Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Very First Time!

My concept for this blog is to record the flow of consciousness of creative inspiration.  And to hopefully encourage me to follow through on these projects.  At present, these projects are mainly outfits for dolls, though in time I would like to explore other aspects of the hobby such as shoe making, furniture, settings and dioramas.  I do list these ideas specifically and sketch fashion roughs from time to time.  

Harry Potter feast and games

I also want to record some of the party ideas that we work on and share photos of those projects, too.  We like to throw rather over-the-top theme parties for DVD and movie releases and birthdays.  Recently, we had a DVD release party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  We decorated with Hogwarts banners, lots of candles and streamers in doorways, as well as streamer spiders on walls.  The tables and windows were draped in black, red and gold fabric.  I dressed in a witch costume, and Bridgette dressed as Hermione.  All the kids received motion activated wands as party favors.  We wanted the feast atmosphere of the Hogwarts dining hall, so we made food from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz.  We had spiral sliced ham and rotisserie chicken accompanied by maple syrup-glazed carrots, Brussels sprouts in a Bechamel sauce with nutmeg, new potatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette, cheese and rolls.  We made two of the treats from the train: pumpkin juice and pumpkin pasties.  We made two puddings for Luna:  a chocolate trifle and banana pudding (from Paula Dean).  Of course, we had bowls of jelly bellies on hand.  All this for 4 children and 4 adults!  A day of indulgence indeed!

Bridgette gets sorted into Griffindor!
That's some pretty fancy wand work . . .