Potter DIY: Hogwarts House Points Wall Display

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For as long as I’ve been a Harry Potter fan, I’ve enjoyed imagining what it’s like to roam the halls of Hogwarts. Which portraits are the most talkative? Which doors disguise themselves as tapestries and walls most often? In particular, I love envisioning the House points hourglasses in the Entrance Hall. Glimmering gems cascading into the lower bulbs as points are earned and rocketing into the upper bulbs as points are lost would surely draw a crowd in between classes and around mealtimes.

The House points hourglasses are wonderful symbols of competition, hard work, and Hogwarts tradition. If you’ve ever wanted to replicate these delightful decorations, look no further! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to create some fabulous House point jars of your own.

 

 

 

What You’ll Need:

  • 4 tall clear glass cylinder vases
  • Colored glass, plastic, natural rock, large stones, or jewels in maroon/red, yellow, dark blue, and green
  • A metal bathroom grab bar (holds 40+ pounds)
  • 4 sturdy metal toilet roll stands
  • 4 round glass bottles/jars with cork stoppers
  • 4 Hogwarts House patches or stickers
  • 4 House bookmarks (WBShop)
  • Clear suction cups

 

Directions:

First decide where you want to place your house point jars. On the wall? Or set up on a flat surface on a desk, counter, etc.
Be sure to measure EVERYTHING carefully! Measure all sizes of everything before buying to make sure items will fit in and around each other.

Step 1: To hang on the wall, use a stud finder to locate your stud beams of wood behind the wall that will be used to securely fasten the tanks onto the wall. Find two beams, one for each side of the grab bar you will be securing into the wall, and follow grab bar instructions to secure into place.

Step 2: Once the bar is secure, and you have tested that it holds about 40 lbs, place the glass cylinder jars inside each of the toilet paper roll stands and turn the stands horizontally on their backs so that the top rail of the toilet paper roll stand can fit up through the space between the wall and the grab bar. Rotate back down, vertically, so that they are now hanging on the bar.

Step 3: Empty your bags of gems inside each glass cylinder jar.

Step 4: Decorate each jar with the house labels.

 

Enjoy your new Hogwarts House Point display, and remember to tweet us how you’re using it. Also, head on over to the Potter DIY section to check out all the other DIYs!