C's Harry Potter B-day Gift

Merlin would be jealous 

Hogwarts First Year Kit

As many of you may remember from C's Wizard Pillow Christmas Gift, my niece is almost as big a Harry Potter fan as I am.  With this birthday being her 11th, I knew that meant I had to do something super special.  This particular gift has been in the works for almost a year.  I started planning last year just after her birthday and started acquiring pieces and supplies in October.  I can say without a doubt, this is the most expensive and most time consuming gift I have ever given.  But she's worth it, even if I'll never be able to top it.

Hogwarts Letter

Every Harry Potter fan knows the first step to being a Hogwarts student is getting your letter.  Traditionally sent via OWL post, C will have to settle for it coming in a box full of supplies.  This was one of the easier parts of the gift.  I simply copied the text from The Philosopher's Stone and printed it on some Hogwarts parchment I purchased on my first trip to Potterwood.

Text Books

After a uniform and wand (which my mom made for C for Halloween a few years ago), the next thing on the Hogwarts supplies list is the text books.  This was the original jumping off point for this gift and then the scope grew from there.

I started with 2 composition books, 2 drawing books, high end papers, spray adhesive, glue stick, and printable address labels.

Let me say here, that rotary cutters are the greatest thing ever.  If you don't have one, I suggest investing in one.  I use them for everything paper and fabric.  I used the spray adhesive for most of the papers, but used the glue stick for the spine covers.  I also use some stamping inks on the edges of the printed labels to take some of the edge of the whiteness.  The end product turned out pretty well.

Interior papers

Potion Ingredients

This is a fun part.  I ordered plastic test tubes with caps from Amazon (yes, they do sell EVERYTHING).  Then I headed to the craft store and dug through my own stash of crafting supplies to find fun things with which to fill them.

Because C has two much younger siblings that need basically constant watching/supervision, I was aiming for crafting items that C could use mostly without needing help and that would be easy for her to get out and put away on her own.

A slew of crafting Supplies

Along with the items in the test tubes, I also purchased a couple of glue pens.  They can be found in the paper crafting isle and are one of the greatest crafting inventions.  The idea is, of course, that C can glitter and stick things to her little heart's content without ending up with glue all over the place.

The beading was a little trickier.  I didn't want her to have to have a lot of special tools or tiny pieces to keep track of.  I ended up buying some very thin twine that she could easily tie off, magnetic clasps with loops through which she could tie the twine, and some beading needles to make the whole process a little easier.

Filled tubes

I also purchased some self-adhesive labels in the papercrafting section.  It was about $2 for 30 labels; totally worth buying them rather than trying to make them myself.

Woo cheap labels!

The last thing was to match up the crafty items with some Harry Potter potions ingredients.  This is a fun little exercise.  I got some help from one of my HP yarnies.  There is a great list here on the Harry Potter wiki.  What I ended up with was:

Glitter = Powdered unicorn horn
Dark oil slick beads - Black beetle eyes
Purple beads = Ashwinder eggs
Green beads = Bezoar
Buttons = Sopophorous beans
Paperclips = Fairy wings
Brads = Leeches
Flowers = Nightshade
Clothes pins = Dragon claw/Griffin claw
Beading needles = Billywig stings
Twine/clasps = Goosegrass/Runespoor eggs

Bottled & labeled Potions Ingredients

Hogwarts: A History

This part was an impulse.  I hadn't planned to make it until I saw the book-shaped paper mache box on the shelf.  It just needs some basic supplies - box, 2 fabrics, spray adhesive, white glue, gold glitter, and fabric markers or sharpie.

I used fabric markers to draw on the cover, but I think a sharpie would work just as well for this.  You can choose whether or not to "gild" your pages, but I think it gives the project a little whimsy.  And what's Harry Potter without whimsy?

For all the Hermiones out there, of which I am one.

Dragonhide gloves

These were a fun little add on item.  As I looked over the list of supplies required for First Years I noticed Dragonhide Gloves on the list.  I couldn't resist making some for her.  This pattern was quick and fun and the end prodect is super stretchy so she'll be able to wear them for a while (if it ever gets cold enough in Florida).

I added a tag from Slug & Jiggers apothecary attesting that they are 100% Ukrainian Ironbelly Hide and voila!

Quill

This was another quick & easy one.  I knew from the start that she would need a quill, so I ordered a feather pen from Amazon.  It came in a lovely box so I simply removed the Muggle stickers, added some silvery gray ribbon I had lying around, and added some fun Labels from Scrivenshaft's.

Never-dull-tipped quills are best used with Scrivenshaft's Ever-refilling ink wells.

Trunk

Every Hogwarts student needs a trunk to pack their goodies in.  I used a paper mache box and mod podged on some wood grain fabric.  This wasn't my best job ever, but it will do what it's supposed to.

Stickers

I figure Hogwarts students must be like tweens and teens everywhere, needing to express themselves.  Over at Redbubble.com, I bought C plenty of stickers she can use to decorate her trunk, or whatever.

Other Odds and Ends

In addition to the above, I also bought her colored pencils to use with the drawing books, a small plastic cauldron, and a chocolate frog and some Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans to have as a snack on the train.