Wilcox Wizard Wares

Knit Hufflepuff Cowl

2011-12-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

Materials:
* worsted weight yarn. i used red heart in black and yellow
* size 10 16" circular needles
* Scissors
* Yarn needle for weaving in the ends
* Stitch marker for marking the beginning of the round

Key & Notes:
* this pattern is knit in the round
* guage isnt really all that important but i was getting about 4 stitches and 5 rows per inch
*additional special note that handsome chinny chin chin on the fella modeling the cowl belongs to my friends andy and he wanted every one on the interwebs to know that was him so say HI ANDY!!!!

Directions:
* Cast on 120 stitches in the yellow. Join being careful not to twist your stitches and put a stitch marker in so you know.
*Knit (K) 1, Pearl (P)1 for 4 rounds alternating the yellow and the black. (i just carried my yarn right up the inside for the entire project)
*K 5 rounds black.
*K 3 rounds yellow.
*K 7 rounds black.
*K 3 rounds yellow.
*K 9 rounds black.
*K 3 rounds yellow.
*K 9 rounds black.
*K 3 rounds yellow.
*K 7 rounds black.
*K 3 rounds yellow.
*K 5 rounds black.
*Knit (K) 1, Pearl (P)1 for 4 rounds alternating the black and the yellow.
*Bind off in the yellow and weave in your ends. and VIOLA! COWL!!!

I hope you liked this pattern. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and ill try to help out :0) also if you would like to download it as a word document you can go here as per ushe:

This pattern belongs to me Pren Wilcox. Please don’t replicate it to sell. I offer it for free cause craftin is AWESOME! I took my inspiration for the harry potter series by J K Rowling because I am a huge fan and this is fan art meant to show my appreciation.

hooter nails

2011-11-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

heres another fancy nail polish post. this one is a how to video on how to paint a cute little owl on your nail! her youtube channel is cutepolish if you wanna see her other designs

polyjuice potion

2011-11-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

check out this fantastic jello mold project! ive never made a jello mold anything before but this looks like it might have to get made at some point :0). i even have a mini bundt pan already that i could use...even though ive never used it before...i guess this would be a fitting maiden journey for it.

now THATS a manicure!!

2011-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

a while back i found these. pretty sweet i know. the other day stumbleupon led me to these. :0D i figured if one was good two were better so here ya go.

Thoughts in the Pensieve

2011-08-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

im re- listening to The Half Blood Prince right now and its kinda become a habit to call my pal hermione jean and discuss things that pop into my mind while listening in the morning. this usually means that my coworker gets in on the discussion too as we not only share an office but a phone. luckily shes brainy and a big HP fan too.

so i was thinking about dumbledore diving into the pensieve over and over in this book and it got me wondering. when a memory is extracted does it remove the memory from the persons mind for good? or does it make a copy?

the reason i ask is because you never hear dumbledore talking about just thinking on those memories that he has removed. he always goes into the pensieve to view them. he knows he has had them because there is a bottle with the memory in it and so he can remember that at one point he had a memory about riddle and the stolen items when he was a boy...or whatever the topic is, but he cant actually call that memory up in his mind. does that make any sense?

the other memories that hes extracted from people they were near the end of their lives and i think they were better off without those particular memories anyhow. slugghorn can remember his tom riddle memory cause he only gave up the false one etc.

doesnt snape also remove certain very very personal memories from his mind into a pensieve when hes teaching harry occlumency (in book 5) just in case harrys better at it than he thought he would be? this leads me to believe that the memory can not be accessed cerebrally if it is in a vial or in the pensieve.

also if it removes the memory thats fine because you can view it later and from many different angles than you really could at the time (i assume because your brain is like soaking up all this stuff going on that in the periffery but you only really remember what matters at the time. like what your brain goes "hey thats real important! dont forget that!" but if you are viewing from all these angles and trying to glean all this different info from it and you cant recall the original memory then i feel like you are forming a new memory. a memory of viewing this info from an outside and disconnected place. dont you feel that you would loose a VERY important portion of a memory? like how that moment made you FEEL? how different circumstances make you feel can be really telling when it comes down to it i think.

ok what are your thoughts? feel free to comment here or if you are a member of the leaky lounge you can discuss over here too.

jello shots

2011-08-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

this post is for those folk 21 and over cause its about booze.

i love a jello shot. they are kinda goofy and fun and now that im in my thirties i very rarely see them at parties. people in their thirties, you see, are sophisticated and mature and drink things like fine wines and thirty year scotch. :0P

i found this website called Jelly Shot Test Kitchen and fell in love. not just because i love a jello shot and probably havent had one in 10 years but because their creations are creative, and beautiful, and their photos are just gorgeous, and the people that write it are funny.

i was just thrilled to discover that they paid homage to the wonder that is Harry Potter by posting some HP inspired jello shot recipes before the premier of the last movie. i wanted to share them with you. to do this i totally stole the photos from their website and hopefully they wont get mad but i wanted to urge you to go check them out and what better way than by showing the actual product made by the experts.

Polyjuice potion

Chocolate frogs

Butterbeer these ones came from a different web site but i thought they were cute and worth sharing too :0)

so heres to Harry Potter. Cheers mate! *SLUUUUUURP*

for you hufflepuffs

2011-07-26T14:58:00.001-07:00

harry potter in 99 seconds

2011-07-23T21:20:00.001-07:00

seems like all i have time for these days is to share stuff that other people have made but this was too cool too pass up. enjoy! sorry they didnt give me the option of resizing the vid so its choppin off 1/2 of it. boo

hogwarts spell books tutorial

2011-07-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

check out this rad tutorial i found this weekend. hogwarts spell books

by The Grey Ladies Ghost

2011-07-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

the costuming crisis hath been averted!!!!!

sweet joy. *breathes a happy sigh* i got another idea that was inspired by an internet friend (although not accomplished in the same fashion that she had previously used). ran to the store and got EVERYTHING i needed to make it for 28 bucks. now THATS a pill i can swallow. woo. far cry from 100 bucks huh?

im hoping this new idea gets a few laughs and i think it will. ill share more later.

woe thy name is pleating

2011-07-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

i am going to have to go to the movie as a beauxbatons academy student for the 3rd time running. i really wanted to make lunas christmas party dress. and found the right pleated shimmer organza but it was like $35 a yard. granted i would have only needed 3 yards but thats 105 bucks plus shipping just for one fabric! so of course instead of buying it i waited until the last minute to see if i could pleat the fabric myself...i cant. now i know why that fabric was so expensive. im still going to make this costume in the future but i want to do it right so im not doing it for this movie.

game plan two. make ginny weasleys yule ball dress. so i went to the fabric store and found some stuff that was passable. spent 100 bucks and didnt get exactly what i wanted. i had SERIOUS buyers remorse cause i still would have had to buy a wig on top of that.dont get me wrong i am NOT above spending all my lunch money on fabric to make a costume i really want but i dont like to settle. i dont like to just get the idea across. i like to try to make as exact a replica of whats in the movie as i can. i WILL settle if i get some kind of a magical deal on fabric but 100 bucks is not a deal. im taking it all back today. i am torn about this decision i must say. i REEEEAAAAALLLLLYYYYY want a new costume for this movie cause im having a big party. i want something no one else is going to have. but essentially i have 16 hours to make a costume and its got to be cheap cheap cheap. it doesnt look like a new costume is in my future. im disapointed.

Chain Braided Gryffindor Bracelet

2011-06-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

oh my gosh.....its june....and im handing in my june homework on TIME!!!!! no detention for me! woooooo hooooooo! well its about dang time i guess hahaha. so what did i make for this month?! a really cool bracelet that has embroidery floss braided into a piece of chain. then i used the leftover bead sets from the fancy house unity necklace as little charms on this bracelet. what do you think!?

i made this from a tutorial which you can find over here chain braid bracelet. it was very easy to understand and follow. i will say that her chain was substantially heavier than min and to keep it from curling up funny i found that only putting one strand through each link on the chain helped flatten it out. she puts 2 through each.

Gryffindor Purse

2011-06-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

ok im getting caught up on all this homework. it shouldnt be this hard to post in the month i actually do the project but evidently it really is! ha! so this time ill be polishing trophies under the watchful eye of mrs. norris while serving detention for late homework AGAIN! gah!

this is for the HMHR in May. i made this at a quilt retreat and have used it just about every day since. its a very very good size for an every day purse. there are no pockets in it which im not a big fan of cause everything gets all jumbled up in there but the pattern didnt have pockets in it and theres really not that much this purse can hold so its still ok. as long as i dont let it fill up with old gum wrappers and zonkos receipts.

Fancy House Unity Necklace

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

*rushes into classroom all panting and disheveled like* "oh! professor! hi. yes. well i was just about to hand in that homework." *rifles through school bag and pulls out a rumpled paper sack and stuffs it in flitwicks hands* "yes thats my homework from April Professor. no ill never turn in another assignment late again. i promise *shifty eyes* oh, professor grubblyplank told you i still hadnt turned in my may homework yet?...uh...well i was just about to go straight there and do that professor...and THEN ill never turn in another late assignment...yes sir...im turning over a new leaf!" you can find january, february, and march's homeworks in those links and of course a link to what this is all about here.

What did i create for this month? a Hogwarts house unity necklace! i made a bunch of bead sets in each of the house colors, which are really easy to do and you can find a great tutorial for making them here, and then i used jump rings to attach them to a chain.

i really like the way it came out. its kinda crazy and disorganized and i like that. i clumped more beads towards the center bottom and then spaced them further and further out as i went up the chain. the bottom pic shows the colors a little more truly.

Gryffindor Can

2011-05-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

wow! late turning in my homework as always. it was completed in time for march professor mcgonagall but my owl Archimedes flew away with it and it took me all this time to recover it. i promise.

i have collected way too many stitch markers over the years. ive gotten them in all sorts of ways. made them myself, traded for them, won them, was gifted them. anywhoozle its turned into quite the little collection. and the small container i once kept them in is not nearly sufficient enough. i was about to throw out this can (which had fancy schmancy hot chocolate in it) when i realized it would be just the perfect size for my collection PLUS some!

i think i should have primed it cause if you really look you can see the type that was printed on the can through the paint, which is saying something cause i put like a bazillion coats of the red on there. then i used painters tape and taped off the top and stripes and painted those gold. ultimatley im happy with the finished result. i think id like to add some gryffindor stickers or something like that over time and i do run into them occasionally so the look of this can will kinda grow and change like my trunk has since i started going to hogwarts.

Happy Birthday Harry Afghan Block 3

2011-05-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

WOO! THIRD SET DOWN! *happy dances* you can see the the 1st set of blocks and second set of blocks by following those links. you can find all the patterns here at starknuts. the FABULOUS coffee/ yarn shop i own in diagon alley with a few friends. you do have to sign up for live journal to visit us there but its free. if you dont want to do that the pattern for this block can be found here.

nail polish inclined? try this!

2011-05-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

found this on stumbleupon and was totally impressed.

crafty hallows

2011-05-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

craftster is having a decked out for deathly hallows swap. im not participating but the photo at the top of the thread is of this super awesome stencil. it doesnt say who made it or if you can get the stencil design anywhere. i just really thought it was clever and fantasic and that you all needed to see it :0)

Ha! Stickin it to the man. . . Secretly

2011-04-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

so i was asked to dress professionally at work for a meeting coming up. i looked at my outfit and asked "is this not professional?" (black turtleneck sweater, black tights and heels and a khaki skirt) my boss look at me and said "if thats the best you have." i was kinda cheesed off about it. this office is "business casual" and i dress nicer than that usually. the only thing that i could hope was that he was joking and so i said "ok. 3 piece suit and a tiara it is!" *big grin* he just looked at me and walked away.

i, unfortunately do not own a three piece suit so i just decided to sport all KINDS of potter gear to the company meeting. as i would like to keep my job i kept it low key but in my mind i was like "HA! TAKE THAT YOU CORPORATE FLUNKIES!!!!" its a small company so that doesnt even relaly apply but thats how i was feeling. hahaha. i have a problem in corporate environments cause they think im weird. i am. its ok with me. but it usually causes issues for other people.

anywho, below you will find: my chuddly cannons work shirt, diridgeable plum earrings, i was sporting my time turner wihich you cant see in the photo, kand knit gryffindor socks, and my most loved and witchy shoes (they are just heeled wing tips but they remind me of something mcgonagall might wear.)

my boss looked at me and said "what? no tiarra?" and i just smiled and said "nope cause i dont have a three piece suit but ill remedy that before the next meeting." he doesnt really think i will i dont think. clearly he doesnt know me very well. hahaha

DRAGON EGG!!!

2011-04-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

oh my gosh you guys look what i found. its a dragon egg and i think its trying to HATCH out of there!!!! squeeeeeee! wheres hagrid when you need him!! ok its not a dragon egg. bet i didnt fool you guys! :0)

its an egg that got cracked while i was boiling it and those are my faveorite oned because the dye goes on the inside and makes it look like something really WAS trying to grow in there! YAY! and simultaneously EW! HAPPY EASTER WIZARDS AND WITCHES!!

note the color name

2011-04-10T08:28:00.001-07:00

hahaha where was this box of dye the last time i went blonde!? hahaha

Happy Birthday Harry Afghan Block 2

2011-03-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

remember 7 months ago when i mentioned that id completed the 1st set of blocks for this? sheesh, well i just completed the second set. im gonna have to move a little quicker if im going to have this done for Hermiones Monthly homework reminder! at some point this year. of course you can find all the patterns here at starknuts. the FABULOUS coffee/ yarn shop i own in diagon alley with a few friends. you do have to sign up for live journal to visit us there but its free. if you dont want to do that the pattern for this block can be found here.

Chuddley Cannons Storage Box

2011-03-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

ok heres the february project. :0D go me! i knew what i wanted to do but i couldnt find any boxes the right size. well maybe i should start with what i wanted to use the boxes for. i

am still working on the Happy Birthday Harry Afghan. slowly....slooooowly working on it but want it to be one of my HMHR projects for the year. so i wanted somewhere to wrangle the finished 12" blocks. also im working on the HP project of doom and needed some where to keep the 10.5 inch blocks for that once they were completed.

id planned on making 2 boxes for this month but i also didnt plan on having to actually MAKE the boxes. so im considering this month completed even though i only got one done. iill have to go a-wranglin for some more signs to get the second box done. i got my inspirations from this project. so anyhow theres the box. i cut all the pieces and used packing tape to build the box.

then i used matte mod podge it worked less spectacularly then it did on this project but it still worked pretty good. i had some troubles on the sides where i folded the fabric over like wrapping a package. after the mod podge was dry i put a top coat of it on and waited for that to dry. then i trimmed the edges and hot glued on the giant orange ricrak i found.
i cut a stencil out of freezer paper and ironed it on. the plastic box wasnt too happy about this process which caused it to temporarily bow up. this was fine until it started to cool and then i realized the freezer paper was popping up here and there because of it. gggrrrr. so i got some black paint under the stencil and had to add a "decorative element" to the c's. haha. well "make it work" as tim gunn would say. the border i just taped off with masking tape and THAT worked like a charm. i wonder if i can cut a stencil out of masking tape somehow?

anyhow there is definitely room for improvement for the next time i try this but overall im pretty happy with the results. oh and my Project of Doom blocks totally fit!

matchstick hogwarts!

2011-03-01T07:15:00.000-08:00

HO-LY CRAAAAAAAPPPP!thats really all i can say about this hogwarts castle built from 60,000 matchsticks. it was made by Artist Patrick Acton

brain things

2011-02-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

a friend found me this post and shared it via FB. its a little brain teaser game someone made for their blog. heres the original post but ive copied and pasted it. my answers are below but ill leave a bit of a gap in case you wanna play too and dont want to see my answers.

HARRY POTTER BRAIN TEASERS ANYONE? So today in my Pre-Calculus class, we had a mental health day, and just did brain teasers. The ones with numbers and letters. For example: 52 C in a D. It stands for 52 cards in a deck. So because I have no life, I spent my day coming up with some Harry Potter ones. Have a go!

Example: 7 P on a QT: 7 Players on a Quidditch Team
I realize that some of these might have more than one answer.

3 W in the TWT
4 H at H
3 UC
6 B in the WF
8 M in the HPS
4 B in a G of Q
7 C to R the SS
1 B to S the KC
3 H on F
4 M (M W P and P)
7 P of VS
12 GP
4 PD
6 S at the MOM
2 WT
3 C in OW
6 G on a OWL
3 T of the TT
17 S in a G
29 K in a S
142 S in H

BONUS:

9 S and a DB
6 P in the MTN

OK HERE COME MY ANSWERS DONT READ ON IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS!!!!! i was totally stumped on some and some i am pretty sure i got wrong too but im not very good at the brain things. it was still fun to try.

3 wizards in the tri-wizard tournament
4 Houses at Hogwarts
------3 UC
6 Boys in the Weasley family
------8 M in the Harry Potter Series
4 balls in the game of quidditch
7 Challenges to the Room in the Sorcerers Stone (im pretty sure this is wrong cause i think there were 6 challenges but i cant think of what else this might be)
-----1 B to S the Kings Cross
------3 H on F
4 Misters (Mooney Wormtail Paddfoot and Prongs)
-------7 P of Voldemort Supporters
12 Grimmauld Place
-------4 PD
-----6 S at the Ministry Of Magic
2 Weasley Twins
-------3 C in OW
6 grades on a Ordinary Wizarding Level
3 Tests of the triwizard tournament
17 Sickles in a Galleon
29 Knuts in a Sickle
142 Students in Hogwarts

Diagon Alley Socks

2011-02-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

follow this link to an explanation of what im talking about here if you are confuzled or just check out the tag there in the side bar. yep its a different button *points down*....with the right year on it. sheesh pren. lol

anyhow heres what i made in january. i know its late february but i was out of town etc etc. but i finally have time to share. i finished my Diagon Alley Socks. i am so proud. these are the second pair of socks ive ever made and they fit great. i do wish the ankle was tighter but i dont know how to do that and make the foot the same number of stitches it is now. so oh well.

i started out trying to make the "if you know where to go" pattern that was intended for this yarn (which was dyed by squibstitcher. and is "diagon alley" colorway) but it turns out i was just not advanced enough for that pattern. i started the socks and realized they were going to be HUGE about 3/4 of the way down the ankle area and unraveled them to start with smaller needles. the brick stitch is pretty straight forward i really liked how it was looking (if you can manage to not drop any stitches and have them unravel all the way back to the cuff like i did....twice...stupid pren!) that pattern calls for making these socks on 2 circular needles and i didnt know how to do that so i made them on double points and just got soooooo stumped at the heel gusset that i made a giant knot, and then when i was getting it out i dropped ANOTHER stitch! sheesh so now ive unraveled these socks 4 times! i could have made 2 pairs by now if i wasnt such a dummy. i was so frustrated that i just decided to make them plain and im really happy i did cause i love the way they turned out.

on another note....observe my cuffs. yeah. i did a 1x1 rib on one and a 2x2 on the other hahaha. i didnt realize it until i was so far down the leg and i was NOT unraveling these again. so i just left it. i actually am glad i did it like this. i can see which one i like better when wearing. i like the look of the 2x2 better for starters.

i used the book Getting Started Knitting Socks (Getting Started series) which i used for my last pair of socks too. loads of good helpful pix in that book for the beginner.

Hufflepuff Stitch Markers

2011-01-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

nothing big or exciting to see here. just some pretty little stitch markers for a hufflepuff girl. i figured out that if you want them to fit over a certain size needle you can wrap the wire around that size needle when making your top loop instead of just using the round nose pliers. if you want a little tutorial on how to make stitch markers you can find mine here.

The Resolution Project!!

2011-01-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

remember this from a few days ago? yeah?! well now its got an official name. i got some really great suggestions here and a few other places so thanks for all of those.

the one that ultimately won out was "Hermione's Monthly Homework Reminder" or "HMHR" for short. the picture was painted of hermiones nagging homework planners that she gifts to ron and harry and i just cracked up when i imagined that. remember it!? everytime they open them it says things like "Do it today or later you'll pay!" - "If you've dotted the i's and crossed the t's then you may do whatever you please!" - "Don't leave it till later, you big second-rater!" great suggestion jenn!
ok well this month is almost over and i found this challenge rather late. i need to come up with something good before months end. hhmmmm. what to make for this month? i made a cute set of hufflepuff stitch markers this month but that feels like such a cop out.

something fun but not overly ambitious.....ok i REALLY need to go finish some custom order bags tonight and alter a few pairs of pants so id better go do that but i think ill watch the first movie while i do it and see if anything comes to me.
on another note so far these are some of the things im going to try to get done this year:
* quilt of DOOM- (from Ofenjens group HP Paper Piecing)
* harrys birthday block-a-long afghan- (from starknuts 2009/10)
* new costume for the last movie (lunas christmas party dress from 6)
* knit a gryffindor purse (that i already have the yarn and pattern for and have had for quite some time)
* OOHHH!!! maybe i can finish my diagon alley socks for this month! i already have one done. although thats just the yarn color way. theres no real pattern in them cause it was too hard and im a new sock knitter. do you think that still counts as a HP craft?

Resolutions

2011-01-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

so im a huge fan of the leaky cauldron (im archerpren over there feel free to friend me and drop me a line there if you want to :0) it would make me super happy!!!) i also follow them on facebook. and i noticed a message board notice there that said "feel like earning 400 points for your house?" why yes i do! so handy that you asked. so i popped over to the leaky lounge where i discovered this challenge : you make any crafty new years resolution that you like and then you just keep it for a year hopefully. you earn more and more points the longer you can manage to keep it up.

i never make new years resolutions but i thought one might be in order here. i really could use a poke in the back this year to up my HP crafting cause ive really let it slide and i feel like my friendships in this community have suffered. so...

I resolve that year 2011 will be the year of completing one HP themed craft a month. im gonna leave it wide open besides that cause i have a few MAJOR WIP's already going but by the end of this year i will have 12 harry potter projects to show off, and ill be sure to share them as i go. feel free to nag me hahaha.

i need a catchy name for this though cause i work better when things have a catchy name....
-12 Months at Hogwarts? or 12MAH for short? hahaha. maybe....
- or Monthly Hogwarts Homework Project..MHHP *snort*
i want something to indicate that it will be once a moth and is HP themed without limiting it to that character or any particular house. thoughts? im open to suggestions so lay em on me people!

The burrow

2011-01-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

IN GINGERBREAD!!!!!! are you kidding me!? this is amazing. i found it over on geek crafts. but its originally from a craftster challenge and you can see her full post over here on craftster with a ton of great pictures! this one i stole from her post so you could see the sheer genius that is this work of confectionery architecture.

CAAAAAKE!!!!!

2011-01-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

look at this cake! is this not amazing?! prendolyn the weird might need one of these for HER birthday.....hint hint......hufflepuff student who she "dates" named The Chad.....see this cake.....WAAAAAANTS. cept i dont want it to say ronald. obviously.

Deathly hallows part 1

2011-01-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

GOD! have i ever been remiss or what!? of COURSE i went to see DH1 the night it came out at midnight. i really thought this was the best of the series so far. i loved the look of it and i feel like they covered all the topics i thought were important to get in the movie. the one thing that disappointed me, as in the last movie, was the death of a major character.

(prendolyn the weird and narcissa, yeah i know but shes not really as bad as youd think.)

uh in case you havent seen the movie yet or read the book im gonna let you know there are SPOILERS AHOY!!!!!

(gryffindors in the great hall)

in the books Dobbys death was the WORST death of any character in the whole series. well for me. i cried and cried and cried. "here lies dobby. a free elf" omg are you kidding!? i, quite literally, just teared up typing that. i felt like it was another death where they didn't want to make it TOO sad because kids were gonna see the movie. two shovelfuls of dirt and dobbys grave was dug in the movie. in the book i remember harry digging the muggle way till his hands were bleeding as a tribute to dobby. i don't even think they showed the grave stone which was the saddest and most poignant part!!!

(hermione practicing her spell work)

granted it HAS been a few months now and i havent gotten to see it again so my impressions may change after the second viewing. you know opening night IS about watching the movie but its MORE about the hooplah that accompanies the movie. you go back to the theater a second time to really absorb the movie and i fail at finding time to do that.(luna hermione and prendolyn)

on another note. here are the pictures of the hooplah if you didnt get enough of them right here in this post.

funnies

2011-01-05T07:49:00.001-08:00

har har har

Hey gryffs!!!

2011-01-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

uuuhhh....im broke but i have been "window shopping" on the interwebs today and check out this cool fabric. its on sale at fabric.com. love that place. its like 5 bucks but 54" wide. wouldnt it make some cool gryffindor bags or bedding?!

Owl Treats Bags

2010-12-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

yes you HAVE to have somewhere to keep your treats for your spoiled owl. these bags are about 11 inches tall and 8 wide probably and i made them as project bags for friends for christmas. i love making these. check out that hooter ribbon. cutest stuff ever or what?! although one of my friends that these went to is potterific the other is not so i decided to keep them neutral. i think they came out pretty cute. i wish i had some more hooter ribbon to make one for myself! dang :0)

Hooter Pants

2010-12-29T05:02:00.000-08:00

yup..there they are my fancy hooter pants. :0D. just completed this evening. i used pattern "stitch n save Pattern #3006" in the small and you can read my pattern review and notes over here in this post on my muggle blog. Below is a better pic of the super warm flannel fabric. ok these aren't EXACTLY potterish but i kinda clump all owl crafts over here cause the only reason i give a hoot about owls is cause there are so many spectacular owls in the potter series. hope you like these :0D

Butterbeer Cupcakes!

2010-12-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

a friend of mine found this through stumble upon today and shared it with me. they look and sound DELICIOUS!!! Butterbeer cupcakes. the pic was totally stolen from her blog because you HAD to see them to truly appreciate this. *drools* oh yes...that IS butterscotch drizzle....yes it is.

ooohhhh he's an ANGRY owl

2010-11-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

"well thats too bad. you're gonna see it now"

2010-11-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

I Am Harry Potter from Daniel Radcliffe

Tortise to a teapot!

2010-10-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

*swish and flick* well that didnt turn out the way id planned! but at least its properly gryffindor colored.

this was an assignment a bazillion years ago for some class in some harry potter swap that i was in. i dont know how i never posted about it but ive been using this little guy as a pin cushion for ages. hes actually the first amigurumi i ever made with an armature (of pipe cleaners) on the inside so hes fully pose-able! i used redheart yarn which has been nice and hard wearing even though ive been jabbing pins in it :0)

this is where i got the pattern from and you can que it here on ravelry. great clear instructions and lots of pix in the pattern so its easy to follow. this thing had a ton of pieces to sew together but i really love how it turned out. i will say that if i made another one id use something sturdier for the armature next time.

goblet of fire read-a-long

2010-09-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

my thoughts for this portion of the read a long at the hogwarts little bit of everything swap

1) trelawney makes a “prediction” when they are doing planets that harry was born in the winter (or something like that) and he says “no actullay i was born in july” #1 if hes so famous why doesnt she know his bday. #2 if shes going to throw something like that out there dont you think shed research it a bit and #3 SHES the one that made the prediction that a baby born injuly would defeet the dark lord! how could she possibly guess that wrong.

2)if you arent ever supposed to trust something if you cant see where it keeps its brain (as per mr. weasly) why do they trust the sorting hat and the goblet of fire? both of those things “think.”

3) i forgot how different and humble looking the GOF and its case were described in the books as opposed to how they look in the movie. in the book its just a wooden carved goblet. thoughts on why JKR chose to describe it in this fashion as opposed to the fancy glass chalice they use in the movie?

4) if the placing of the name in the GOF constitutes a magicly binding contract that you cant back out of. why? like what happens to you if you just go yeeeaaaaah, im not gonna do it after all? and harry didnt even put his name in the goblet! someone else cant sign a contract for you and have it be binding. why can someone else put your name in and have it be?

Movie 7- part one trailer

2010-09-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

despite my very best efforts to go on media black out for this movie, i have failed. i have been unable to resist the power of this preview for only a few days. i have a few things to say about it. im sure you are shocked. you pren?! a few things to say!? how unlike you. :0)

#1) it looks AMAAAAAZING!!!! gave me chills

#2) hermione looks great in red and her crazy camping hair is perfect!

#3) why does dobby look weird. they couldnt use the same computer model they did before?! its not like hes a real actor that died and they had to replace him. he is made in a computer for crying out loud. there is NO reason fro him to look different! i hate it when they do this in series. like it really upset me that with the new dirrector in movie 3 they rearranged the grounds. also the floo network look changed from movie to movie. well not the network but sirius speaing to harry through it. head in the fire bit. if a standard has been set in previous movies (een though you think the new way is better) i kinda feel like you just need to stick with it for continuity sake.

#4) i thought they were going to not shoot bill and fleurs wedding! but they did! and yay! and that part is going to be fantastic! i wonder if there was just way too much outrage from the potter fans so they decided to keep it?

Oprah

2010-09-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

i just submitted my for to be on the Oprah Show about being a huge Harry Potter fan!!! Omg could i die happy or what if i got picked!!?? i told them about al lmy crafties and about how the online community is a rocking force. i have made so many friends. i also told them that people may think its strange for grown men and women to be so enthused about HP but that i dont really see how its any different from people who like to go to car shows or watch football. its just something else to love about life. everyones passions are different and that as long as you are a nice person that has enthusiasm for SOMETHING in your life then you are good with me. now i need to think about something to wear when Oprah calls. yes i am sure that she picks up the phone and calls the people to be on her show herself :0D im thinking this *points down* do you think its too dressy for the Oprah Show?

look at your man, now look at me....

2010-08-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

Inked, but not with the dark mark!

2010-08-24T08:59:00.001-07:00

So ive talked about my friends getting inked here before and i know enough people that show their fandom permanently to almost have a tag for it at this point. ill add a few more posts about it before i add the tag i suppose. but anyhow my pal marissa just got some new tats that areHP themed (obviously or why would i be sharing it here. der) she got the harry potter stars on her shoulders and i dont think this tattoo could be much cuter. plus shes just stinkin adorable anyhow.

Happy birthday harry

2010-08-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

well about a year ago over at starknuts one of the owners of the shop (hermione_jean) started posting a monthly pattern for a crochet block and one for a knit block. the idea was to have 12- 12 inch blocks that you could put together in time for harrys birthday the NEXT year. i was so busy with moving and all that that i never started them. but i have finialy and maybe ill have it done in time for his NEXT birthday :0) ill share the blocks as i finish a set of them.

i want a queen sized blanket when im done. its going to be a hogwarts house unity blanket and here is my sketch for how im wanting it to turn out.the first block (july) was called the birthday flower. if you click that link it takes you to a page where there is another link and thats for an instant pdf download of the pattern. as far as i know there isnt a blog or website where you can view it with out downloading it.

patronus gear

2010-07-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

as im sure ive rambled on before. the beaver is my patronus. why? because they are busy and crafty. i mean common people they build their own houses! and they are big and squeezy lookin and cute! they are the animal second only to humans that have the power to change the environment they live in so extremely. and i have to tell you they arent on very many products. so when i see somethin with a cute beaver on it i feel the need to share. check out this adorable water bottle! its good to drink water (although me no likey) and its also good not to drink it from a plastic bottle you throw away! go here to see more about it but in the mean time enjoy the photo.
Edited to add: my friend erin got this for me for my birthday and i have been drinking more water than ever before. i LURVE it. and it makes the water taste better than normal. kinda metally. i like that :0)

goblet of fire chapters 1-6

2010-07-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

its soooooo quiet? have you been enjoying the silence? TOO BAD! hahaha a new term is on at the hogwarts little bit of everything swap and that usually means im a bit chattyier around here. i am NOT swapping this term just being the headmistress. trust me thats plenty :0) but i am having fun. this term we decided to start a read a long for the book we are in. which would be term 4 = book 4. duh. madame pince has assigned 6 chapters to get through every 2 weeks. not undoable i think. i am listening to them in the car again. it was really hard to stop listening at chaper 6 i have to say :0)

ok so i have 2 PAGES of notes on stuff i wanted to talk about that are in the first 6 chapters. for now ill just make a list. respond to what you have opinions on:

1) i LOVE the phrase (speaking of the riddles by the coroners "were in perfect health apart form the fact that they were dead"
2) i never noticed but they said that "the wealthy man that owned the riddle house" didnt live there but paid frank to keep up the garden for all of those years. i never thought about it but i bet that wealthy man was voldy. do you think he kept the gardener on because he felt guilty in some way for letting him take the fall for the murders? he could have just let him go and let the house go too. he let the house fall into total disrepair. it doesnt make sense that hed care what the gardens looked like. does it? also he never would have killed him i dont think if frank hadnt seen them.
3) i thought "milking a snake" was when you squeezed their little fangs (or huge ones in naginis case) into a bottle to collect the poison? but voldy is talking about eatting it. so does he eat poison for sustinance?
4) what DO you think Dumbledore does on the breaks from hogwarts?
5) can ANY bird deliver mail? sirius is using large tropical birds in these chapters. if the package was small enough could you have a mail delivery canary?
6) what the hell does bill do at the bank where they would hire him looking like that?! i doubt its THAT different for wizards. hes still in a financial institution and hed have to look professional wouldnt he? although hes not a teller there. ha! can you imagine? so do they say exactly what he does there at some point in the series? i cant remember.

Term 3 SENT Gifties!!!

2010-04-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

so you all saw what i got this term in the hogwarts little bit of everything swap here. now that my pal has her presents i wanted to share what i made for her. i had so much fun making this package.

the main item this term was a scarf so lets start there. i used a pattern from This Book the pattern was called moorish medalions and you were supposed to knit a scarf in stockingette stitch and then use duplicate stitch to add the medalion pattern to the entire length of the scarf. my pal was Cymophane M. Stonechat and she doesnt have an overly frilly sense of style. so i thought putting the medallions the whaole way down was a bit much. i kept it just to the ends. she also lives in Scotland! so it gets really really cold there. the pattern called for just a singel thickness of knitting and then lining it in a fabric. i didnt think that was warm enough. so i went ahead and just made a 5 foot long tube instead! and then the fringe holds it shut on the ends. it took quite a bit longer then i thought it would but that makes sense because there were TWICE as many stitches! hahaha. i love duplicate stitch now. its kind of like getting my cross stitch fix on a yarny item. i call that i two-fer.other stuff in the package is a bracelet that i made by making bead sets and shrinky dink ravenclaw crests and attatching them onto a piece of chain. i think it came out nice. not too blingy.
i also made some push pins that have the book covers on the ends of them. fun huh?! those are another shirnky dink craft. god i love those things!
stitch markers of course
heres the whole kit and caboodle. i included a few magazines and a pattern for a pretty cowl that has trees on it like the forbidden forest. i also sent bar-b-que sause cause you are supposed to include something from your local area and kansas city is famous for bar-b-que. and a box of my favorite tea and a small knitting bag.

HOUSE HDC Beanie

2010-03-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

HOUSE HDC Beannie

Materials:
* worsted weight yarn (185 yards) I used I love this yarn in “Black Sparkle” and "yellow"
* K hook
* Pom pom maker
* Scissors
* Stitch marker for marking the beginning of the round

Key & Notes:

* HDC- Half Double Crochet
* FPHDC- Front Post Half Double Crochet
* BPHDC- Back Post Half Double Crochet
* ST- Stitch
* REP- Repeat
* Just keep working in a spiral. To start each round just start. DO NOT slip ST and ch 1
* Pay attention in the 4^th round. That is written correctly. I liked the way it made the top of the hat look to do it in this count rather than the traditional. But really you can get to a total of 56 stitches any way you like and then continue from there :0)
* For stripe pattern-use main house color for 3 rounds and secondary color for one round throughout the body of the hat.

Directions:

* Make 10 HDC in a loop (use the magic loop method or chain a few and join into a loop)- 10 ST
* Make 2 HDC in each ST around- 20 ST
* Make 1 HDC in the next ST and 2 HDC in the ST after that. REP for the round- 30 ST
* Make 1 HDC in the next 3 ST and 2 HDC in the ST after that. REP for the round- 37 ST
* Make 1 HDC in the next 3 ST and 2 HDC in the ST after that. REP for the round- 46 ST
* Make 1 HDC in the next 4 ST and 2 HDC in the ST after that. REP for the round- 55 ST
* Make 2 HDC in the first ST and 1 HDC in every ST for the rest of the round- 56 ST
* Make 1 HDC per ST for the next 16 rounds (or about as long as you want your hat. The ribbing will fold up so get your ears all covered and everything in this stage :0)
* Now working through the back loop make 1 HDC in each stitch around (this makes the ribbing fold over easier. So if you like one side of your hat better than the other it can fold to the other side by working through the front loop for this round.) in your last round change to your secondary house color and continue in that color for the remainder of the hat
* Now make 1 FPDC in the next 2 ST and 1 BPDC in the 2 ST after that. REP for the next 6 rounds
* Weave in all your ends.
* Make a Pom Pom anyway you like or leave it off. I like to use a pom pom maker. Its an awesome lil plastic contraption that I think every crocheter needs hahaha.
* Tie you Pom Pom onto the top and you are DONE! Good Job! Your hat looks great!

I hope you liked this pattern.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me and ill try to help out :0) also if you would like to download it as a word document you can go here . as per ushe:

This pattern belongs to me Pren Wilcox. Please don’t replicate it to sell. I offer it for free cause craftin is AWESOME!I took my inspiration for the harry potter series by J K Rowling because I am a huge fan and this is fan art meant to show my appreciation.

Term 3 Received Gifties!!!

2010-03-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share the fantastic package i received a while back. i was going to wait and do a "gave and got" post for the Hogwarts Little Bit of Everything Swap but it would appear that what i am giving is taking an age longer than i thought to finish (not that im not enjoying making it cause i am. its just taking a bit). so i thought if i waited one more minute to post these pix id just be the rudest swap pal in all of history. (just for the record i already did thank her but it never hurts to sing the praises of a fabulous swap pal publicly :0). THANK YOU CLARA!!!

ok onto the pix! first the whole kit and kaboodle!there is a little 3 pack of english teas (which all taste delicious) a little catnip mouse for kally, some materials for places to visit in and around her hometown (made me want to jump on a plane STAT), a little bag for small knitting projects (i am already using it for some wash cloths i am crocheting. it fit 3 balls of cottong yarn and quite a few notions), some sherbert lemons (just like dumbledore liked), some GORGEOUS local yarn, a pretty little notebook and last but not least that stunning scarf! what a haul huh?!ok here are some close ups of the scarf. it is perfect for spring weather around here. its still rainy and kinda cold but my normal big and long scarves are way too much. i love this and wahat a gorgeous gryffindor red huh?

Here are some close ups of the yarn cause its totally drool worthy!! i have already started thinking about what to make with it but.....ugh.....so many good choices. it doesnt list what weight the yarn is but id say its a thickish sock weight yarn.

so whatdaya think? are you just totally jealous!? i would be if i was you. hahaha. thanks again clara this package is GREAT!

STROKE OUT!!!!

2010-03-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

omgomgomgomgomg. i WON! i am leaky cauldrons featured crafter of the month for march!....*is gobsmacked* you can find my page over here on the leaky cauldron. my video interview should be up shortly but for now ill embed it here too.

Won Won Swap what i got

2010-02-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

okidoki. found a little more time and here we go with part two. you can find what i sent for this swap here. first off i opened the box to a cute little valentine shaped doily with a note on it. cute.

and here are the wonderful goodies that were inside. CANDY!!!! EEEEE!!! a chocolate frog with a snape card in it (i didnt have that one yet either. woo!), bertiebots every flavor beans (know what they all look like at this point and avoid the really gross ones. although i kinda like pepper and grass. haha. not together though cause THAT would be gross. but a sardine one totally tricked me and yucked me out!), and droobles best blowing gum now makes a littl ebag of cotton candy. it dies your mouth blue! so that was fun. There was also skull iron ons (that will go on my next set of knitting bags i am sure) and a heart wand. crown cookie cutters and these awesome X's and O's pencils. she knit the hearts and glued them onto the tops of valentines pencils. great idea!this is a better picture of the gorgeous crochet bookmarker she made me. ive been using it in my new Alice in Wonderland book.you can see here the awesome crochet earrings. i love hearts anyhow and they are in gryffindor colors. even more spectacular. love the beading!Down here you can see the set of Won Won stitchmarkers she made. she uses pretty much the same technique i do and she painted the backs of the shrinkydinks with fingernail poilsh for extra pizazz! the whoe set of these is already in use. you can click these pix to make them bigger. i also love how she did some squar and some round. it really helps when marking different parts of a pattern to have them look different.

this whole swap was supposed to be put together for $10 or less and i told her there is no way she did all that for ten bucks and scolded her but she said yes she did. can you believe it!? what a lucky goil i am. thank you thank you sooooo much jenn!! *squishes*

Won Won Swap what i made

2010-02-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

over at Starknuts we had a valenties day swap called the Won Won swap because as you remember Lavender Brown was calling Ron "Won Won" when they were dating and it just sickened all their friends. well we love Ron Weasley too and wanted to celebrate that! i sent my package to ladyoflosttimes (Francine L.) and heres what i sent:

Heart coasters with her and rons initals on them and a pattern for these as well. i got this pattern out of crochet today winter issue. GOD i love that magazine! this pattern worked up great, as all of there's do and if you wanna que it you can find it here on ravelry. and heres my project page over there too. i crocheted them as described in the pattern and embroidered the initals on. then i glued felt on the back for added tabletop protection and so that it would cover up my stitching :0)

i made a set of ron stitch markers too. she crochets so i made them with the lever back earrings. you can find my tutorial for how to make some of your own here.

i also included some hand made envelopes in the package. i used pages out of my old date book that had pix of Ron. i used jennifers tutorial here but i downloaded a envelope template that was small enough for the paper i was starting with. she starts with a wall calendar in her tutorial so the template was a bit big. this is a great way to recycle an old calendar if you arent putting it in the recycling bin..and why would you now that you know about this!? haha

oh im out of time for now so ill post what i received tomorrow. you should be waiting with bated breath cause its awesome! oh and you can click any of the pix you wanna see bigger.

I GOT A SURPRIZE OWL!

2010-02-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

someone secretly RAOK's me in the Hogwarts little bit of everything swap! it was so sweet of you dearest sylpha! i am eating a piece of the delicious chocolate right now with my coffee and its really good! i know you said it was for end of term de-stressing but i want it NOW! hahaha. hope you dont mind :0D
whats in the lil pretty box you ask? well let me tell ya. the cutest earrings! thats what. arent they sweet!? i think i can even get away with wearing these ones to work! as it is ive been wearing them all day and they are the perfect degree of dangly! i feel pretty.

moody hahaha

2010-02-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

omg! what an honor!

2010-02-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

i have been nominated for the leaky cauldrons crafter of the month! can you believe it? i am super excited! go check it out here. i am up against lezlishae. she is just so awesome too and what a great creative mind in general but shes rocked out some super sweet harry potter stuff so who knows which way this will go. wish me luck!

time for a little pre-term lol

2009-12-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

yup another term is about to begin over at the "Hogwarts Little Bit of Everything Swap or HBLOES cause that is just too much to type out all term. signups are going on untill the thirtieth so if you havent joined and want to come to a term at hogwarts find the button in my sidebar that says HLBOES with a wizard and click that it will take you straight to the foyer of our school. ooohhhh its like a scavenger hunt post hahaha. its held at ravelry so you do have to be signed up there to play but this term is going to be really fantastic i think. the item we are making is scarves! cool huh?! ok so now for a funny just becuase.hope you join us in the halls of hogwwarts soon!

Wizard Money Converter

2009-12-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

*origionally posted on april 1st 09*
oh my gosh you guys! i randomly found this today! its a money converter, but it changes muggle dollars into sickles and knuts and stuff! so if you want to know how much your lunch would have cost you in wizard money you just put in the dollar amount and it tells you! hahahaha. AWESOME! enjoy

*note* thought id repost this today because i noticed that the old link to CNN was broken. i found another convertere on the Harry Potter Lexicon. this one works a bit differently but still does the same job. put you the cost of your morning coffee (or whatever) in where is says "muggle money" and above that it will tell you how much it costs in wisard money :0D

Got to meet another swap pal!

2009-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Donetta is smileynetta over at ravelry and i met her through the "hogwarts sock kit swap" about a year ago. She lives in Italy with her hubby who is in the military. i never ever thought id get the chance to meet her in real life but maaaaaaan did i ever get excited when i got a mesage from her saying she was going to be in the states over thanksgiving. and not just the states OKLAHOMA! and NOT JUST OKLAHOMA...TULSA!!!!! are you kidding me!? IM going to be in tulsa over thanksgiving!

so of course we met up for morning coffee and went to my favorite tulsa yarn store "loops" it was just fantastic. we only got to visit for a few hours but i am sooooo sad she had to go. i wish she lived in my city. wed be fast friends for sure.

i have been so lucky this year to get to meet so many of my online friends in real life. they have all been fantastic. i am blessed. i am thankful for meeting and knowing (online and in real life) sooooo many wonderful, kind, thoughtful people.

she was a shutter bug too so im sure ill have more pix to add to this album soon but here are the few other pix of our day.

this is just good sound advise

2009-11-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hogwarts Robes Dress Diary

2009-11-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

i have been asked quite a few times this year for the information on how i made these hogwarts robes for me and my friends (i didnt make the ravenclaw one. michelle did. and alan made his own wizard garb from the same pattern too. i DID make a hufflepuff one but poor christy bean was preggers and barfing her guts out and couldnt get on the plane to come to the movie. she was sooooooo sad). i figured id put together a quick dress diary about them for you all.

firstly i was trying to replicate these robes from Prizoner of Azkaban. i was also trying not to break the bank making them :0) (when all was said and done they each cost about $60 bucks i think)

So these robes have big old bell sleeves and pointed full hoods. they are fully lined in the houses main color and have a frog closure to hold them shut. they also have the patch over the left chest area.So as you can see ours have the same features as the movie robes. and heres how i made them. i started with pattern 9887 by simplicity. obviously i used the black robe in the bottom left version. my frogs came from joanns but you can also find them in every sewing store. i think i used the 3 inchers.

i got my patches from patch geeks.

As to fabric it took 10 yards of black and 10 yards of color to make these robes. i bought the fabric in the garment district in Los Angeles. it was about 2 bucks a yard maybe 2.50 because i was buying in such bulk from one store. i think the per yard price was 4.50 on the roll but you gotta wheel and deal down there! i used a heavy weight poly/cotton so they would be machine washable but alas. i didnt actually have time to wash the fabric before the movie so the are NOT machine washable. well maybe washable but definatley not dryable or bad bad things will happen. the movie robes are probably wool but this was summer in los angeles. i wasnt using wool. and that would have been a zillion bucks to buy.

there are no directions in this pattern for lining this garment so heres how i did it. i cut the pattern out of both fabrics and then sewed the entire black part of the robe together as instructed in the pattern. i applied the patch by ironing it on so it would stay still then i went around the whole outside of the patch with a zig zag stitch that was open so it looked like v's not tight like satin stitch. you cant even see it though cause i set the stitch width to be the same as the satin stitching that is on the patch already. i just wanted to make sure it would hold well.

then i sewed the whole body of the lining including attaching the hood out of the colored fabric. i sewed the straight seams on the sleeves next. i DID NOT attach the colored sleeve to the colored body yet. no no. then i pinned the sleeve and sleeve lining together at the wrist opening right sides together. sewed around the wrist opening and turned the lining the to the inside where it belongs and ironed that seam so it was crispy. i repeated the process for the body/ hood area. sewing all the edges except the hem area and shoulder seam area.

i then sewed the lining shoulder seam area to the lining body shoulder seam area. i just pinned them and sewed wrong sides together being really carefull not to catch any of the black fabric in there while i was at it. this meant that i had the wrong side of the seam showing on the right side of my fabric. yup the seam was all jaggedy and hideous in the inside so i just trimmed it down and zig zaged over the raw edges. good enough for me. nobody is ever gonna see that seam anyhow and it was about a million times easier than trying to hand sew shut the wrist opening. which would have been the "right" way to make this garment.

to finish off i top stitched all the edges about 1/2 inch from the edge. i had black thread in the needle and matching thread to the lining in the bobbin. i attached the frog by machine as well. i just did a satin stitch over the apex of each loop and over the straight part where the joining loop and bead attach. again if i was doing it "right" id have put it on by hand so the stitching wasnt showing on the inside but this was easier and in my opinion more secure. i hung the robes on a hanger and cut off the extra fabric and there was quite a bit of that. they give you A LOT of leeway on the hem in this pattern. so i measured from the mid shoulder of each person to just above the floor and thats the length i chopped off the robes at. well 2 inches longer than that measurement actually. i folded the bottom edge up 2 inches on both edges pinned and ironed it. i then top stitched that edge as well 1/2 inch from the edge and again 1/4 inch from the edge. and thats how i hemmed it.
TADA! thats it. thats how i made these robes. i hope you liked this dress diary and find it helpfull. please feel free to ask any other questions you might have. and have fun making your own hogwarts robes!

Little Bit of Everything Swap Goodies!

2009-11-24T06:41:00.001-08:00

another term has come and gone at the hogwarts little bit of everything swap. i wasnted to share the beautiful package i got with you all and also what i sent. my spoiler was Bebe Bluestocking. as an added note we were co-deputy headmistresses too! She sent me the most luxurious package i have ever received. it didnt have the most items in it but each item was super special. ya know? first off a pic of the whole kit.this term was gloves so you can see my gloves there. a ginormous ball of beautiful burgundy yarn that i will have to save for something really special. Some wooden DPNS in size 8 and a bar of soap that smells so good it fragranced my whole living room while i was taking this picture!

bebe, these are definatley the fanciest gloves i own! i love love them! i feel like i should save them to wear to the opera or something. hahaha. but since i never go to the opera i will just have to wear them out on the town. she made up the pattern herself people! look at the beaded cable on the front and the palm side has its own pattern too. these are gorgeous in gryffindor read and gold.heres a close up of the soap too. Even though its just white and smooth i feel like thats almost too pretty to use too but i cant wait to get in the tub with it.

Here is what i sent. my Spoilee was Iduna jinx who also happens to be my RL cousin! cool huh. Shes a hufflepuff through and through. and shes pretty new to crochet and knitting so i wanted to give her some goddies she might not have but probably will need at some point. and heres what i made for her.

Two project bags a small one and a big one, gloves, a pin and blood pops, a hook roll up, stitch markers for crochet and a row counter that you can clip on your bag instead of wearing.

Since gloves were the theme lets start there. i made these from the H is for hufflepuff. here it is on the web and here it is on ravelry. i love love the way these came out. this pattern was fantastic! i did take out a few stitches to start (4 i think) because they were enormous! but i was using red heart and she made hers with caron simply soft and we all know abotu that stuff).

Here are the knitting bags, the big one i sewed in the same fashion that i do all my progext bags and the H was cut in 3 pieces and appliquied on with a satin stitch all the way around. the smaller bag will fit a project like socks or gloves and its yarn and hooks in it. this of course was made from jennifer ofensteins pattern which you can find here on the web or here on ravelry.

the stitch markers i made using this technique. i did a tutorial for how to make these for yall so please try it out and let me know how you like it. the huffie crests were made on printable shrinky dink plastic as per ushe.

Indeed!

2009-11-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

our demises must be nigh.

2009-11-07T13:34:00.001-08:00

HOOTERS!!!!!

2009-11-03T09:58:00.002-08:00

omg, yall have to check out the cutest owl blog EVAAAAR! its called myowlbarn.com she features owl items for sale on different sites. and they are all soooooooooo cute. even her blog design is adorable! i mean common look at her rss button for crying out loud!

yup i screen capped that. hope she doesnt mind, i just want to lure you to the awesomeness that is her blog. you know you need some hooters for your next HP package. fill out your owl post office with some owls from her owl barn!

my pumpkin!

2009-10-22T08:35:00.002-07:00

well one of them :0) i freehanded this design. just stabbed right in there and got going. i think it came out pretty good.

stitch marker tute

2009-10-19T20:54:00.002-07:00

so i did a stitch marker tute over on my other blog. im sharing it because it features two sets of stitch markers that i made for some swaps this year. the pix of those are below but if you wanna see the tute for how to make them or download a copy of the tute head over here.

this owl is breakin it down!

2009-10-11T15:27:00.002-07:00

as stolen from clara clovenhoof!

New Challenge at starknuts

2009-10-05T08:27:00.002-07:00

hey everybody! as you may or may not know i am one of the proprietresses at a coffee/ yarn store in diagon alley called Starknuts. The other shop owners and i would really like it if youd stop by our store for a cup of joe (which is enchanted to stay hot no matter how long it takes you to drink it) and maybe become a regular customer if you like what you see i the store there :0) check out our profile here to see what we are all about.

Every month we have a FREE PATTERN CHALLENGE. in which you make an item from one of the free patterns found on the web that i list and share it with the shop. once you do that you are entered in a drawing for a prize! who doesnt like prizes right?!

We are also currently running a year long knit a long/ crochet a long and all kinds of other fun stuff.

heres a link to this months challenge so you can check it out (its a little more open to interpretation than most months so it should be extra fun to see what everyone makes)

please become a fan of my friend

2009-10-02T20:06:00.002-07:00

howdy yall! its been a bit. my super talented friend is trying to get a paper piecing quilt book published. she is one of the most generous people i know and a creative and inspiring crafter not just a quilt artist. she shares many of her craft patterns and quilt patterns for free! tons of them are hp and can be found here on her blog under the "paper piecing" tab at the top. aparently you need to have fans before you can get a book published now so if you all who are face bookers would go and become her fan it would really really help her. heres what she has to say about it copied straight from her live journal.

"Okay people, if it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a community to get a book published.
So, new tact.
I need fans. Countable ones.
This is the weirdest and possibly most embarrassing thing I have ever asked.
Can you fan me on Facebook?
*blushes furiously*
This has nothing to do with the size of my head, I PROMISE. This is about getting my work noticed and getting it into the hands of a publisher.
Good grief this is more embarrassing than I thought it would be.
I'm going to hide now..."here is a quilt she made and it has gotten a lot of recognition. she not only made it she designed all the patterns and alot of them are available for your use for free too! now its time to share the crafty love. shes been giveing to us as a harry potter crafting comunity now its your turn to give back go fan her! what are you waiting for :0D

ps. totally stole this image off her blog if its not ok jennifer just let me know and ill take it down. i just wanted people to see your handy work.

ha! hes in KNOCKTURN alley!

2009-09-18T21:51:00.002-07:00

showin' off Hogwarts kit Swap 8

2009-09-03T19:40:00.002-07:00

what i made and what i got in the hogwarts sock kit swap. this term was summer camp and we had all kinds of kits! it was so fun to make a kit centered around knitting or crochet but with all kinds ofdiffernt themes like beads or lace.

first off heres the AMAZING package that i got:

from andromeda (girlywithatwist on ravelry). it is just amazing and i wish it would have been sent in time to be in the running for best kits cause i think it woulda been in the top few for sure ok heres pix and descriptions. remember you can click on the pix to see them begger if you want to.:

the whole kit. 4 skeins of yarn, bath sachets that smell amazing and relaxing which is cool cause im streesin about the move, stitchmarkers, earrings, a pattern for the gryffindor bag (along with all the other house charts too!), doube point needle protectors ( a tool i dont have yet and am excited to try), a hand knit pouch, and two fat quarters in gryffindor colors that are totally gonna be my next knitting bag creation!

herer are the hand made earringas and stitch markers. arent they gorgeous!!!!?? i have to know where she got the jump rings in such a huge size! they fit up to a size 13 needles! yay!

this is the yarn. the kettle dye from knit picks. i have really been wanting to try this yarn out. you cant tell from the pic the amazing variations one color has but it is just lovely!heres the pouch that had turned into my makeup bag already. it was full of candy!!!! i heart candy.

ok here is what i made:

i really cant even tell you how much fun i had making this. my buddy (cassandra crimsonchin) was in the hinkypunk cabin. their colors were blue and silver so i went with cabin colors instead of house colors since this was kind of a special swap i wanted to commemorate that.cassandra was charms so, anything beaded in other words. i sent her a kit to make her own stitch markers. she got: yarn in silver mohair, wire, beadding tools, a box full of beads in hogwarts colors and findings to make stitch markers, a bag to store it all in, blood pops. a tutaorial to make stitch markers and a bag to keep it all in.so for the bag i pieced two fabrics together and added an iron on jewel owl that i got from draginsinger.part of the fun of making these kits is making labels and things that fir the theme for me. this is the bead box. it had little vials init for all the beads and charms (i made house bade charms out of printable shrinlydinks)here are the stitch markers i made for her as an example of what the end product would be from the tutorial i made and sent. there are hinky pinks on the shrinky dink charms there. the tutorial will be posted on convivial crafter any day now when i get a free minute but i had to share the awesomeness of the kit i got with you all.

thanks soooooo much andromeda! i love everything! oh and i ate my snake tonight. yum yum!

holy crafty batman!

2009-08-22T11:50:00.002-07:00

check out this email that i got from my friend linda today! we met over at harry potter crafts on yahoo groups and we keep in touch via email. i have met some very tallented people online and to all of you i say thanks you for sharing inspiration with me so freequently. anyhow if this doesnt knock your socks off then i dont know what will. she got the HP Clue game and spruced it up. first a pick of how the game comes from the store over there on the left. and now. her email to me copied directly to here. she talks about what she did and how she did it. and all those pix at the bottom are hers too. click on any you want to see bigger.

"Matt had gotten me the Harry Potter Clue game for Christmas. We never got around to playing it until summer vacation. I was a little disappointed in some of the game pieces and when you packed up the game, you just dumped everything back in the box. The thing that really got me though, was the plain old typical "Clue" envelope that you put the cards in for the answers. You have to put them in the center square "Dumbledore's Office" It screamed for a parchment envelope with a seal addressed to Dumbledore. Well, that got me started. I hated the playing pieces too. You could choose from Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny or Luna but the pieces were clear plastic with a question mark on it. Blahhhhh.Anyway this is what I came up with.

I also needed a trunk to put them all in and I found the right size and shape so I just added the needed parts to make it Harry :0) Making the wood supports were a royal pain as was the pieces that protect the corners.

The book that says "Hogwarts A Mystery" holds all of the cards and dice. The book is wood and opens at the spine. A drawer pulls out. I put dividers in the book and added a hinged door to cover the top of the drawer so the pieces wouldn't fall out.

I added a compartment to the trunk in the bottom for the game board to fit in (the board folds up into a smaller square). Then I have a covered board that goes on top and all of the other boxes (which I had to make too, ( Couldn't find any the sizes I needed) sit on top of. I was also disappointed that they didn't include any pencils with the game so, I made quills out of feathers and attached a green ink refill to them so that you could write with them. I made the box from Skrivenshafts.
Also, the game didn't come with any boards to put the papers with the listed suspects on so that it would be easier to write. I made "books" each one with a different school book title. They open up and you put the suspect list in it. They hold on by corner triangles that are in the books. "
seriously people! can you believe this amazing project!? i am blown away! bravo linda! *claps furiously*

i made a lolcat!

2009-08-20T10:16:00.002-07:00

Hagrids Knitting Bag.

2009-08-15T17:11:00.002-07:00

ok so it isnt.its my moms. i made it today! i liked mine so much that i thought she shoudl have one too. i wanted to make it HP themed but not house colors. shes not a real big house color kinda lady even though she loves the series. so anyhow. i found this fabric in my stash and for some reasons pumpkins always remind me of hagrid. i imagine this is made from the sacks he buys his pumpkin seeds in. you know how people used to make quilts and things out of feed sacks and flour sacks back in the day? hagrid, while emotional when it comes to his creatures really is a practical sorta guy. he would definatley reduce reuse and recycle dont you think!? hahaha. without further ado...PICSPAM!

haha!

2009-08-14T09:37:00.002-07:00

see more Lol Celebs

lil somethin somethin swap

2009-08-10T21:19:00.002-07:00

hahaha. over at starknuts we had a little swap for harrys birthday. i wanted to share what i made and what i recieved.

from the wonderfull lysianna i got:

this super cute little kitty and earrings and stitch markers. i love the stitchmarkers for crochet that have the lever backs on them cause they really stay in your work till you are ready to take them out. and the earrings are soooooo pretty. here are some close ups of the two.

and heres what i gave to mkissa:
two dish cloths. the patterns can be found here (the snitch one) and here (the striped one). i gave her some corks to keep away the nargles (or to put in one of her cool cork projects). and some stitch markers. i really like these i might have to make a set for myself :0)

a bag for my owl treats.

2009-08-10T21:09:00.002-07:00

archimedes isnt a very big owl but MAAAAAAN does he eat a lot of treats! so i made this bag to hold them in. but for the time being it has a knitting project in it but im getting the evil owl eye from him so the owl treats might have to move in there pretty quickly. : 0) Rowan Dragonsinger gave me the iron on owl. its pretty cool huh?! i love what it adds to the bag. so now onto the picspam:

Marauders Map Hook Roll

2009-08-06T09:07:00.002-07:00

omg you guys have to see what i found on craftster today! this is brilliant. she gives some details about how she made it over at the link but heres a picture i ganked off her post:

lol voldy

2009-08-05T09:51:00.002-07:00

wand stuffs

2009-08-04T09:53:00.002-07:00

hey guys! check out this site. its a wand maker. not only are the wands beautiful you can read all about the different qualities of the woods and what magical properties they have and stuff. i found it really interesting. enjoy!

BAD DRACO!

2009-07-31T10:13:00.002-07:00

because i talk about my Beaubatons hat

2009-07-21T20:34:00.002-07:00

check this out!

2009-07-19T10:33:00.002-07:00

i was featured on geek crafts! cool huh! thanks lezlishae for letting me know!

Beaubatons Dress Diary 5

2009-07-16T09:59:00.002-07:00

in which i unveil my masterpiece and

talk about the movie going expierience (spoiler free dont worry)

this was quite the expierience for me. i learned soooooo much along the way i have to say. some things worked (my first stand up collar came out well) somethings didnt (the shoes flaked hideously where they bend when you walk. dont follow my technique on that one :0) but overall i am really happy with the finished product.

so onto the movie going expierience. i went to an 8:00pm showing on the 14th! yup early! it was hosted by whimsic alley.

my mom (trelawney), my cousin amy (hufflepuff), The Chad (gryffindor),and my two slytherin friends jessi and meghan came too! my mom went all out! look at those glasses and the wig! it was hilarious!!!! and guess what! SHE WON THE COSTUME CONTEST!!!!! go mom! she got "best representation of a character" it was awesome! click these pix to see them bigger.

we got to the area where the theater was at about 5 and tooled around for 3 hours. there were just waaaay too many cool costumes and people really commited to the characters. some of my favirites were luna lovegood and belatrix. you will note that luna is even missing her shoes! hahaha! and this group of french people that asked if i knew how to speak french. i said "bonjour, comment ca va?" and they thought that was pretty funny. above is my mom with a little harry and hermione (she told me she had never used her timeturner. good thing! thats a dangerous item for a child to be in charge of!)

at first we hung out in the book store coffee shop and waited around for the Wizard Rock Band The Remus Lupins to come on. they were actually pretty good live. which kind of surprised me (im not sure why that surprized me but it did). they actually sound better live. we listened to them for a bit and then we went and hear Melissa Anelli read from her book Harry a History. it was so awesome to hear how Harry Potter Changed her life. like litterally. she went from a job she hated to one she loved! and her storied about getting to meet daniel radcliff and JK rowling were too funny. shes a squirelly fan girl too! and then she signed our books!

overall the whole expierience was amazing! i just had the greatest time ever! and if you want to see the rest of my pictures from that night you can go here. im sure more photos will be added to that album as i steal them from my friends.

Beauxbatons Dress Diary 4

2009-07-13T21:18:00.002-07:00

Shoes and Hat!

the shoes came out fantastic! i want to wear them to work! hahaha. im not sure how hard wearing they will be though because i just used acrylic paint and spray on top coat for the shiney factor. i thought they made special paints for shoes that you could buy at joanns or michaels. a few years ago i used it to make red boots for a sailor moon costume, but i couldnt find that stuff anywhere! ugh so i hope the acrylic paint doesnt get all cracky. anyhow... here are the shoes i started with:

they were only $6 at ross. and i have actually worn them quite a bit to work and stuff (even though i bought them special for this costume but they were too cute not to wear out a bit since i have had them for months) anyhow i wiped them down to get off any dirt. i used acrylic paint and a brush. i tried to paint all in the same direction to keep it smooth. and i wiggled the brush down towards the seams to really get in there. i applied two coats of the acrylic.

so i used trash bags all taped together to make a spraying area. and good thing i did too! i was just going to hold them inside of a box but i underestimaed the mess of spray on gloss coat! im glad i went to the trouble and saved myself a big mess. i am sure you should really do this outside but we live near the beach and it was so dang windy the spray would have gone EVRYWHERE!

here is what they look like before and after two coats of shiney has been applied. you can see the difference better if you click the pictures to make them bigger:

ok onto the hat. ugh. this process. im not even really happy with the way it turned out i have to say and it cost a FORTUNE!

Hat shaper with shipping - $46
Roving- $15

Window Shade- $9

Starch- $4
Bias Tape- $3

Wire- $2
Bubble Wrap- $8
Grand total - $87.00

oh my god! i hadnt even done the math till then. *i think i having a stroke* before i bought the hat shaper i thought i would use a styrofoam ball sawed in half that was the side of my head and then another smaller ball for the bulb on top. kinda sand them down till they blended and cober the whole thing in plastic wrap. i think this would have worked just as well now that i have used the hat shaper. but the hat shaper was gauranteed to be exactly the shape i wanted so i went with that. they recomend a bamboo shade but i couldnt find one for under a bazillion dollars (ok like 20 but still!) i did find a plastic shade and cut it to size. it started out 32"x72" and i left the bottom on and cut off the top (where the pull strings and window hardware are.) i cut it at about 40" and pulled off a few slats then i tied knots (carefully so the whole thing didnt come apart while i was trying to tie) on the top of each string (see picture left)

i got the information from the hat shapers website. see here there is a slide show tutorial on that page. that is what i used. what they dont tell you is that the process takes HOURS. i think i worked on my hat for about 5 hours and that didnt include the work i did after it was dry. here i am trying to get the dang roving to felt.

here i am molding it onto the form. i used some yarn to hold it at the hat band area and a pic after the soap has been washed out:

it dried over night and then i trimmed the brim. hat shapers also does not tell you that this brim will not hold the proper shape without wire. the picture of the movie hat doesnt look like it has wire on the edge but i couldnt figure out how to make it work without it. so i went to the store late last night and bought what i could find. bias (in a close color) and floral wire. i ironed the bias to the right shape and sewed it to the underside and put three pieces of floral wire in the fold (i couldnt find any wire stiff enough and long enough so i opted to just bend the floral wire and let the edges stay loose and overlap in the fold of the bias tape). then i folded the bias tape to the top side of the hat and top stitched it down. my execution was less than perfect but frankly i was out of time. i put the hat back on the form and tied a darkblue ribbon arounf the hat band area to mimic the line you see on the move hats (is the a sewing like where the top and brim are joined?) also to help it hold its shape in that area when being worn. and the only reason that im not happy with it is because the felt is not one smooth sheet. its LUMPY. waaaahhhhnnnnn! i did everything in my power to make it stay smooth and flat. i was meticulous but when it dried it lumped up. also the fact that they didnt tell me about the brim situation in the tutorial was a bit of a problem since i almost missed my chance to get the supplies i needed in time. also i would have picked a bit of a different color roving to match the bias tape a bit better. over all its ok. its just a costume after all. im just a bit of a perfectionist i suppose.

ok tomorrow is the whole outfit together and compleeted and my thoughts on the movie going expierience etc. i will not spoil anything about the movie. dont worry (although everyone i know has probably seen it already so i dont really have to worry. but id hate to ruin it for someone)

Beauxbatons Dress Diary 3

2009-07-11T22:57:00.002-07:00

another update. i finished these things a few days ago but havent had time to update. so im catching up now :0)

First the progress on the dress. besides not getting a long enough zipper it went pretty smooth and fits awesome! i am so happy. i have since put in a new zipper. i was just going to try to wing it with the short one but after having a total clostrophbic fit while chad tried to cram me into it i decided id better get a longer one. the reinserted zipper isnt as good as my first one but whatcha gonna do *shrug*.

then i started on the capelet. i know its a bit of a disjointed way to go about it but i cant help it. thats how i work :0). this is the shape i ended up with. its not really a circle. its a little longer in the back.

to hem it i used hem tape. i am thinking i should have just fully lined it. but it cam out ok. i ironed the hem tape along the edge of the capelet and pinned as i went. ironing it into the shape first really helped. and then pins...lots of pins.

then i made the collars! these are the first stand up collars i have ever put on. i am really really happy with the way this part turned out (which makes me wish that i had fully lined the bottom even more!) i used this pattern and changed the shapes of the collars to what you see above.

so for reference. here is what i am shooting for:

and here is what i ended up with:

what do you think?! im pretty satisfied. :o)

Camp Games 3

2009-07-09T16:06:00.002-07:00

in which i FAIL!

the assignment is to show a picture of what your boggart would turn into and then how you would change it to make it funny. for those that know me you know that i have a seriously debilitating phobia of bugs...all of them....yes, even the "pretty" ones. i am irrationally terrified of them all. even butterflies. i have a hatefavoritest bugs list in my head. yup. #1 on the list. grasshoppers.

they hit all of my nono's they hop, they fly, they have an exoskeleton, they make a scary noise. ugh. i am getting creeped out just talking about it. i cant even watch a bugs life because the grasshoppers are scary!

anyhow...i tried to bring myself to find a picture of a grasshopper...but i typed it in google and got a stomachache just thinking of looking at those grasshopper pictures. my boggart is too scary! i cant think of anything funny to turn it into. soooooo i fail. but i did try! does that count for anything?

Beauxbatons Dress Diary 2

2009-07-05T17:41:00.002-07:00

this one should be titled "im an idiot" ugh. so many dumb things...not enough time to tell them all but anywho. here we go. so i cut muslin out in the size 12 for the skirt (it told me to cut the size 16 by my measurements). it was still about 4 inches too big. so i adjusted it first on the dress form and then on myself (after having a mini "how to use pins" class for the hubby).
if you enlarge this pic you will see that the skirt attaches in the empire waistline area. it also is a five panel skirt pattern. luckily the pattern i picked is too :0). i cut off the point that was in the front of the pattern and shortened it a few inches. i can still lop off about a foot of skirt but i wanted to wait till i could try it on.

i picked out these buttons. you can see that fleurs are squarish but i couldnt find anylike that so i just went for the same size and color. i also tacked down the front of the bodice. where it would normally open since i am putting in a zipper. topstitching it was too obvious, but im not sure i like the way this looks either. ill put all the buttons on and see if that feels sturdy enough. since im not making buttonholes or anything im just sewing the buttons right through all layers.

ok so now onto the dumbness: most of it has to do with that fantastic collar i cut out. yeeeeaaaahh. since the dress actually isnt opening in the front i should have made the front all one piece with a slit in the back. so i sewed the while thing and attached it. then realized this wasnt going to work and took it off. i slit it up the back and seamed the back straight edge so then it looked like this. and i attached it.

so does anyone see the problem here? yup thats right. the collar needs to be set back from the front edge of the neckline. other wise when you overlap the front of the dress to fasten your buttons the collar also overlaps itself. rawr! ok so i took it off again and then realised this was good anyhow because i should have attached the zipper before the collar anyhow. gah. at this point i decided to call it quits for the day because i was getting very frusterated. i have never put on a collar or cuffs before so this is still a bit of a learning experience for me. deap cleansing breath. start again later.

Nargle Repelling Necklace Tute

2009-07-04T21:50:00.002-07:00

watch out people! nargles are EVERYWHERE! if you arent careful they will steal your stuff. it is very unpleasant to be incessantly searching for your things. i would know. i can never find anything of mine and it is because, i am sure, our house is infested with the little blighters. so in an attempt to rid the little buggers from my presence i have taken a page from luna and xenophelias's book. my very own butterbeer cork necklace.

some things you should know

#1) this is for a necklace about 18 inches long (adjust accordingly)

#2) i am in a muggle town right now and couldnt find any butterbeer so i have been downing bottle after bottle of wine just for the corks. this is an emergency people. you gotta do what you gotta do! and if that means drinking my weight in wine well then i will just have to sacrifice. (i am not sure if it will affect the effectiveness of this charm. use with caution)
#3) power tools are involved in this process if you are a total "bella swan" then get someone to help you.
#4) you can download this whole tute as a word doc from here if you want to :0)

So what does the necklace look like? here ya go!

What do you need to make it:
-A drill with a 5/32 inch bit
-3 corks (i used the rubbery ones not real cork)
-some beads (i used some 12mm fancy beads and 8/0 seed beads)
-2 crinp beads
-1 clasp set
-1 doll needle
-22 inches of beadding wire (i used flex wire -ooooor something like that it had lost the label)
-wire cutters and bead crimping tool or needlenose pliers

How to make it:

you can work from the center out if you want but i like to start on one end because once you get the clasp and crimp bead on all your stuff wont come sliding off the end. sooooo anywhoozle.

1) drill your corks. just eyeball the center of the cork on one end, and drilling slowly as you can for the first pass drill through to the other side. dont reverse the drill direction just keep it spinning and pull the cork off. start on the other end. find your hole. drill in and then pull the cork off without reversing the drill.2) put on a crimp bead and a clasp on one end. heres a good page of info about this if you dont know how to do it.
3) pile beads on for about 4.5 inches. here are how my pattern repeats went before the cork.
4) put on a cork. heres where you use the doll needle. put the end of the wire in the doll needle and feed the needle through the cork. wiggling a bit if you need to.
5) now put on about 1 3/4- 2inches of beads. heres what my pattern repeats look like between the corks.
6) put on a cork
7) do another 2 inch section
8) put on a cork
9) do another 4.5 inch section.
10) now end it with a crimp bead and the other side of the clasp. cut off the extra wire.

TADA! you are now, hopefully, nargle free!

as you can see i used blue green and white beads becuase thats what i had and liked. plus i think the books mention lunas necklace being made with blue beads. but you can use whatever colors you like. if you want the necklace longer (and usually i wear about a 16" necklace and this feels a little tight to me. i thnk caue the corks dont bend like a normal necklace) just increase your beads on the beginning and the end set to 5" or more. hope you like this tute.

as per ushe. this is fan art. i am not intending to take anything away from j.k. rowling or her books. i love them and want people t know it so i make this stuff and share it for free. dont sell my tute and ruin it for everyone ok? thanks :0D

leaky cauldron craft a long

2009-07-03T19:47:00.002-07:00

leaky is having a craft along for the movie release. go here to read all about it. i, as you know, am making a beauxbatons uniform for the first showing but for subsequent viewings i figured that i should have something fun to wear as well. so i decided to play along!frequently i am inspired by jennifer ofenstein. very frequently actually :0) and she had this tutorial on her blog. i had a tan $3 t shirt from old navy in an extra large. normally i wear a medium but i couldnt pass for 3 bucks! so its been sitting around cause it doesnt fit. this project fit the bill PERFECTLY! i also chopped off the sleeves cause this is southern california and its pretty warm here in the summer.

i stenciled S.P.E.W down the left side in gold and added jewels as the periods. you can download my stencil here as a word document if you want it. also here is a great tutorial by my friend bevin rae mooney. and here is the video that i learned to stencil from. now go make a shirt! and share it with me! there is nothing i love more than seeing wonderful crafty stuff made by my friends :0).

Beaubatons Dress Diary 1

2009-07-03T11:30:00.002-07:00

The upcoming Harry Potter Movie is soon to be released. like, way to soon. i am making a new costume for this event and i have decided that i will make the Beauxbatons Academy uniform as seen in the entry scene in Goblet of Fire. heres a pic this and all my research pix came from here:i never thought id be able to make this costume because that fabric is a very specific color and sheen. i just happened to be in joanns fabrics last fall with a 40% off coupon when i came across this fabric. i dont know what it is. something medium weight, in the bridesmaids/ prom fabrics section. GAH! could it be any more perfect?! no!
so yes, you heard me right i have had this fabric for ages and have known the release date for the HP movie for ages too but as it goes with me i waited untill two weeks before i need it to actually start this project. i must like stress. i will be splitting up my endeavors in a series of posts because i think its too much info to go all in one post. i am not a very good drafter or draper so i decided to start out with a couple of patterns. i am using simplicity 4077 (view B. im altering the shape of the colar and adding cuffs. this will be the top of the dress). also im using New Look 6507 (just the bottom half of the dress...for the bottom half of the dress).
so i started by cutting out the pieces from muslin and marking them as per the pattern. then i sewed it together and made some adjustments. i did not use the darts as marked on the pattern. i pined up the center back as snuggly as i could without making any gathers on the front.
i am going to put a hidden zipper in the back becuase thats what it looks like is going on in this picture to me. plus the dress pattern is set up for a zipper in the back already so thats handy.Then i turned my attention back to the front. here is what it looks like at this point. the armholes got pulled back when i pinned the back so i fixed that problem, and gathered under the bust. the vertical lines across the gathering line i have made indicate where most of the gathering should take place. i ended up cutting the bodice off about an inch under the gathers. i am going to have to fiddle with this bit on assembly to get it just right but i know that from clavicle to under bust for me is about 10 inches so its cut at about 11". we will see how it goes :0) and now to the collar. this pattern was a peter pan collar and i just extended the rounded point of the collar to a long point. then i added a second notch collar bit off the first. it looks like this (folded in half, as it is cut on the fold), and then here it is kind of slung on the dress form. i also extended the length of the sleeves, becuase i have big long monkey arms, but i havent tackeled the cuffs yet so more on that later im sure.

Starknuts Challenge

2009-07-02T20:45:00.002-07:00

hey yall! over in diagon alley is a little coffee shop/ yarn store that i run with some of my witch friends. its called starknuts. there is a new challenge this month and there is a potential prize in it for you if you join our little group and enter an item. go here to see what the challenge is all about. to lure you over i will show you a pic of this months fabulous prize: ooooohhhhhh.

busy beaver

2009-06-28T11:24:00.002-07:00

my patronus is a beaver. i am busy busy busy! i am industrious and i just have to keep my hands busy doing something. it seems a fitting patronus. also i hear they are quite vicious so dont giggle at my squeezy lookin patronus. he might have to save you butt from a dementor someday and then you' ll be happy i have him! :0)

remember 3 truths and a lie?

2009-06-24T08:20:00.002-07:00

if not heres a link to the post. well its time to share the lie with you all....AND IT IS...(drumroll)

#1) I DO NOT HAVE A TATTOO OF A HP CHARM BRACELET AROUND MY ANKLE!
i totally wish i had thought of it first but my friend on live journal lezlishae has one and you can see the post bout it over here. heres a pic so you can see how jealous i am that i didnt think of it first! hahaha

New Medication (only for muggles)

2009-06-24T08:16:00.002-07:00

hahaha! one of the girls in the Hogwart Sock Kit Swap -summer camp (also known as HSKS) made this and posted it in the group and i thought it was too funny not to share.

3 truths and a lie!

2009-06-18T20:36:00.002-07:00

1) i have a harry potter charm bracelet tattoed around my ankle.
2) i have been with my hubby for over 1/3 of my life.
3) i have had an actual encounter with a ghost
4) i once tried to wean myself off of swearing by substituting every cuss word with the word "ass" the attempt was unsuccesfull.

ok peeps now which ones the lie?

ha! lolharry

2009-06-18T20:29:00.002-07:00

Camp Games

2009-06-15T20:47:00.002-07:00

ooohhh there are some games going on at HSKS8 summer camp right now!

"What's in your trunk?"- List 10 items beginning with the same letter as your first name that you brought with you to camp. i am Prendolyn: i am bringing...pygmy puffs, potion bottles, pewter cauldron, purse, pepper up potion, pumpkin pasties, poptarts, parchment, portkey, pappy van winkles

"Get to know your Spoiler & Spoilee"- Go through your spoiler AND spoilee’s projects on Ravelry (I think everyone has at least 1 thing I’d hope!) and comment on or favorite something you like. This is another way to get to know them better. i would have done this anyhow cause thats toally where i start every swap! i am, however, going to share may favorite of their projects with you here too! why cause my partners are aweosme and you should bow down to their awesomeness. but how can you know about it with me showing it to you?

first off my spoilee is cassandra crimsonchin and in looking through her projects i found this: its her next step up bag. heres a link to her project page and heres a link to the pattern in case you want to make one too! or if youd rather que it on ravelry go here.

and my spoiler is Geogiana Diggory she made this super awesome pillow called the imprint pillow. its by no means her most complicated project but i just love it. i am totally team jacob! HOOOOOOWWWWLLLLL! anyhow there isnt a pattern for it for me to link but that link goes to her ravlery project page if you want to know more about how she made it :0)