Harry Potter Mystery Minis Display

A few weeks ago I shared an unboxing of Funko’s Harry Potter Mystery Minis. Since these are something I was so happy to buy, and saved money especially to buy a full box, I knew I wanted to display them in a special way.  

Being such a big Harry Potter fan, I have collected my fair share of items over the years. In my room though, the only place I really have Harry Potter items is on my bookshelf, where I have dedicated a whole shelf to the seven books. Around the books, I have a few Funko Pop Harry Potter characters. I also have a bulletin board, where I have a few pins of Harry Potter, as well as a few other Harry Potter-related books throughout my shelf. Despite that, I really wanted to dedicate an area to something that I so love.

I had a few items from my two visits to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio Orlando that I had purchased, but had stored in a box. I have been hoping to display these items instead of having them hidden away, so I wanted to incorporate them into my Mystery Minis display. The items I chose were a wand (which is Ron’s wand), a postcard showing Hogwarts, and a golden Hogwarts express ticket.

Additionally, I had a colorful print that I got from Amazon featuring a very famous line from Severus Snape, and one of my favorite moments from the books.

So, I went to Ikea and bought three different frames to fit these items. The largest is black, with the smaller two in gold and silver. I thought it would be cool to use different frames with different sizes, similar to the various portraits adorning the walls throughout Hogwarts. I thought the gold and silver colors also went well with the theme, and maybe were a hint to Gringrotts Bank.

For the actual shelf to store my Mystery Minis I found a very plain wood box at Michaels Craft Store (where I used a one-day only 60% off coupon!) and also bought some silver spray paint. I looked at various hooks, handles, and door knobs as a means to store or place the wand. I ended up finding some basic small wood “acorn dowel caps” at Hobby Lobby (where I also used a coupon). After attaching them to the wood box and spray painting it, I found some paper with bricks printed on it at Joann’s Fabrics (I literally went to every craft store in the area I live at this point). I thought the paper was perfect because it looked so similar to the entrance to Diagon Alley. 

Here is a more step-by-step account of how I put it all together!

What You’ll Need:

• Wood box

• Two wood knobs

• Spray paint

• Paper/tarp to safely spray paint over

• Clear varnish

• Paint brush

• Ruler

• Glue (I used Aleene’s tacky glue)

• Patterned paper

• Saw tooth hangers (I used two, with one on each end of the box)

• Nails/hammer (to hang finished product)

Directions:

1. First, I super glued the knobs to the bottom front edge of the box. I used a ruler to make sure they were evenly spaced.

2. After the knobs were secure, I spray painted the front and inside of the box with the silver spray paint. Once it was dry, I then spray painted the back.

3. With the entire box/knobs painted, I then did a quick look over to see if there were any areas that didn’t get covered as well, and touched them up with more spray paint.

4. To secure the paint, I brushed a thin layer of clear varnish over the box. 

5. I now used a ruler to measure the back of the box and cut my patterned brick paper so that it would fit when placed inside.

6. Then, I brushed glue on the back of the paper, making sure to get an even layer. I then carefully placed in inside the box and rubbed it smooth. I then let it dry for several hours.

7. To finish the box, I added a layer of varnish on top of the paper. Then it was time to attach the saw tooth hangers and fasten it to the wall! Once attached onto the wall, I added the figurines into the box and placed the wand on top of the knobs.

Here are some photos of the final product: 

I took the final set-up photos at night because the glare from my bedroom window was too bright during the day and reflected in all the frames.

Overall, I am so pleased with the final outcome. Not only do I think it looks awesome, I managed to put it all together for under $25 (including the three frames), which I thought was pretty good. I think this worked out a lot better than trying to find and buy something with the vision I had in mind. It is unique and allows me to finally display something that means a lot to me. My bedroom is mostly themed around London, and this Harry Potter corner fits right in with it. Every time I look at it, I get a feeling of comfort and happiness that this series has given me since I was 10 years old.