I knew I wanted to do something different in our entryway for Halloween this year, and with the large window in our front door along with the transom window, I thought it would be so fun to replicate the floating candles from the dining hall at Hogwarts in Harry Potter 🙂
In addition to the floating candles I knew I wanted to incorporate additional Harry Potter inspired components – enter the suitcases, flying letters, and bird cage! All the supplies for this project are linked here!
To replicate the suitcases you would have seen piled on carts at the train station as Harry Potter and friends entered their wizardly world through ‘Platform 9 3/4,’ I used good old blocks of Styrofoam to start! I painted the Styrofoam a dark brown color, then used lighter brown paints to layer on to add ‘patina.’ The texture of the Styrofoam actually gave the appearance of a pebbled leather – which was a really nice surprise! I then used leather repair patch tape in the color ‘whiskey leather’ to add trim to the suitcase. Using a tape measurer I measured the girth of the block, then cut a piece of the repair tape off (adding an extra inch or two) then folded it into thirds. Next, I used hot glue to adhere the strips to the blocks of Styrofoam. I also purchased real hardware and handles that I found very inexpensively on Amazon, and glued them to the suitcases (note: E6000 glue literally melts Styrofoam, so don’t use that…don’t ask me how I know haha!). I even used the screws that came with the hardware as they screwed right into the Styrofoam and seem to hold nicely, which makes the suitcases look that much more real – yasss!
In addition to suitcases, I wrapped some extra boxes I had on hand in brown kraft paper, then tied some twine around them. Easy peasy!
To recreate the flying letters (who remembers that scene from the first movie?!!) I ordered envelopes from Amazon that have a parchment-like appearance, and come in a few different colors / finishes! I also ordered a Harry Potter wax stamp kit with a Hogwarts stamp – you know I had to do it 😉 I took a screenshot of one of the envelopes from the movie, then just practiced writing out Harry Potter’s name and address a few times using a Tombow pen (but you can also use a super fine Sharpie or whatever else you have on hand!). Your handwriting does not need to be even remotely close to the movie – just do your best (at least that’s what I did haha!). After writing out a few, I definitely got into a nice rhythm and flew through the rest of them! The wax seals definitely took more time and a little practice, though! For the envelopes I adhered to directly to the walls, I used poster putty so it wouldn’t damage the walls, and I only made those ones one-sided (why do extra work, amiright?). For the 10-ish that I attached to the ceiling, I did make sure they were double-sided with the address on one side and the wax seal on the other. To attach them to the ceiling, I simply fed some clear fishing line through the flap of the envelope, then tied a knot. Next, I measured how long I wanted the fishing line to be, cut it, tied a very small knot at the top, then used a flat white thumbtack to attach it to the ceiling. Don’t worry about any holes in the ceiling – they can be eeeasily fixed with a tiny bit of spackle.
I thought about attempting to DIY a birdcage, but sometimes it’s just better to buy certain things. Needless to say, I bought this one at Michaels, and at 40% off it was under $18! I think it really adds a lot to capturing the Harry Potter feel! 🙂
Now for the BEST part – the candles! I used the Classic Ivory 10″ Drip Wax Flameless Taper Candles from Lights.com for this project. I partnered with Lights.com on this project and the candles were gifted, but these opinions are my own! While battery-powered, the candles still look super realistic as they’re coated in wax and have a setting in which they appear to flickering! Especially at night, the candles look super realistic. And one of the best parts – especially for a project like this – they’re remote controlled! Similar to the flying letters, to make these candles appear to be floating, I simply tied clear fishing line around the candle just below the ‘flame,’ then tied a knot at the other end of the line and used a flat white thumbtack to attach to the ceiling. Be sure to stagger heights and spacing as you go!
A couple smaller DIY projects and some battery-powered tapered candles later…and voila! You have a super fun Harry Potter inspired entryway for Halloween!
Thanks for following along!
