I Just Found the Prettiest, Most Unexpected Graduation Gift Ever (I Want One for Myself!)

As I write this, I’m about four weeks away from my college graduation. It feels surreal. I feel like I have so many little tasks to complete before then. One of which is: Figure out what I’m going to do with that degree — literally. I’ve looked into diploma frames, and most of them are a simple brown wood or solid black color, which just feels underwhelming to honor such a huge milestone. 

Then I found something awesome: there are people making cute, customizable, unique frames for college diplomas, and my favorite style features gorgeous pressed flowers. 

There are Instagram creators, like flower preservation artist Amelia Woods (@ameliawoodsart), making pressed flower diploma frames to order. If you like Woods’ offerings, which feature colorful flowers pressed between clear glass, you can just fill out the Google Form in her bio and tell her the size of your paper. 

Etsy sells a bunch of variations of these ready-to-ship pressed flower diploma frames, too. There are some gorgeous acrylic options, like this one, which uses real pressed flowers and fits an 8.5″x11″ diploma. This one from the shop CraftedChapterGifts uses artificial pressed flowers and is my personal favorite. The price starts at $90 (and goes up to $100 depending on the size you choose) and you can pick your frame color (black, natural wood, white, or gray wood). You can also personalize it even more by requesting the flower colors you would prefer. To frame your diploma, just unscrew the back, slide the two glass panes out, and insert the paper, and you have a stunning representation of your hard work. 

Every frame is slightly different, which is the magic of it! Pressed flowers are such a timeless design, and this cute frame idea will add character to whatever wall you hang it on. It makes your degree more than just a piece of paper; it’s a decor piece. You can even add it to a hobby wall, surrounding it with other objects and pieces of wall art that mean a lot to you. 

One Etsy review for the CraftedChapterGifts frame says, “This frame is truly beautiful. Our daughter asked for this, to put her college diploma in, and it looks amazing. The flowers are arranged thoughtfully, and the colors are bright and cheery. Thank you so much.” This goes to show it can be a great gift for anyone you know who’s graduating — or even yourself if you’re about to turn those tassels.