DIY Alohomora Key Rack

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I've posted something cause there's been a lot going on.
Anyway, I'm back now with a brand new DIY-project to beautify your home.

What do you need?

• picture frame, at least 5 cm in depth
• 5 hook-screws
• 'Alohomora'-writing
• picture / drawing of your choice (I used a picture of a winged key)
• 6 nails
• string or cord
• pencil
• scissors
• glue
• hammer
• ruler

Step 1

First you've got to print out the Alhomora writing. I created mine with a font called Xéfora, which you can download here. Print it out to fit your frame and cut carefully around the letters.
Take the glass pane out of the frame and put it aside, we won't be needing that.
Glue your neatly cut-out 'Alohomora'-writing on the window mat.

 

Step 2

If you want to put a picture in, then do that now. If you want to draw something on the backdrop go ahead now :)

I decided to put a picture in the frame, but I made that decision when I was nearly done. So don't be confused why there isn't a picture in the frame in the shots that come next :D 

Step 3

Now we put the frame back together. On the bottom of the frame mark the places where you want to put the hooks for your keys. Make little holes with a nail and a hammer, it makes screwing the hook in easier. If you don't have enough strenght, you can put a pencil through the hook. The leverage will make it much easier!

Step 4:

On the side of the frame mark the places where the nails will be. Then put them in with the hammer. Tie the string / cord you're using around the first nail, then put the cord in a zig-zag shape around the other nails and tie it to the last one.

And there you go, your own 'Alohomora' key rack. I used the nails and the cord to create a space where I can put my wallet and my phone.

Have fun creating your own! Please leave a comment how you like my key rack and maybe show me pictures of yours! See you soon, until then:

Mischief Managed!!

Actors Sorted on Pottermore

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Pottermore invited some of the actors to let them be sorted, including Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom, now sporting a moustache), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and - my favourite - Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood).

All the videos can be watched on the pottermore website and on their YouTube channel. And of course here on my blog. So here you go, have fun watching :)

                              Bonnie Wright:

Matthew Lewis:

Rupert Grint:

Evanna Lynch:

Mischief managed!

Kneazle News visited Warner Bros.

I solemnly swear I am up to no good!

Finally I fulfilled one of my biggest dreams, visiting the Harry Potter Studio Tour. It was the most amazing experience. You get to walk where the actors worked for years to bring us 8 wonderful movies.

Getting to the studios is really simple. You can book going by bus from central London. Or you can take the London overground to Watford Junction. Every 15 minutes a bus takes you directly to the studios within 10 minutes. We chose the ladder.

 

Emma Watson

Rupert Grint

Daniel Radcliffe

In the beginning it's really full with a lot of people going in at the same time, but when your inside the crowd thins and you have much more space to move around. I was there during the 'Dark Arts Special' so there were some Death Eaters and special exhibits. The atmosphere is really hard to describe and photos can't capture the whole magic; however, let the pictures and videos speak for themselves.

Merry Christmas to all of you and...
Mischief Managed!

Drawing: Bundimun

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Bundimun 

Bundimuns are found worldwide. Skilled at creeping under floorboards and behind skirting boards, they infest houses. The presence of a Bundimun is usually announced by a foul stench of decay. The Bundimun oozes a secretion which rots away the very foundations of the dwelling in which it is found.

The Bundimun at rest resembles a patch of greenish fungus with eyes, though when alarmed it will scuttle away on its numerous spindly legs. It feeds on dirt. Scouring charms will rid a house of an infestation of Bundimuns, though if they have been allowed to grow too large, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (Pest Sub-Division) should be contacted before the house collapses. Diluted Bundimun secretion is used in certain magical cleaning fluids.

Mischief Managed!

Marauder's Map Review

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

 

Finally my copy of the Marauder's Map reached me! I almost literally burst with excitement when I openend the package from The Noble Collection ! The Map including the display case costs $64.95(when you order it off of Elbenwald 69,90€, they get their products from The Noble Collection though). The paper the map is made of is really thick and feels like real parchment.

0$64,95

The frame is made of wood.

Embedded in the frame are little magnets to keep the display case shut without using hinges, a very elegant solution in my opinion.

The engraved ornaments in the corners of the display are golden, I'm sorry that they look kind of yellowish in this picture. To keep the map in place there are little black elastic bands in each corner. Still when you put the map on the wall it kind of slides down because the bands aren't tight enough to hold it in place. It doesn't bother me though.

This is what the map looks like when you open it in the middle. First there is an overview over Hogwarts' grounds including the Forbidden Forest and the Whomping Willow. When opening the map further you will have 'zoomed in' on Hogwarts castle.

This is how the map unfolds, revealing the interior of the castle.

Here are some of the rooms you can find on the map, I didn't want to take photos of all of them, since that would take all the fun out of discovering them for yourself.

I could look at the map for hours, there is always something to discover on it. The map measures 15.5 x 72 inches (39 x 184 cm) when open and folds to 15.5 x 8.25  inches (39 x 21 cm).

Measures 15.5 x 72 inches open, folds to 15.5 x 8.25 inches - See more at: http://www.noblecollection.com/Item--i-PRP-HP-7888#sthash.HR5CaOVe.dpuf

When I don't use the map it looks really cool up on the wall.

Though the map and display are quite expensive I would strongly recommend it for every Potterhead! It is one of the most important items Harry owns and having the map at home makes you feel closer to the wizarding world. I love this map and surely you will when you order yours! Let me hear your opinions on it!

Mischief Managed!

Happy Halloween!

I solemnly swear, that I am up to no good! As a Halloween gift I picked to draw the Augurey, which is in my opinion an appropriate choice for Halloween, since many wizards believed its cry to be fatal to anyone who hears it.

Augurey (also known as Irish Phoenix)

The Augurey is a native bird of Britain and Ireland, though sometimes found elsewhere in northern Europe. A thin and mournful-looking bird, somewhat like a small and underfed vulture in appearance, the Augurey is greenish black. It is intensely shy, nests in bramble and thorn, eats large insects and fairies, flies only in heavy rain and otherwise remains hidden in its tear-shaped nest.

The Augurey has a distinctive low and throbbing cry, which was once believed to foretell death. Wizards avoided Augurey nests for fear of hearing that heart-rending sound, and more than one wizard is believed to have suffered a heart attack on passing a thicket and hearing an unseen Augureay wail. Patient reasearch eventually revealed, however, that the Augurey merely sings at the approach of rain. The Augurey has since enjoyed a vogue as a home weather forecaster, though many find its almost continual moaning during the winter months difficult to bear. Augurey feathers are useless as quills beacuse they repel ink.

© Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Newton Scamander, p.5, J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury

Mischief Managed!

Daniel Radcliffe = Rap God?

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Daniel Radcliffe was on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon where this happenend:

He is ridiculously good! So funny!

Mischief Managed!

Hogwarts Themed Hotel in London

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

So in the Georgian House Hotel in London you can now stay at Hogwarts for as long as you like...if you have the money. Prices starting at £249 per night (including breakfast and Muggle tour) in the smaller Wizard Chamber, which sleeps three people, it can rocket up to £363 a night (including breakfast, Muggle tour and Warner Studio Tour). For two people, without the Muggle tour, it is £209.

But seriously, which die-hard Harry Potter Fan wouldn't pay for that? With staying at "Hogwarts" a dream would come true! Would you stay there? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comment section!

 

And here's a video showing the Wizard Chambers:

 

Mischief Managed!

House Crest Pins Review

I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!

This beauty arrived with the post a few days ago. I was so excited when I openend the package from The Noble Collection (click here to get to their website). The House Crest Pins Collectors Box costs $24.50. If your shopping from Germany I strongly recommend Elbenwald®­­ (see here). Unfortunately the box is much more expensive (34,95€).

The collectors box includes 5 pins. The pins are made of some kind of plastic, but they look like they are made of metal. The only way to find out that they are not actually made of metal is if you hold them in your hands, since they are really light-weight. The box itself is made of wood and is really beautiful, though there are a few dents in mine (I hope this doesn't happen when you order yours!), which I find really frustrating, because you know, I spend a good amount of money on it. Secondly what I find disappointing is that the glass sheet is not made out of real solid glass, but of Plexiglass, which scratches easily so you want to be extra careful with that.

The 5 pins are, according to The Noble Collection's website, hand enameled. The pins are finely detailed and close with a butterfly clasp so they won't fall of if your wearing them.

The Hogwarts™ coat of arms is bronze. It shows a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle surrounding the (in this case) red letter "H". Beneath it is the motto of the school. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus which is Latin and means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".

Usually the Hufflepuff™ crest is a black badger on yellow. In this case the badger is bronze as the decoration surrounding it. On top is a tiny badger underneath which we can see a knight's helmet.

The Slytherin­™ crest is exactely like I expected it to be. It shows a silver serpent on green. On top there's a tiny serpent beneath which you can find a knight's helmet.

Gryffindor's™ crest shows a bronze lion on yellow and scarlet. On the very top, however is not a small lion but the moon and a star together with a little wizards hat. I don't know why they made it that way, but it's probably because Gryffindor™ plays major part in the books and movies, since it's the house of the main characters. Maybe they wanted to make it stick out of the other 3 house crests by adding this little difference.

This is my favourite crest, but that's only because I'm in Ravenclaw™ house. The coat of arms of Ravenclaw™ is actually the most inaccurate of all 5 pins. The symbol of Ravenclaw™ is not, as the name suggests, a Raven but it's really an Eagle. (on the Hogwarts™ coat of arms pin this is portrayed correctly, so it is quite illogical that they made the Ravenclaw™ crest this way). Also the house colors are bronze and blue. In the movies, however they used blue and silver. I guess that is why they adopted those colors to all Ravenclaw™ products (so this crest is just disappointing for all of you who have read the books, including myself).

I hope this post helped you with your decision on whether you should get the House Crest Pins or not. I'm in love with them, despite some inaccuracies. I love wearing them sometimes, but I mostly keep them in the collectors box which I attached to my wall so I can always look at this beautiful treasure.

Mischief Managed!

PS: Check out my twitter!

Finely detailed and hand enameledh

Finely detailed and hand enameled