So, I decided to build my own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I know, I know, sounds crazy, right? But I was bored, and I figured, why not?
I started by, uh, gathering materials. Lots of cardboard, obviously. I mean, a LOT. My recycling bin was overflowing. I also used some old paint I found in the garage, some glitter (because magic!), and a whole bunch of hot glue. My fingers were basically permanently stuck together by the end of it.
The Great Hall
This was the first big thing I tackled. I cut out a huge rectangle of cardboard for the base, and then started building up the walls. I even tried to make those floating candles! I used some old Christmas lights and, like, tissue paper. It kinda worked? They didn’t exactly float, but they did kinda dangle and flicker, so… close enough!
- Cut large cardboard rectangle for base.
- Built up walls with more cardboard.
- Used Christmas lights and tissue paper for “floating” candles.
- Glued, glued, and glued some more.
The Towers
These were tricky. I used some old paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls. I stacked them up and, you know, glued them together. Then I cut out some cone shapes for the roofs and, yeah, you guessed it, glued those on too. I even added little windows with some black marker. They looked… kinda wonky, but hey, it’s Hogwarts, it’s supposed to be a little bit… off.
The rest of it was just… more cardboard. More cutting, more gluing. I tried to make the courtyard, the greenhouses (with some plastic wrap and green tissue paper – super fancy, I know), and even a little Hogsmeade in the distance (that was mostly just a bunch of tiny boxes).
Finishing Touches
Once I got everything mostly built, I painted the whole thing. Lots of grey, obviously, for the stone. I added some glitter to the roofs to make them sparkle. I even tried to draw some little details, like bricks and stuff, with a marker. It was… time-consuming.
And that’s pretty much it! My very own Hogwarts. It’s not perfect, of course. It’s mostly cardboard and glue, and it’s probably a fire hazard. But, it was fun to build. And now it sits in my living room, taking up way too much space. My cat loves to knock it over, though. So, there’s that.
