavor considering its rather starchy. Her first initial idea was to do banana and peanut butter but she realized that both flavors were too flat. She tasted, processed and talked with Sophia and other employees, bringing up potential matches until they came up with honeycomb. It gives the banana a complementary sweetness, crunch and bitterness.
One of the flavors VC Social favored was her in-house made Queso Fresco y Miel ice cream. Jennifer explained that it took her over 15 tries to find the perfect balance between the Mexican based salty soft cheese and sweet notes of honey. The flavor has become one of their best sellers and permanently remains on their ice cream selection. The combination is almost cheesecake-like and pairs well with house-made marshmallow creme that is lightly toasted with a torch in front of you.
Honey Lavender ice cream with marshmallow creme and rainbow sprinkles in a scratch-made waffle cone.
By keeping up with customer demand their business has created a sufficient following. Most importantly, Ex-Voto takes pride in the relationships that they form with each and every customer that walks through their door. We spoke briefly to a customer, Arlene, who told us that Ex-Voto is one of her favorite places to frequent. She loves the quality of their products and whenever her grand-daughter is back in town from college, they make it a point to stop in and grab a scoop of ice cream. Their patrons genuinely feel like they are part of the family and their support in the business continues to other generations.
Supporting Our Community
It was an absolute pleasure chatting with Jennifer and getting to know the ins and outs of her and Sophia’s daily routine and life at Ex-Voto. As we continued to chat after the interview, Jennifer shared another reason why she works as hard as she does. Her son Seth, 21, a student and surfer, has an extremely rare form of cancer called Synovial Sarcoma, one that has very little research on. If you’ve ever wondered why it’s important to support our community and small local businesses, this is why.
Seth during his new test trial.Seth’s fundraising surfboard sticker. Artwork by Christine May Brand.
Please visit Seth’s website for more information about his journey, treatment and the cancer research fundraiser his family has set up. If you would like to help contribute to their cause for a cure, you can donate directly or find Seth’s custom sticker at Ex-Voto’s storefront location or online here.
Thank you again Jennifer, Sophia and Ex-Voto team for giving VC Social the opportunity to get to know you and discover some new favorite sweet treats!
VC Social 