Bridget's Daughter's Birthday

What do you get a sixteen year old with a vivid imagination?  One who is an avid reader??  One who is compassionate and empathetic to other people's trials and tribulations?  One of my favorite shop model's birthday was fast approaching and my mind was filled with ideas, but what would SHE like??  It actually has been awhile since I was sixteen, but I know some of the fun of the birthday is the element of surprise.  So, with that in mind, I made a decision.  A Harry Potter Potion's box--what else?!?!?

Clutching my precious bottles and treasures in hand I went to my friend's studio (Kathy Kaberline of KK Originals) for some fun in creating.  If I can't think of something, trust me, she can.  We took a couple days off from our usual art work to get to work on this latest project.  Wow!  Did we have FUN!!!  Okay, so I have discovered it really doesn't matter what your age may be, we still like to paint and get our hands dirty.

We both donned our aprons (just to make us feel a little grown up) and we got started.  We set out the bare little wood box and studied it.  I had an idea in my head about how I wanted the end result so we discussed the possibilities and went to work.  Now, you need to understand that it is ALWAYS best to try these new and creative things in Kathy's studio because she has always been an avid crafter and collector--so, her studio is like being locked up over night in Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  Whatever you need, she has, trust me.

I really should have taken pictures along the way to show our progress, but my hands were way too dirty to actually touch my camera.  So, you can hear about it, but not see it.  Sorry!

We sprayed all kinds of colors and all types of sparkle on this plain little wooden box.  Then we let it dry while we crumpled paper, then painted it, then dried it, then ironed it, and voila! a cover was born.  I did use the computer to make the labels so I would have the original Harry Potter print to make it more realistic.

But really, we couldn't just use plain paper for our labels--so we tore our labels out in some fun shapes, then we distressed them, sprayed them, sparkled them, and smudged them to create an old and worn look.

Getting packed to ship

Here's a little sample of the bottles and how they looked when I packed them for shipping.  I tried to stick little pieces of cardboard between them so they wouldn't break en-route. 

The finished box:

The green paint on the top was still wet when I added a little salt to make it disperse the way it did.  I thought it looked like a dragon when finished.  The little lizard next to it has a little dragon's egg under his chin.

The inside of the box:

This is the lid with Hedwig's feather and some pictures of the gang in potion's class, as well as, Hermione making the famous polyjuice potion in the girl's bathroom.

We crumbled paper, then pressed it, then painted it, then; well, you get the picture; to make her a journal for her potion recipes or for notes in class. 

Then we stamped and sprayed the inside pages to finish it off.

I think it turned out cute and it sounds like she liked it.  Here's a partial shot of the finished product.  Didn't really take enough time for pictures because I wanted to get it shipped to her in time for her birthday.

Did you see Scabbers??  He snuck into the box to hide.

Happy 16th Birthday to Bridget's daughter!!!