Harry Potter Independence Day party, 2012

This party was also done in the name of fun and play. It celebrates the Wizarding Independence Day, which is the day Harry Potter defeats Lord Voldemort in an epic example of good overcoming evil. The reigns of the party was driven by my good friend Melina and was hosted at her house. Costumes were encouraged, and a wand making activity was hosted before. I made the invitation, which is one of my favorites.

The invitation was in the form of an edition of the wizarding world newspaper – The Daily Prophet. The Daily Prophet logo/ header-footer is from the movie and was created by graphic design gurus MinaLima.

Invitations were sent in 8.5 x 5.5″ envelopes with fake stamps covering the front. This design is from a description in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire of a letter wizard Mrs Weasley sends to Harry as he lives with his aunt and uncle in the non-magical world of muggles:

“He [Uncle Vernon] held up the envelope in which Mrs. Weasley’s letter had come, and Harry had to fight down a laugh. Every bit of it was covered in stamps except for a square inch on the front, into which Mrs. Weasley had squeezed the Dursleys’ address in minute writing.

She did put enough stamps on, then,” said Harry, trying to sound as though Mrs. Weasley’s was a mistake anyone could make.”
Articles for this newspaper were written by my friend April Harward.
The Longbottom Leaf article is a nod to the time April and I spent in New Zealand, as this is where we met.
The center of the back of the invite was the actual invitation.
The back bottom right corner of the invite contains The Celebrity Birthdays column, which is actually a cipher deliberately inserted to aid in a giant in-party game of a scavenger hunt.
Wands I made under Melina’s tutelage – paper, hot glue, and paint.
Melina Markland – hostest