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November 21, 2017 Geekery Harry Potter How-Tos Projects Welcome from IG!

DIY Ultimate Harry Potter Treasure Box

This post contains affiliate links.

This is the Harry Potter treasure box that Max will find at the end of the scavenger hunt. What started as “Let's have Max get his Hogwarts letter!” has evolved into something very different, and OMG I can't can't wait to give it to him!

Decorating the trunk

The box is repurposed; it's one of those heavy-duty cardboard boxes, with a little magnetic clasp. Jamie brought it home from work recently (Because he won an award! Go Jamie!) and I set it aside because I always hoard interesting boxes around the holidays, so I have lots of gift wrapping options.

Once we decided to do the scavenger hunt, we knew we wanted a treasure box at the end. After some discussion we decided to make it look like a mini trunk (as opposed to a more traditional wooden pirate's chest sort of thing)

The supplies are pretty simple; and a combination of homemade and store-bought. For the actual trunk, we used some wide leather lacing from the jewelry aisle, and a mini padlock and hasp. (Side note: We picked that hasp because it had a combination of decent price and fast shipping. We discovered when it arrived that we had to drill our own hole into the bottom piece so we'd have a spot to attach the lock. If this might present a problem for you, you can find a hasp that already has the hole in place.) E6000 glue is magic for this kind of project.

 

 

I designed the stickers myself, and used my Silhouette to cut them out. There's a SPEW logo, Hogwarts Express, Ollivander's, and a Gryffindor crest, which went on the inside of the lid. You can download a PDF of the sticker designs here, with a bonus Deathly Hallows symbol. (This will open Google Drive in a new tab)

Inside the Harry Potter treasure box

When he finally gets it open, Max will find a variety of items inside, both things that we've made and things that we bought. I've written tutorial posts for all of the pieces we made, so I'll link them in the list.

  • Harry Potter candy
    Jelly Slugs, Chocolate Frogs and Bott's Everyf Favor Beans. These are an easy purchase!
  • Harry Potter bookmark
    A random little goodie that I picked up somewhere.
  • Goblin Gold
    While there are actual goblin chocolate coins you can buy online, I went with the regular chocolate version.
  • DIY Marauder's Map
    I found an incredible tutorial on Instructables and it was a breeze to assemble. I did the miniature version, because it fit better in our box, but there's a full-size version available too! Just pay close attention to the folds when you're assembling it!
  • DIY Book of Spells
    Your little wizard can get ahead of the game by studying Miranda Goschalk's first year Book of Spells.
  • DIY Dementor attack chocolate
    This post will give you the directions and a link to download the chocolate bar wrapper I created. Just grab some Hershey bars, print some wrappers, and you're all set with a Dementor-attack recovery kit!
  • DIY Hogwarts letter
    You'll find the tutorial to create your own above, including a fillable PDF file of the letter so you can do your own really easily!

Lock it tight!

Once everything is placed in the box, lock it up! We used our trusty E6000 to hold both parts of the hasp in place, so it's locked up tight until Max finds the correct key and opens it.

 

<<— Check out the complete Scavenger Hunt post

more harry potter craft projects

 


16 Comments

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Comments

  1. Nancy Parsons says

    November 21, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    You are a wizard yourself.

    Reply
  2. Rodger Bright says

    November 22, 2017 at 9:06 am

    It came out so good liz.. I love the stickers!

    Reply
  3. Bec says

    January 2, 2018 at 2:27 am

    What a brilliant idea. We have just returned from a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood and my daughters 11th birthday is in May and you’ve given me an idea to give her her Hogwarts letter in a trunk with lots of our souvenirs in it as a keepsake. Thank you. Fingers crossed we get to visit Universal in Orlando (I live in Australia so it might not be for a long while lol)

    Reply
    • Lizz says

      January 2, 2018 at 9:10 am

      I love this idea, Bec! Be sure to send me pics if you make it happen, I’d love to see it!

      Reply
  4. Jill Terrill says

    February 7, 2018 at 11:02 am

    Where did you get your box?

    Reply
    • Lizz says

      February 7, 2018 at 11:16 am

      I repurposed a random box my husband had at home; it originally housed an award he got at work.

      Reply
      • Michelle says

        July 7, 2019 at 6:16 pm

        So alcohol stores that sell cigars will sometimes give the wooden boxes for free. Lay a rag with baking soda on it to clean out the cigar smell.

        Reply
        • Lizz says

          July 7, 2019 at 7:22 pm

          This is a great tip Michelle, thank you!

          Reply
  5. Celina says

    May 13, 2018 at 2:42 pm

    Thank you for sharing! I borrowed a lot of your ideas but used a cigar box for my trunk (no lock!). I love the look – thanks again!

    Reply
  6. Ramses says

    May 17, 2018 at 8:51 am

    Wow this looks awesome! Well done! I wish I could make one for my sister but those templates of the Marauder’s Map on Instructables are no longer available ๐Ÿ™ Do you by any chance still have them?

    Reply
  7. Brontay says

    November 7, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    Omg! I love this!! Will you adopt me and make me one too?!?!

    Reply
  8. Jules L says

    November 16, 2018 at 8:20 am

    I am making this for my daughter for her birthday. The map template is still available.

    Reply
  9. Preethi Anchan says

    January 9, 2019 at 10:56 pm

    This is so fun and creative. Brilliant idea ๐Ÿ™‚
    Love your blogs!

    Reply
  10. Jessica L Robinson says

    December 20, 2019 at 11:39 am

    Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. One hiccup i’m having is with the locks. i bought a wooden chest and ordered the same clasps and locks and i can’t get it to actually lock. it seems like there should have been holes in the clasp piece to slide the padlock into?

    Reply
  11. Ari_D says

    September 27, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    I have a friend who is a massive Harry Potter fan!!! It’s her birthday soon and I am planning on making her something along the lines of this, and I’m sure she’s going to love it!

    Reply
  12. Shyla says

    April 5, 2022 at 2:29 pm

    What kind of paper should be used for the stickers?

    Reply

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Welcome, I'm so glad you're here! Thing number one, I'm tall. I've been told I should have a warning on my blog, so here it is! I am taller in real life than I appear on the internet. Want to know more than this "short" version? Go here to read more about me and my family, and for links to some of my favorite posts.
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