Harry Potter

I love the Harry Potter books and the movies. I can't wait for the new movie to come out, next Friday. So, to get in more of the mood for the upcoming movie, my family and I re-watched all the movies that have been put out and now I got my daughter hooked on reading the books. I also join a Harry Potter Swap. I really enjoyed making all the items for my partner and even ended making double of some of the items. One of my favorite items I made was the Harry Potter style wand. I got the idea for the wand from this website. I changed my wand up a little bit, by using a dowel instead of paper, so that it would last longer. Below are pictures, with steps, of how I created mine and how you could make your own.

First Step

Get a dowel, that is the size you would like for your wand.

I got mine from the craft section at Walmart. If you are unable to find a dowel that would be wand size, you can get a long dowel from a hardware store and have it cut to size.

Second Step

Next, take a glue gun and go around the dowel to make a pattern.

I made some connecting crisscross patterns and circles around my wand.





 Third Step

Once the glue is dry and hardened apply a layer of acrylic brown paint to it. You may need to do 2 to 3 coats of this, to cover up the glue just right. After the paint is dry, used an acrylic sealer on it.

Once your wand is done, enjoy and have fun!

Here are some of the other fun items I made for the Harry Potter Swap

Hogwarts ornaments for the tree. I made an extra set for my daughter to give to her at Christmas.
These where made from round pieces of wood with holes drilled in them. I printed images I found on the web and then applied mod podge to them, to seal them in and give them a nice shine. I used different color ribbon for the hangers.

Special ingredients to be used wisely, in mini potion bottles. These labels I created in Illustrator and then just printed out and glued onto the bottles. The Beazor Stones are little pebbles, The Phoenix tears are glitter, and the Gillyweed is basil.

A pocket handbook of spells, where I wrote most of the Harry Potter spells down inside. I found the list of spells here. I took a small journal and covered it with a paper bag and used some scrapbook paper to make the name plate on the book.

Acceptance letter to Hogwarts. This was created in InDesign but could also be done in Microsoft Word. I printed everything onto special paper and even sealed the envelope with red wax, to give it an extra touch.

Group picture of all the goodies I sent.

In this swap I sent:

• Berties Botts Beans
• Droobles Blowing Gum
• Pocket Handbook of Spells
• Hogwarts Ornaments
• A Wand
• Potion Bottles
• Acceptance Letter to Hogwarts
• A Train Ticket to Hogwarts (this took me forever to make. I ended up designing this in Illustrator, with just looking at an image from the movie)
• A Free the House Elves pin

Here is all the awesome items I got from my wonderful partner Rachie

She made me all items that would fit the house, I would be in, if I went to Hogwarts. I found out which house I was in by taking this quiz.