Making Magic

The summer of 2007 was when I discovered the Harry Potter series after a prolonged resistence to the trendy series. However, from the second I read the first page of Philosopher's Stone,  I was fascinated by the world J.K Rowling created. Within a week I had breezed through the series and was, with all other Potter fans, anxiously awaiting the release of Deathly Hallows.

This year, when my friend told me that her daughter wanted to be Hermione for Halloween,  I was super excited. The English teacher in me was excited that this little girl has a love of reading that will only grow with time. The auntie/Potter fan in me wanted to make this experience as awesome as possible. So when my friend said that she wasn't sure what they were going to do for a wand, I immediately said, "I'm on it." (Also, just using a stick from the backyard is unacceptable!)

Here is my guide to wand-making:

Materials: imagination, suspension of disbelief, a stick, gardening wire, masking tape, paint brushes (I like using sponge brushes to apply varnish), acrylic paint, acrylic varnish, cardboard, ruler, glue or tape to affix label, optional access to a computer to print lables and a letter, optional fabric and sewing machine to make a cushion for the box.

1) Study wandlore. Consider the witch or wizard for whom you are crafting the wand. What is their personality like? What house would they be in? What are their interests?

2) Once you have chosen a wand wood and core, write a letter to the witch or wizard (on behalf of Garrick Ollivander) to explain what their wand is made of. Chloé's is applewood, phoenix feather core, 11 and 3/4", moderately pliable.

3) Find a stick. Please be respectful of Nature when you are finding your wand wood. look on the ground and see what Nature was to offer intead of lopping off a living part of a tree.

4) Craft a handle. I did this with my handy-dandy gardening wire (as previously seen with the Maleficent horns), and masking tape.

5) Paint! I chose to only paint the handle, but you may choose to paint the whole wand.

6) Varnish! I varnished the whole wand. I used Americana Starlight varnish to add a little sparkle, and then Americana Triple Thick Brilliant Brush On Gloss Glaze to make it shine.

7) Package. You can easily find lables for Olivander's online, and there are also templates for boxes. I made a simple box out of some cardboard that was just taking up space in my apartment. Painted it inside and out, and whipped up a quick cushion for the wand (sewing machine was already out and set up for my costume projects), then affixed the printed lable to the box.

8) Deliver! Send an owl with the packaged wand and letter to the wizard or witch.

Maleficent

This is Lauren as Maleficent.  This costume was made for her to cosplay at Fan Expo Canada 2014, and for Halloween.

The horns and the back are what seem to draw the most interest. The horns were formed  with gardening wire, small starter pots, and making tape (all dollar store materials). From sculpting to paint and varnish, the whole horn-making process took about two hours (excluding the paint-drying time, of course).

This costume is my version of what I thought to be the most remarkable scene from the Maleficent movie; just after her wings have been burned off. Also, I didn't want to make wings (lol). The wounds were easy to make. The dress material kind of melted, and left the solid scorched bits around the edges. Then I sewed in some bathing suit liner, and painted it with acrylic paint and white glue.

Feedback from Lauren was that the top was hard to get into for Fan Expo. It is very tailored to her, so I added a side zipper, running from the left armpit down to the bottom of the blouse.

The staff is a painted branch from the garden, topped with LEDs and a substance called Goo-Hu, that is moldable rubber/epoxy which dries into a super bounce ball.

I'm very much looking forward to going out with her and my friends this Friday for Halloween!