zaubernuss - witchhazel

Hogwarts Student Notebooks

You may know (or not) that I'm a Potterhead. I started reading the series when I was 11 and finished when I was 17 - perfect timing. When I was that young there weren't really any cool franchise products available except for wands and a few things I wasn't all that interested in. (And if there had been any I was interested in I'm sure they'd have been way out of budget for a teenager.)

Things change. And now there are loads of fabulous fan products to make any Potterhead's dreams come true. (I'd rather not admit to how many HP themed bedroom makeover videos I've watched on youtube - some quite awesome, others not so much.) I think if I was a teenager now (and had rich parents who didn't care how much of their money I spent on stuff) I'd have a room stuffed full of Wizarding World merchandise... You have to understand me right though: I'm not into these odd big-headed character doll collectibles and I don't need wand displays or stuff like that. I'm more into items and decor that could be from there. I don't want an umbrella that has the outline of Hogwarts and the lightnig script on it - I'd rather have an umbrella that looks like Hagrid's tattered pink umbrella which hides his wand. (And I'm generally a fan of merchandise products that don't have the TM on them - they seem to be rare...)

Anyway, since I'm now an adult with my own money I have to occasionally fight with myself over purchasing things I don't really need at all but which make my 13-year-old self insanely happy. Most times my adult (and fairly responsible) self wins but sometimes my teenage self is triumphant. I'm a particular sucker for stationery and notebooks. 

These are thin A5 (half of standard size printer paper) notebooks with lined/ruled paper inside and the covers of 1920s American wizarding magazines. I love the style and design of these and I just had to have them. They came in a pack of four and I ordered them on sale from the Platform 9 3/4 Shop. (I don't know if they are still available though.)

These are lined/ruled hardcover notebooks in Hogwars house colours designed by MinaLima. Apparently they are replicas of props they used for the Hogwarts scenes in Fantastic Beasts 2. They are somewhere between A5 and A4 (standard printer paper) in size and about 1cm thick.
The Gryffindor one is my son's, my daughter (who's not yet sorted into a house) chose the Ravenclaw book for now. She has already started to fill it with fan art of her own (which is pretty awesome - both her art and the fact that she's doing that). 

This is a letter writing set. It's a hardcover folder holding letter sheets and envelopes but I bought it solely for the purpose of turning it into an art journal filled with watercolour and kraft paper. I think I will replace the spine with a wider and softer one to hold the new interior. It's roughly A4 size and also designed by MinaLima. It's a replica of the notebook Newt Scamander used for his original draft of the textbook "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them".

These are replicas of Hogwarts library- and textbooks. Each one is available on its own but I could decide which one I wanted and then the kids chimed in about which one's their favourite (they spotted me looking at them) so I ended up getting the set of six. This is my personal favourite: 

I just absolutely love the design of this book! And then there is the one my daughter chose as her own which we had to dig out of the chaos in her room before I could take a picture. (My son chose "Dark Arts Defence".)

These are all notebooks, diaries, journals or whatever else you want to call them. They are slightly smaller than A5, about 1,5cm thick each, have shiny gold and silver cut edges and foiling on the cover and they contain lined/ruled paper which is thicker and better quality than I would have expected. This goes for all the magazines and the Hogwarts house notebooks as well - I'd guess the paper is at least 100gsm while standard printer paper is 80gsm.
I know I'm a nerd when it comes to things like that but I wish notebooks generally came with information regarding the paper weight. Some do, but lots don't - often not even ones designed to be sold and used as art journals. When I buy a notebook or diary I'd like to know that the pages are thick enough to use a fountain pen or markers without the back of the page being unusable because of bleeding ink...

(I also bought some cool Wizarding World post cards with more book cover designs, house crests, Marauder's map images, etc. while I was at it, all MinaLima designs. I love MinaLima - the work they have done for the movie series is amazing and I'm collecting their ingeniously interactive and beautifully illustrated classics of literature which my kids love as well.)

Quite honestly: I have no idea what I'll do with all of these journals just yet. For now they mostly make my 13-year-old self jump for joy whenever I see them, which is very often as they currently sit on the corner of my (rather messy) craft table. 
I know I could have gone all out and styled the photos with all sorts of feather quills, ink and potion bottles, candles, wands and tiny twinkle lights as that seems to be popular and fashionable at the moment but I didn't feel like it... Maybe some other time. 

Anyway, the point of this wasn't really to fawn over how much I love Wizarding World related stationery or how fabulous MinaLima is (which they are) - I've bought all of these comparatively recently, simply because I could and wanted to (and because it was Covid19 related lock down and I needed a pick-me-up - there you have it) and because there is no lightning font or picture of Harry on them. They fit into the world and are not just about it. 

Please bear in mind that the Platform 9 3/4 Shop as well as the MinaLima store ship from the UK. When I ordered from Platform 9 3/4 Brexit wasn't through yet and there were no additional fees. However, when I placed the order with MinaLima I had completely forgotten that the UK had left the EU and I wasn't too happy about having to pay import taxes when they arrived, which made a few journals and post cards way more expensive than I had anticipated.

I've seen lots of junk journalers on youtube and in facebook groups make Harry Potter themed journals but most of them are more about the franchise (featuring pictures of the actors, pages and images taken out of the movie magic books, fan art of characters, etc.) or dedicated to a specific character rather than look like they are a part of the world. I wanted to create a journal that looks like it could belong to a Hogwarts student. 

I made this little book for the friend who received the Gryffindor scarf I talked about in this post. The book series never mentions any of this but I've always imagined that Madame Pince, the Hogwarts librarian, might also be in charge of an in-house stationery shop where students can by more parchment, quills, ink, pencils and "house pride" note books to use as excercise books, homework planners or whatever. Or the students might receive these at the beginning of each year upon returning to school like some schools hand out planners along with the set books.

I wanted this book to look like it belongs to a Gryffindor. I used one of the covers I talked about in my post about sketchbooks - one that looks like an old fashioned marbled school book or an antique composition notebook. (I know many European junk journalers are quite envious of these because they are not a thing in Europe and hard to find, unless you want to order them from the US.)

I reinforced the spine with red fabric from my stash and added new end papers to the inside covers. I made these using water colours and a broad brush, taking inspiration from an illustration by Jim Kay in which Harry wears stripy socks in these colours. Then I added splatters and cup rings to make it look like someone (maybe Ron) had carelessly placed their breakfast beverage on it... I love how it looks. 

I used artist drawing paper that comes in A3 (twice the size of A4) pads and is readily available at any craft or office supply store. I tore all the pages to size along the edge of a metal ruler to create the slightly frayed deckled edge and I folded over a few of the page corners as if someone very much wanted to remember some particular notes. 

I added a few little doodles on some of the pages as you would when you get bored in class or during a free period. The "Lace Wing Flies" are not my own drawings - it's a stamp from a Tim Holtz set (ENTOMOLOGY CMS328) which I pre-stamped in a very light colour and then traced over with my glass quill and ink. (I like to use a glass quill for this kind of thing. It works better than an actual feather quill but is not as even as a fountain pen. It writes really well too.)

I also added some homework, study and password reminders. I can totally see Hermione impatiently nudging Harry and Ron in the side saying "now, write it down or you'll forget!" and the boys pulling something out of their schoolbags to make a quick note somewhere, grumbling... This is why I didn't write particularly neatly - I wanted it to look natural. 

Then a while ago my friend asked me to make another one of these for her to give to someone. We chose a red cover with a black spine - the other houses could have yellow, blue or green covers with black spines and coordinating end papers - I made them myself again and this time I added black stamped ink splatters. It was only after I had done that when I realised I was out of black writing ink. I was in a hurry to get it done (it was ordered on rather short notice) and couldn't go out to buy more. I did the doodling and writing in red ink and concluded that someone else (maybe Ron) might have carelessly splattered black ink on the book... 

I wrote all the notes in German this time as I wasn't sure how well versed the recipient was in the original. (I love reading the books in German but I only listen to the English audiobooks.)
I also did a more detailed drawing of the Bowtruckle with more notes about them. 

It doesn't show in the pictures but the red ink actually shimmers in different colours where it was applied more heavily. It reconciled me to not having any black ink because it made me think of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley where he bought a jar of colour changing ink. 

This is the very last page. I wanted to include a Gryffindor house crest and googled line art for inspiration. Most of the ones I liked where way too intricate for me to free hand but then I found this one which I really like a lot! I love the style! I don't know who designed it and I hope they won't mind my copying it for this purpose... I drew it very lightly in pencil first and then went over it with the ink when I was happy with how it looked. I'm rather pleased with it, I have to say...

I wrapped the book in brown packaging paper and tied it with white string - like the school equipment Harry and Hagrid buy in the first movie - but I wanted to add a fun little extra something: I found this tiny little bottle charm (which only measures about 15mm or so without the cork) and filled it with poisonous green glitter glue which had luckily kind of separated resulting in the tiny bottle being filled with mostly transparent green with only a little bit of glitter which was perfect in this case. I glued the cork in with some strong clear glue so nothing could spill and tied the potion bottle to the parcel. 

I will have to make my kids some notebooks too to add to their collection of Hogwarts school books. (My son has decorated the shelf by his bed with my collection of oddly shaped and coloured glass bottles, some feathers, his moon lamp and his Hogwarts books - he's such a nerd, just like his mum - haha!) 
I'd like to make some for the other houses as well, I just have to find all the right covers. 

 

Lots of love! xxx

 

P.S.: This is not a sponsored post. I don't get paid or free products for mentioning and linking to the Wizarding World/the MinaLima products. 

socks #28

First of all: this is pair #195 which completely slipped through my fingers in my previous sock post. I had completely forgotten to take a picture of this pair and didn't notice that it was missing... I used this lovely blue gradient which came in my March 2020 Opal subscription box. The pattern is "Hermione's Everyday Socks" which is a free ravelry download. They are for my mother-in-law which is why they look a little odd on my feet - they are too big for me. 

This is pair #201. I used Opal Comedy "Schwank" 9837. (The online dictionary translates "Schwank" as "droll story" - it's a German word for a funny little anecdote.) These are sneaker socks for my son who, as already mentioned, has the same size as I by now. It will be sneaker weather very soon and all of his current socks are too long for sneaker weather.

Pair #202 is a second pair for my uncle - my mum tells me he wears the ones I already made him all the time. (I don't see him that often and now even less than usual...)
The yarn is from the March 2019 Opal box. I've searched through all the Opal collections I could find to see if this design and colourway is part of one of them but I couldn't find a match. It seems to be a subscription box exclusive. 
(There are blue-grey-ish designs in many of the boxes and while I don't mind them - I won't pretend they are my favourites though - they all appear to be the same to me even though I know they are not.)

Pair #203 is a gift for my grandma. They are super thick and warm 8-ply socks made using two strands of 4-ply: Aktiv Uni 2561 (which is a lovely shade of evergreen blue) by supergarne.com and Opal Adventure "Tiefseeschaukeln" 9822 which was part of the May 2019 box. You can google image search this yarn if you'd like to know what it would have looked like without the added solid colour. I think the two blended nicely. These too are too big for me and look a bit weird on my feet - sorry about that. 

Pair #204 are some adult sneaker mojos for my wonderful husband. He chose the yarn which was part of the September 2020 Opal box. As you may know by now: he always goes for the bright and fun yarns =)
I don't know if this yarn will be part of an upcoming collection. The previews for all their releases until October can be seen on the Opal website and this yarn is not in any of them. So it's either a subscription box exclusive or it might be released after October. 

Currently on my needles are the last square of row four of my latest mitred square blanket (you can read about my first one here) - my scrap yarn basket is overflowing - and two more pairs of boy's sneaker socks. I have a sock each with two different yarns finished but need to try them on for size before finishing them off and starting the second. Good thing sneaker socks knit up so quickly... 

 

I hope you enjoy the changing seasons, wherever you are in the world and that you can find some peace and relaxation in these strange and unique times.
Lots of love! xxx


P.S.: I'd like to point out that this is not a sponsored post - I don't get paid or free products for featuring and writing about Opal yarn - I just like it. 

socks #27

Hello and welcome to another sock post. As you may know I took a break from knitting for more than six months last year and I slowly started again this past November, when I decided I just had to make some sparkly Christmas Socks, cost it what it may. (And to my surprise it didn't cost anything - apart from the yarn I bought - it made my hands ache not nearly as much as I had expected, almost not at all in fact.)

Pair #189 was for my son (whose feet are the same size as mine even though he's only ten years old and I have average size feet for a woman) using sparkly Woll Butt "Weihnachtswunder" (Christmas Miracle) 6891. Most Woll Butt sock yarns come in value packs of three or four 100g balls in coordinating colours. They have at least one such pack of sparkly Christmas yarn every year and I always look forward to seeing what they came up with. Woll Butt yarn is always really nice to work with and it's always good value for money. 
(I don't know what my son does to his socks but they always seem to get fuzzy really quickly and I have no idea why. Mine don't... Do anyone else's handknitted socks go fuzzy like this?)

Pair #190 was for my husband using another colourway from the same "Weihnachtswunder" pack: nr. 6890. This particular pack appears to be sold out but if you want to have a look at buttinette's other products (they have all sorts of craft supplies) you can find them here (for Austrian customers) and here (for international shipping and orders within Germany). 
I was really sneaky when I made this pair. I just knitted away and then showed my husband an almost finished sock one night as we were sitting on the sofa. He was totally caught by surprise when I told him the next morning that there was a freshly washed and warm pair of socks on the radiator for him - haha! 

This is pair #191. This is from a sparkly Woll Butt pack called "Tannenbaum" 82227 (which is still available - links above the picture). I made these for my daughter's best friend who was very excited about the previous sparkly socks when she saw me making them. I got them done in time before Christmas break started.
I took this picture before I washed them for some reason which is why they look a little creased and crumpled.

This is pair #192 and I made it for my sister's partner. My sister very shyly asked if I could make him a pair and wanted to pay for them but I wouldn't let her =) The yarn is from the September 2020 Opal subscription box. 

Pair #193 is the first sneaker pair of the season - a little early I know but it was the pair I had to abandon last May and wanted to finish now. The yarn was from the May 2020 subscription box but has now been released as part of the "Freche Freunde 2 - Das Klassentreffen" collection. It's "Miss Sunshine" 9955. The pattern is Tennarisukka by Taina Anttila.

Pair #194 is made using a ball from the December 2020 subscription box. This yarn will be available in early July 2021 as part of the Rainforest 17 collection: "Thea steht am Tor" 11093. The 6-ply version will be available at the end of July 2021. 
I love this yarn and the rust colour matches my favourite sweater really well. I don't usually match my socks to the rest of my outfit but sometimes it is a fun thing to do and when I do I find it oddly satisfying... The pattern is Tennarisukka again. 

Pair #196 is yet another pair of mojos for my husband using a ball of yarn from the May 2019 box. My husband chose it (as I always let him choose the yarn for his socks). He said it reminded him of space and the universe and since he said it I totally see it too even though I wouldn't have thought of it before. There are some photos of galaxies that totally have similar colours... 

Pair #197 is another pair of mojos but for my sister's partner again. He was so thrilled with his first pair that I decided one simply wasn't enough. (And he mentioned jokingly that he was prepared to wear the first pair until the stench took one's breath away - haha!) Anyway, since he proved himself to be knit-worthy he's likely to get some more.
The yarn for this pair was in my September 2019 box but is now part of the "True Love" collection: "Häkelheld" (which means "crochet hero") nr. 9861. 

This is pair #198. I made it with the skein of hand dyed yarn that came as an extra with the Christmas 2018 Opal box. 

It has lovely shades of blue, lilac and raspberry red and I did a mixed stitch pattern on the leg. They turned out a tad too big for me somehow and I think I'll open up the toe and re-do it a bit shorter. 

Pair #199 I absolutely looove! I flew through this pair - it took me just two days to knit. I'm not entirely sure what it is about it exactly but the yarn just sang the most beautiful song to me. It was in my December 2020 subscription box and everything about it is just delicious: the shades of orange and egg-yolk yellow, the bubblegum pink and cream stripes, the contrast the carribbean blue provides. It makes me think of Indian fabrics, everlasting gobstoppers and, for whatever reason, ice cream. I wish I had more of it... 
This colourway will be part of the Paradise 6-ply collection which will be available in late September 2021: "Regenbogen des Vertrauens" (rainbow of trust) 11022. 

Pair #200! Wow! Who would have thought I'd get to 200 that soon after all? Just less than five months after my 10 year sockiversary - which was the original aim. I had kind of lost track of the sock count with the last 10-15 pairs so I was caught a little bit by surprise by this pair being #200. I thought it was somewhat anit-climactic because I had pictured a fancy pattern of some sort for #200. I don't even know what I would have chosen but at least something more special than a pair of Tennarisukka sneaker socks. But then I remembered pair #100 and how I saved it for trying out a new pattern (it was the first and, so far, only pair of cabled socks I made) and that I ended up not liking it at all and I gave it away.

This pair I do like very much and I know I will wear it a lot once it's sneaker weather again. (In fact I wore my red canvas sneakers for the first time this season last week when we had a few days of surprisingly warm, dry and springlike weather - it was really lovely actually!)
The yarn is from the December 2020 box again - I've used three of them within only two months, they were that awesome - and I love all the shades of green, the bright carribbean blue and the pop of red. They just look like spring and I suppose my choice of yarn displays my craving for warmer weather and fresh growing things. 
This yarn will be part of the Rainforest 17 collection, both in 4-ply and 6-ply, available in early and late July 2021 respectively. The colourway is called "Sandra spielt den Pass" 11094. 

I also made a pair of felted slippers in the middle of February. I didn't take them into the sock-count though. I never had issues with cold feet in our current home - it was our 5th winter here - but this year something was different somehow. I don't know what it was, the heating worked just fine, but even the hand knitted socks could keep my toesies cozy... I had bought this pack of 4 50g balls of felting wool last winter (I think) but didn't need it then. It came with a set of 8mm dpns - they felt like broomsticks - and instructions for the slippers. I spent two late afternoons/evenings knitting them, felted them right away, let them dry on the radiator over night and put them on all nice and warm in the morning. I really like them. I think my husband might want a pair as well... 

 

I really hope all my talk about Opal subscription box yarn isn't driving you mad. I know how frustrating it can be to have people shove lovely things under my nose when I know I can't get my hands on them so if you feel that way: I'm sorry! 
But I will continue to share them anyway...

 

Lots of love! xxx