Next Stop: Hogwarts

Hello friends...

Hope you are all keeping well and enjoyed the sunshine we finally got to see here in the UK last week ~ it might've been brief and extremely hot but it was nice to see that big yellow ball up in the gorgeous blue skies!

Now back to this post and the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge that's starting today which this week is all called TAKE ME FOR A RIDE! So, with the theme in mind, what will you create? There's so many interpretations of this fun challenge and we can't wait to see what you will be sharing.

For my project, I decided to create a piece that I've been wanting to make for a while and this just seemed like the perfect theme to bring it to life ~ welcome to the world of Harry Potter and the first stop of London, on his journey to Hogwarts. Other than a few additions from my own stash and a few retired pieces of Tim's idea-ology, (which I'm sure all the TH fanatics will have in their stash) this piece was created entirely using products from Tim Holtz, Sizzix and Ranger Ink and believe me, it was the most fun I've had creating a project for a while!

So, all aboard the Hogwarts Express because the new challenge has begun...

To begin with I made my suitcases/baggage and for these I used the Baggage Claim die from Tim. I used chipboard to cut all the pieces I need to make three pieces of baggage and then assembled the die cuts to make what will be the fronts of my cases, leaving all the remaining pieces, handles, straps, buckles to one side. I then painted each case in a different colour of Distress Paint ~ top to bottom; Chipped Sapphire, slightly darkened with a touch of Black Soot, Candied Apple with a dry brushing overlay of Black Soot, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss and once again, a dry brush of Black Soot over the top. Just remember to dry the layers of paint between each application to avoid the paints becoming muddy in appearance.

Whilst the cases are drying, I painted the handles with Black Soot and once dry, rubbed the Antiqued Bronze Metallic Crayon over the top. The buckles, straps and locks are all painted with Walnut Stain and have a gold metallic piece overlaid and are then placed into position onto the die cut cases. To create more of a worn, vintage feel, I took a piece of sandpaper, sanded the edges back to reveal the chipboard and then used Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to give some colour.

So we now have the fronts of the cases and to make this a 3D piece and my first stop on this journey was to make them look realistic. So to do this, I cut pieces of chipboard to make three small boxes that would fit the backs of each case. Each of these boxes have four sides and then have a piece of chipboard on either end to form the rectangles and to hold them all together, I used Matte Collage Medium, which is my 'go-to' adhesive for constructing anything like this!

I applied a small amount of Distress Transluscent Paste over the surface of the boxes, just to create a little texture and then after painting the boxes to match the die cut fronts and then attach the fronts onto the rectangular chipboard boxes and voilà, you have your 3D suitcases, all ready to be placed on top of one another.

To decorate each box, I used various label pieces from the Halloween and Field Notes Snippets Ephemera sets and attached these directly onto the cases with matte collage medium, placing them front and back and then once the medium was dry, I ran the Walnut Stain crayon over the top to create more of a worn, vintage look. I also added some Hardware Heads onto the blue case, you can see those on the top of the case and added a Ring Fastener to the side.

On the blue box, I added Harry's initials using the Alpha Tiny Type Upper die set to cut the H and the P from gold metallic card before adding it to the front of the case.

Moving on, I made a base for my piece to sit on and used the two middle sized vignette panels. To cover the raw edges of the panels, I used Design Tape and ran this along the edge of each panel. I then adhered a panel of paper from the Abandoned Paper Stash to the tops of each panel, using Matte Collage Medium and also applied a layer of the medium over the top to seal the paper. Now throughout this project, I have made as many references to the world of HP as I possibly could, so the  paper from the Abandoned stash with the London wording written on it, was perfect to adhere to the smaller panel and I placed it so that LONDON was towards the front.

Adhere the smaller panel in the centre of the larger one and once dry, I applied some Crackle Paste around the edges. I left this to work it's magic and start crackling before applying the Walnut Stain crayon over the top to accentuate the crackles. To create some drama to the piece, I attached it to a Vignette Base, attaching the base to the bottom of the panel using Matte Collage Medium and then setting it aside to make sure it was securely attached.

So, we now have the main pieces ready to build upon and after attaching my three cases into place, arranging them to sit perfectly on top of one another at angles, I adhered moss around the base and added some Art Stones for some realistic texture, which I allowed to dry before painting with Pumice Stone Distress paint and adding Unicorn's Hair Metallic Paint over the top to add some shimmer.

Now we start building up the scene...

...and I began with the Golden Snitch...

For this I used the smallest wings from the Regal Adornments set and coloured these with Pearl Alcohol Ink and one of the Baubles which I coloured with Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink. I then laid the wings flat on my desk, side by side and applied a good amount of collage medium before placing the golden ball in the centre. I would leave this to one side to dry overnight before even touching it and I would also recommend that you strengthen it at the back ~ I used a small piece of wood, attached to the back and painted silver. Once this piece is dry, I attached it to the top of my cases with hot glue.

Take the broomstick and tie a 'spells" Halloween Story Stick onto the handle before leaning it and attaching it to the right hand side of the cases.

I added a Tiny corked vial in front. Prime the surface of the glass with Matte Collage Medium, allow to dry and then paint a layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint over the top. Again I allowed the medium to dry and once the paint is crackled, drip Mushroom alcohol Ink over the glass, allowed it to run down and add a tiny label from the Halloween Snippets set. I placed the vial in the bottom right of the cases, nestling it with a "Train Check" ephemera piece, crumpled up and just given the look it's been discarded.

I added a Skull Fragment, to sit on the green case and then you'll notice on the opposite side, I have a scarf. This was made from two pieces of Mummy Cloth, one dyed with Fossilized Amber and Mustard Seed Distress Spray Stains and the second piece dyed with Aged Mahogany and Fired Brick. Once the mummy cloth is dry, I twisted the two pieces together and tied some cotton around the two ends to secure the twists. I then frayed the ends of the cloth before draping it down the side of my cases and attaching it with a dab of hot glue.

Finally, no student is complete without books and you don't know how much fun it was to make these tiny little vintage books! I cut a piece of black card, 2 x 3.5cm and then just rolled the card around a pencil to create a spine. For the pages, I used old book paper and cut this to the same size as the black card. Layer each of the tiny pieces of book paper over one another, attaching them down the centre with matte collage medium and then fold in half before attaching them inside the book cover. Run the Antique Bronze Distress crayon around the edge of the little cover and then blend the crayon over the surface with your finger.

I then attached my books to the projects, adding vial labels to the front of each and placing the name 'Potter" onto one of the tiny books. 

I also made another little book from a Snippets Ephemera piece, using this to create the cover instead of the black card, using exactly the same technique.

To complete the project, I added a birdcage which is one of Tim's pieces from the Assemblage Jewellery range and I just placed this onto top of the cases.

So, that's it for me from today and I hope you've enjoyed this trip to Harry's world and loved this piece as much as I loved creating it ~ i think this has to be one of my favourite pieces to create, collecting all the little bits and pieces of idea-ology to bring it to life!

Don't forget, if you would like to see more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and well, and see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Alphanumeric Tiny Type Upper, Baggage Claim

Distress Spray Stain: Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, 

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
Distress Crayon: Walnut Stain
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Candied Apple, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Chipped Sapphire

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Star Adornment, Tiny Clips, Hardware Heads, Field Notes Snippets, Vignette Panels, Baubles, Mummy Cloth, Vignette Base, Tiny Vials, Skull Fragments, Curiosities Sticker Book, Regal Adornments, Ring Fasteners
(Design Tape, Halloween Story Sticks, Broomstick, Halloween Snippets from my own stash)
Alcohol Ink: Gold Mixative, Mushroom, Pearl Mixative

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Distress Crackle Paste, Prima Marketing Art Stones, Prima Unicorn's Hair Acrylic Sparks Paint, Rock Candy Crackle Paint

Surfaces: Metallic Kraft Stash, Abandoned Paper Stash

Glass Media Mat

Big Shot

Heat Gun
Moss, birdcage, vintage book paper and chipboard from my own stash