You're a wizard B!

A young friend of ours turned 11 the other day.  He found a little something on his front porch when he got home from his water park birthday party.  There was a white feather under the letter.  There was almost no wind, thank heavens.

He's a huge HP fan, and his mom said he was LOVED the letter, thought the detail was very cool.  He suspected I might have had something to do with it, I have made him HP stuff in the past.  After he read the whole thing, he ran to his mom and said "Tell Mrs. pj I know it isn't real because,... Albus Dumbledore is dead!"  Yup, that's why it isn't real.  Funny!

He told his mom at bedtime "This is one of my best birthdays ever!"  Cool!

 

Actually, it's a pencil.

OK, am I the last person on the planet to find out there is a RIPTIDE PENCIL!!!!!

Seriously, it has RIPTDE printed right on it!!!  Right on the side!!!

And why do you ask, am I so very excited about a cheap mechanical pencil?

Because you can make Handmade Percy Jackson Valentines with them!!!!

(Do I care that it isn't a pen?  Heck no!  Perfection, pffff!  Get over it!)

Remember these?

K and her friends loved these during their Percy Jackson craze, goodness that must have been,... 4 years ago.  She heard from one of her friends just last fall that he still had the cheap white pen with the faded sticker on the side.  Handmade creativity for the win!

Well, now all you have to do to make Percy Jackson Valentines for all your friends next year, (and you know you will want to) is:

Aquire this stuff:

Card stock

Printer

Riptide pens

clear tape

1. Print out the template on card stock.

2. Cut out the cards.

3. Write your name by FROM:

4.  Tape on a RIPTIDE pencil!

5.  Repeat to make a bunch and give them to all your friends!

I am so ridiculously happy!!!!

BIG!

          I'm slowly cleaning up from Christmas/Flu fest 2012.  Part of the cleanup is finishing all the crafts we planned to make over the holiday.  Instead of sewing and baking and beading, we spent our holiday coughing, sniffing and moaning.  Fun was had, but it involved more laying around than sitting up.

          Any who, I finished this ginormouse Sheet Music Wreath the other day.  It's about 30 inches diameter, made with 32 full sheets of music.  The cones are not all exactly the same, and I wasn't sure I would like it, but I really do.

          This one is for us.  It looks really nice against the brick of our fireplace.  The next one is for the Youth Orchestra office.

One down, only 6,200,321,201 projects left to complete.

Last Day of School!!!

And we are crafting!!!! K made these stained glass note cards to use as thank you notes for her teacher gifts.










And she made two crosses for her homeroom teacher, Mr. S who is leaving this year.




K came up with the idea and the design, and Mr. Man and I helped her assembly line the cards. She really doesn't need our help anymore, but I'm glad she likes our company.

We took last day of school pictures today, same spot as the day she started kindergarten. Tiny K then



And now



Her backpack was bigger than she was, and weighted more.  And now I'm off to watch her step up to 8th grade.  *sniff* Crying already.


Post script:  I'm back, school is over.


The 7th grade class steps up at mass on the last day.  The seventh grade teacher was asked if his class was ready, he said yes and they crossed the isle to take their new place as 8th graders.  I cried.  K said she teared up too.  The 8th grade teacher, Mrs. C, immediately started whipping them into shape, no more slouching and daydreaming for them.  Stand up straight, sing loud, pay attention!  It is just funny to watch.


Summer is here.  Life is good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've had a load of hits on my old Valentine's posts, so I thought I'd collect them all in one place. So if you're in need of a last minute valentine, here's three to choose from.

Last year, K and her class were suffering from a severe case of Percy Jackson Mania! K's Valentine's were greeted with near hysteria.

If you are similarly afflicted, you can make your own! You will need:

White pens, cause your labels are white.
Mailing labels, avery 5160
Card stock
Template for backing card
Template for labels
Clear tape

Here is the template for the labels:

Print the labels and put on one the side of each pen as shown, kinda high up, so the clear tape won't be over the label.
Here is the template for the card

Just write your name, cut out the four cards, and tape your pen in place. You and your friends will have brains full of kelp in no time!

Two years ago we made the very cool, though really labor intensive Family Fun rock candy valentines.

These were really cute and the kids loved them. Want your own? Here is what you need for one iValentine.

Tape
1 14-inch piece of white yarn
1 9 inch piece of white yarn
2 Hersheys Kisses
1 (1-ounce) box of conversation hearts
4- by 8.5-inch strip of pink paper
Glue stick
Sheet of white printer paper
Template for playlist
Template for scroll wheel

The templates can each make at least 24, so if you want to make a bunch, just multiply everything by 24.

Cut one piece of yarn about 14" and the other about 9", tied them together so the ends were even and used low temp hot glue to glue the Kisses to the ends. Tape the other end of the yarn to the top of one small side of the candy box. Tape the pink paper around the candy box.

Print the two templates on the white paper, cut out the playlists and the scrolls, and glued them in place. Write your name on the back of the box and they'll be all done.

Last but not least, one year I crochets K and Mr. Man each a heart.

I found the pattern on Pepika. The pattern is free and calls for a size 1 hook and red cotton yarn. Not having a size 1 hook, I grabbed my size 4 hook and Red Heart yarn and they turned out great. Didn't take long either.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

HPC Potions Swap, in which K and I transfigure total strangers.

K and I participated in the Harry Potter Crafts Potions Swap this summer. K had the idea of making a Polyjuice potions kit and we went to town.

Our swap partner is a Gryffindor, so I made her a House Bookscarf, wrapped it around our note and placed it in the packing box, on the top of the wrapped goodies. I found the wooden box at Hobby Lobby, and we thought about stenciling a Gryffindor crest on the top, but it was perfect just as it was. The goblets are from Pier One, about 20 years ago. They were just perfect for potions and survived shipping, now that's magic, that is.

I rewrote the Polyjuice Potion and K provided the new illustrations. The cat was because we put in a P.S. to our note saying sorry if she mistakenly, turned into a cat, cause you know, Miss. Kitty gets into everything.

We wanted our potion to be drinkable and fun so we based it on Poison Punch, which you can find here. We substituted fizzing Koolaid tablets for powder, so she only had to make 3 cups instead of 3 quarts, and added gummy worms, pop rocks, a pixie stick and a rock candy wand, just for fun. All the ingredients came safely individually wrapped, so she could mix and drink the potion without being worried about drinking something sent by a total stranger. All our swap recipient had to add was water and ginger ale. We wrapped each ingredient, mostly origami envelopes, and labeled all the ingredients, adding a few faux wax seals, string, and labels. Oh, and a couple of Tiffany Vincent's Potions stamps. Love those.

We made the kit for two, because everyone knows, only death eaters transfigure alone, so there were two final ingredients, the Extract of the Transfigured Being to Be (OK, it was cake sprinkles.) The pink sprinkles transfigure the drinker into.... Tonks!

Drink the green and you become,... Mad Eye Moody!

Our partner has posted, and posted again, and posted pictures, and we think, it is just possible, she really liked it. Squeeee!