HP Craft Swap at Craftster: Summary Post

June and the beginning of July was Harry Potter crafting! The "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster was lots of fun. My lovely partner, rosesanplacebos, had lots of green items on her wists, so I made her a fun HP shopping tote set:



And some other stuff!

The whole swap package:




More posts to come detailing all the crafts, and other info from the swap!

Swap Info:

Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster
Swap Gallery: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap Gallery"
Crafting Dates: June 2 - July 10, 2008
Date Sent: July 10, 2008


Posted at Craftster: (this section will be updated with links as posts are made on Craftster)

rosesanplacebos's posts (the crafts I made, that she received):

• post with action shot of the scarf
• gallery post of the whole package

My posts:

• Gryffindor Scarf! POA (trapped bar) style

Hey Mister DJ

So my Weird Sisters record purse project was initially delayed just a bit as I worked on acquiring suitable records.

In my first attempt, I purchased three records from the thrift store and brought them home. Not wanting to commit Crimes Against Music, I asked our resident DJ (my dear brother) to approve the crafty use of the records.

The records were small releases by artists from the seventies. One was bad country music. I thought, "Great. No one will miss this!" Thinking that the few folks who had listened to the record in the first place would have moved on to other music by now, that there would be no great demand for the records. Or in other words, that I wasn't "taking away" the record from anyone who would want to buy it and listen to it.

Just one problem: break beats. You see, these "small releases by artists from the seventies" could possibly have breaks on them -- little samples of music -- that a DJ could use.

"It's not even very likely," the resident DJ explained, "but, you know . . ."

"You have to listen to them first . . . "

Yeah. So Mister DJ went home with the records, and I went back to the thrift store. This time with new information: find records by prominent artists whose fans have moved on to CDs (or iTunes). Any breaks from those songs have already been used -- no new discoveries there -- so I really wouldn't be taking music away from anyone, DJs included.

So I came home with three new records -- love songs by famous pop artists from the seventies and early eighties -- and called the DJ if to ask if he wanted to come over and check them out before I used them. When I told him what they were he laughed.

"No, no," he said. "You need to cut those records up."

Weird Sisters Record Purse

My swap partner for the recent HP swap had a record purse on her wists, so I had to make one for her! The Weird Sisters are the wizard rock band from the Harry Potter series, and I decided they had to have released some albums (though there aren't any in the books -- we both enjoy a loose interpretation of canon.)

I used this tutorial: Mod Record Purse for instructions, and this Craftster project for additional inspiration: Vinyl Record Purse (from my partner's wists).

The Weird Sisters record purse:



Both sides:



Each side of the purse is Side One of a different album. I printed out the labels on colored heavy weight printer paper, and used double-sided paper adhesive to attach them over the existing labels on the records. ("Do the Hippogriff" is a song from the HP books, but the rest are not. Loose canon, right? And fair warning: this post only gets geekier from here on in.)

Close up of the labels (Conjuring the Rock Produtions, charmed to play in the Divinaphone):

WS's first album (1978):


Sophmore album (1980):


My two favorite titles are "From the Owlery" and "Arithmancy of the Soul". Just don't ask me what they mean, because I don't know. But that is some Wizarding rock.

I used two layers of records for the handles, and attached the handles and sides with hemp twine (in purple).

Close up of attachment:



The concept of the purse is that it is "partially transfigured" -- that is, transfigured from records into a purse, but still retaining characteristics of the original item. (See what I mean about even geekier?) So, the circles in the lining fabric are reminiscent of records, and the pockets are lined with sheet music fabric, of course.

Inside:



There are two flat pockets on one side; the snap-close pocket is just peeking out on the other side. The ends are pinched and stitched so they fold inward when the purse is shut.

Snap-close pocket open:



Close up of fabrics:



This was my favorite item to make for this swap, and I am so thankful to my partner for allowing me to subject her to my super HP geekiness!

Craft Info:

Swap: "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster
Swap Partner: ShardaeDobby at Craftster
Date made: March 2008
Pattern: Mod Record Purse, Vinyl Record Purse
Fabrics: Pink vinyl, woven cotton novelty fabrics (pink with colored circles and pink sheet music)
Other materials: Records, heavy weight paper for labels (pink and green), double-sided adhesive, hemp twine (purple), magnetic snap


Posted at Craftster:
Weird Sisters (Harry Potter) Record Purse

HP Craft Swap at Craftster: The Crafts I Sent

These are all the goodies I sent to my swap partner in the recent HP craft swap at Craftster:

• Ravenclaw house scarf
• Ravenclaw colors wrist warmers
• Ravenclaw colors brooch
• Record purse with Weird Sisters albums
  
• "Every Flavour" pouch
• Every Flavour beans inspired shopping tote
• Crochet lollipops
• Luna-esque flower brooch and matching earrings
• House colors perler beads coasters

DD designed and crafted the brooches, and DS designed and crafted the coasters. The whole family was very supportive of this swap, and it was a lot of fun.


At Craftster:

• "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap
  
• "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Gallery
  
• My swap partner's post with her pictures of these crafts
• My post of the crafts I received