Magical Theory and Potions

 

I sat down on Sunday and played around with making another floating book 'shelf' for my craft room and added a couple of extra potion bottles as well.  This time instead of just painting the bottles (this time purchased from Michaels so I'd have a bit of variety in style) I wanted to fill them with potions.  I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do but I did know that I wanted one of them to be Gillyweed.

After searching around on Pintrest I found a great idea for using a product called Enviro Tex Lite.  You mix it up, pour it into your bottles and it sets us to be a solid product so there's no risk of spills or ick.  For my Gillyweed I put a piece of a plastic plant into my bottle.  Since I didn't have tiny pebbles I tried using skittles but as the resin mix did its thing my skittles lost their color and blended in.  The Veritaserum bottle was created using more of the EnviroTex Lite mixed with a couple different colors of food coloring.  I'd add one color, swirl, let sit for a moment then add the next color and repeat.  If you look closely the resin mix set up so that it appears there is potion mix running down the bottle.  Finally, my Mandrake Root potion is filled with a bit of Spanish Moss.

 

As for my book, it's a paper mache book box that I found at Hobby Lobby.  Online they only sell it in a set but in the store I found the books individually.  In my first post on making these I provided a link to the video that explains how to make these.  Below is a condensed step by step version.

 

1.  For the book title, hand write the name and then using a hot glue gun trace over what you have written.

2.  Along the inside of the book where the pages are you will need to fill in that space with some type of wood.  I opted for balsa wood because it's thin and easy to work with.  The type I purchased gave an almost perfect size for the medium box I purchased and required 6 sheets.

3.  Using a dark brown paint as you base, paint two coats of paint on the outside AND inside of your box.

4.  After the brown paint is dry, using a white and another color of your choosing (I used a metallic red) dry brush over the brown to add some color.

5.  Finally, apply a sealer to the inside and outside of your box.  I believe in the video she used a mod podge; however I opted for using a laquer spray sealant.

This is such a fun and easy project that's perfect for any Harry Potter fan to create.