https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-09-15 https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/of-owls-wands-and-final-exams-a-harry-potter-party-for-adults-and-children monthly 0.5 2025-09-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/23defc61-f118-487e-9f8c-8ad67d2c6338/Harry+Potter+Party+Cloaks+Harry+Potter+Party+Hedwig.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out A Hedwig decoration courtesy of yours truly, plus the cloaks we bought the guests. Once everyone had their wands, they took a cloak to wear for the remainder of the party. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/8dc25084-c8ca-4871-bb46-7dc1d6a59f1d/Harry+Potter+Party+Owl+Decorations.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out More owl decorations. Fairy lights and fake candles everywhere added to the mystical atmosphere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/37207b0d-ef99-43b9-8347-d2d7523f9fd0/Harry+Potter+Party+Wands+Potions+Class+Olivander%27s+Wands.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Our Olivander’s Wand shop setup. Cloaks on the left, wand boxes in the middle, and magic wand-selecting potions on the right, with the small cups of white vinegar on the far right. The backdrop is a plain black sheet. Also, I put out my owl diffuser for funzies. It made everything smell like lavender. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/e15315ed-c591-4121-bbb4-a9fbd0424bd1/Harry+Potter+Party+Wand+Selection+Magic+Potions+and+Magic+Powder.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Closeup of the baking soda and vinegar cups. The clear plastic cups made the explosions of color even more fun, since it was easy to see the whole process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/fe58741b-22d1-4104-877f-2893d1cdb3dd/Harry+Potter+Potions+Potions+Class.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The baking soda cups once all but two of the vinegar cups were used. I didn’t get any photos of the cups with the foam, as it dies down quickly, but you can see the fun, vibrant colors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/ace92664-24ba-415f-a7d3-9f79f32afc3d/Harry+Potter+Party+Table+Decorations.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Our Great Hall. Yes, I did make Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and the Pleiades on the star backdrop. No, you don’t get to judge me. Yes, those are my owl mugs. No, you don’t get to judge me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/80f960ed-c8f3-44fb-a777-97f7704c76a6/Harry+Potter+Hogwarts+House+Pins+Sorting+Hat.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The House buttons we gave everyone sitting atop the Sorting Hat Quiz sheets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/3e13355f-6217-4275-bd0c-f5f4b977aaae/Harry+Potter+Party+Table+Setting+Place+Setting.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out A closer view of the table settings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/48778824-bfb9-4ed5-b175-c2b78393c5f8/Harry+Potter+Homemade+Chocolate+Frogs+Harry+Potter+Chocolate+Frog.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out One of the chocolate mint frogs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/8ebbccb1-5054-4fcd-b0af-836593294b34/Chocolate+Bundt+Cake+Dragon+Cake+Birthday+Cake.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The Forbidden Forest birthday cake. Obviously not my best food photography job. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/f464f514-6801-4229-8cdd-ee547d9dea6b/Chocolate+Bundt+Cake+Dragon+Cake.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out A closeup of the Forbidden Forest cake and the dragons. Again, not my best food photography, but I had honest-to-goodness seconds to take photographs of the cake. Why? Long story. It involves mashed potatoes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/5a4c6612-78bd-468c-b577-0f626b896197/Plaster+Dragon+Eggs.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The plaster dragon eggs prior to soaking in hot water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/65ce8f9f-56ff-4133-828d-4941c1c84314/Hatching+Baby+Dragons+Plaster+Dragon+Eggs+Care+of+Magical+Creatures.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Everyone hatching their baby dragons! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/389d77dc-59b5-4fc4-a872-dec215fdba2c/Harry+Potter+Party+Charms+Class+Balloons.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out We bought the swirly balloons for Charms class because they’re *magical*. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/fedb615c-ea91-4509-9669-78c590c69687/Harry+Potter+Party+Dementor+Dungeon.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The entrance to the library (Dementor Dungeon). Don’t ask why I have caution tape. It’s a long story, but it does not involve mashed potatoes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/8e8bfa98-42a1-4edd-a188-0a5275459d7f/Harry+Potter+Party+Dementors+Balloon+Dementors+Dementor+Dungeon+Defense+Against+the+Dark+Arts.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Spooooky. Don’t look at these photos alone in a dark room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/fdf24ba2-62c7-4ef9-97d0-4e6e232ddc4b/Harry+Potter+Party+Dementor+Balloon+Dementor.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/28e1cc21-5870-4e82-9eb1-6520e240776c/Harry+Potter+Party+Defense+Against+the+Dark+Arts+Dementor+Balloon+Dementor.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/902d14ac-0f74-4e56-890d-a20a61eaf629/Harry+Potter+Party+Dementors+and+Patronus+Bowl.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The Patronus bowl, the wand with a needle attached, and the Dementors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/508c6bee-ea66-43ef-9014-f811d7e999aa/Balloon+Dementors+Harry+Potter+Party+Defense+Against+the+Dark+Arts.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out A guest preparing to poke the Dementor with the special, needle-enhanced wand! (Warning: Wand not super visible in this photograph because the wand is black and everything else is black, too.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/5b0d1fa8-dc0d-4202-b9f2-a378cc86200f/Harry+Potter+Party+Patronus+Bowl+Defense+Against+the+Dark+Arts.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The Patronus bowl in the daytime to better see the decorations and bags. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/c7f0ba86-adcc-4a39-9631-37fe2a46011b/Pewter+Animals+Harry+Potter+Party+Patronuses+Defense+Against+the+Dark+Arts+Harry+Potter+Patronus.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out Some of our pewter Patronuses. Aren’t they fun? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/0f5e4938-908e-4288-9960-634f673a4b41/Harry+Potter+Party+Decorations+Final+Exam.jpg Blog - Of Owls, Wands, and Final Exams: A Harry Potter Party for Adults (and Children) - Make it stand out The decorations for the Final Exam. I put the game board up on the television screen from my laptop. I didn’t take any photos while we actually doing the final exam because I was busy running the whole shebang. https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/snow-claw-first-three-chapters monthly 0.5 2025-09-20 https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/the-romance-of-the-forest-by-ann-radcliffe monthly 0.5 2025-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/21436ab2-b604-4a32-8207-f0a169241f6f/The+Romance+of+the+Forest+by+Ann+Radcliffe.jpg Blog - “The Romance of the Forest” by Ann Radcliffe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/the-setting-of-cloud-bear monthly 0.5 2025-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/f7446961-4847-4af2-823f-aab0cffae57d/Beautiful+Fall+Trees+in+the+Mountains.jpg Blog - The Setting of Cloud Bear - Make it stand out A photograph taken during the same photo shoot as Cloud Bear’s cover. https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/cloud-bear-draft-05 monthly 0.5 2025-02-15 https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/introducing-the-magic monthly 0.5 2025-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/95ac58f1-5f7e-4383-83d9-cba746bcbcb4/Cloud+Bear+eBook+Cover.jpg Blog - Introducing the Magic - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/the-owls-of-harry-potter monthly 0.5 2025-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676725f7a4385b0725047c4a/acaa1229-4b79-43c1-9304-ce1d5af472cd/Baby+Saw-Whet+Owl+Sitting+on+Harry+Potter+Books.png Blog - The Owls of Harry Potter - Make it stand out This baby Saw-Whet Owl decided to go for a little flight in the house and landed—out of all the books in the library—on the Harry Potter series. https://www.merlynnrichardson.com/blog/Blog Post Title One-rjfwk monthly 0.5 2025-01-12 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