DIY Harry Potter School Trunk Suitcase
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Later this year, we are fortunate enough to be taking a trip abroad, and one of our stops will be to the Warner Brothers Studios outside of London. My kids have grown since our last extended trip, so their suitcases are now too small and they need new ones. I decided to hunt down suitcases that looked like Harry Potter's school trunk to customize for them.
I started with a trunk-style rolling suitcase (In particular, the Saluti by Diane Von Furstenberg) that is hard-sided and looks like a vintage travel trunk, but is lightweight and easy to maneuver. To decorate it, I turned to our Hogwart's Crest design.
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I first measured the area I had on the front of the suitcase, then created a stencil for it. I simply sized the digital Hogwart's Crest cut file as needed, then used my Silhouette to create a stencil with it out of adhesive vinyl.
Using transfer paper tape to keep all the tiny design details in place, I carefully applied my stencil onto the suitcase.
Now it was ready for some paint!
The textured surface of the suitcase actually required quite a few coats of paint to get good coverage. I found that dabbing the paint on with a makeup sponge was the best way to get smooth results without the paint bleeding under the edges. If you're using metallic paint (like I did), keep in mind that metallic tends to be more transparent, so it will take a lot to build up. Instead, I would recommend starting with a base coat of white, then adding a coat of yellow, and finally finishing with metallic gold on top.
The layering of colors also adds some nice depth to the design, rather than a flat color. It may seem odd, but it actually ends up looking really great when you remove the stencil. While I was at it, I also personalized the suitcases with the kids' initials near the top.
My little witch is absolutely thrilled with how it turned out!
MiniMe and Hedwig are ready to head off to the Hogwarts Express!
My kids have gotten lots of praise from fellow travelers when they are spotted in the airport with these suitcases. And imagine our surprise a year later when we spotted a very similar suitcase available as part of Pottery Barn Teen's new Harry Potter collection. It's like we managed a Pottery Barn knockoff before Pottery Barn even had these suitcases!
2 comments so far:
Hi. Where did you find the suitcase?
Kamalini, the suitcase is available here on Amazon.