It’s not that I don’t have a bazillion things I’d love to write and share with you,  it’s just that I haven’t had two moments to myself lately. (I’m not exaggerating, honestly. We’ve had guests from Australia for the past three weeks. It’s been busy but soooo amazing to have them here!) Things will be calming down soon, but in the meantime, I have called upon my bloggy buddy Andrea to help me out. I call her my “bloggy buddy” because we both share an interest and love for blogging, but also because she was the first Ottawa blogger that I ever met in person. As it turns out, I like her just as much as her blog (which is quite a feat really!). Today, she is sharing a fun post on something very timely to many parents — Harry Potter! Enjoy, and thanks Andrea! Without further adieu, here is her post and “official” introduction ….

Andrea Tomkins blogs at a peek inside the fishbowl, where she has been known to write about crafty things, recipes, and other fun stuff for Ottawa parents. You can also follow her adventures on Facebook or on Twitter.

 

Harry Potter crafting
by Andrea Tomkins

Now that the last movie is out, Harry Potter mania has returned to our household.

A few years ago, the Harry Potter series was our family bedtime reading. Every night (starting from the first book) we’d read a chapter together. When we finally made it through all seven, my youngest daughter picked up the first book in the series and read them all herself. Now that’s a fan.

Although we started with the books, the movies were great too. We watched each one after we finished each book. What’s more, we drove down to see the Harry Potter exhibit when it was in Toronto last summer. We bought chocolate frogs and some Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and came close to buying a Marauder’s Map (but it was pricey so we left it behind). This got me thinking. What kind of Harry Potter crafts can we make at home?

Here are a few of the things we have made. 

Magic wands

• First, we combed the backyard for the perfect stick. We have also found great sticks (they have to be perfectly straight and just the right length) by the curb after a neighbour’s tree trimming. Stick choice is immensely personal and requires time and patience to find just the right one.
• Green sticks (that is, freshly cut ones) have new bark that can be peeled off fairly easily. When the bark is removed it results in a lovely smooth texture that dries really nicely.
• I could have grabbed the glue gun and embellished them with beads and feathers, but we left them as is for a perfectly natural-looking wands. (Which was a good thing because the dog got hold of one.)

Quills

We found the perfect goose feathers down by the Ottawa River the other day; huge and totally pristine, BUT from what I’ve seen online I realized that making a quill was going to be a heck of a lot more difficult than I had thought. The process is long and involves tempering (!) and slicing the nib of the sheath and shaping it just so.  (See what I mean?) I wasn’t sure I wanted to set out on this road, so in the meantime we have been pretending it’s a real quill.

Coins

We had great success making gold galleons. This is the perfect craft, because it takes a bit of time and resourcefulness and teaches kids how to swing a hammer.

• Raid dad’s beer bottle “collection” for caps
• Find a good surface to work on (we decided to work outdoors on the patio).
• Grab a hammer and flatten all the caps.
• Paint your “coins” with gold spray paint. (Maybe mom should do this part.)

Tuck them into a little drawstring pouch when they’re dry. (We happened to have a black velvet one from the LCBO. Perfect!)

There are some neat ideas over at Instructibles for other Harry Potter-related crafty projects. I’m not sure what we should make next. I really like the Mad Eye Moody Eye (it’d be fun to wear to the last movie!) and am intrigued by this wand. Tough call. Maybe I’ll just make us some butterbeer and think about it a little more.