FREE Itinerary for a Week in Europe for London, Paris, and Edinburgh (Including a PDF, Cost Breakdown,& links to purchase!)

I am a planner. BIG time. I have no shame in ironing out every minute detail of anything I'm going to do - especially something big and expensive! This Thursday, my boyfriend and I are taking a trip to Europe for about a week and immediately I began planning.

 

And kept planning...

One kind of silly thing I am doing from all this planning though is creating laminated cards of each day's itinerary with hand drawn pictures of the sights. I hope one day my future children will find them and want to take the same trip Mom did and they'll have the exact itinerary down to the tube stops to do it. So, I thought, maybe other people might want something a bit more personalized and free to do the same?! Sure, you can pay to have a travel agent or you can do it yourself. Or you can wing it which can turn out to be a real adventure! But if you're a planner like me, save yourself the time if you like where we're going! I should mention the main reason we planned this trip is all the Harry Potter activities Europe has to offer. And I'm a yuge fan...yuge. So, if Harry Potter isn't your thing, feel free to take it out, however I encourage anyone to visit AND it only takes up a small portion of our trip. We're still visiting all the London sights, Edinburgh sights, and everything in Paris!

Here is the PDF of our itinerary. 

Click on the image to access the printable and editable PDF!

Here is a breakdown of the costs of each item. At the end of each cost is a link to where you can directly purchase the same vouchers or tours we did. Including travel in your cost with advance tickets is a lifesaver and necessity. We've done all the work for you! Please keep in mind that prices for activities and tickets change daily and sales are sometimes running so our cost may be higher or lower than what you see when you book your own trip!

Travel Expenses: All prices listed are the total for ONE PERSON except where noted

• $2.415.86 roundtrip with hotel for two people - Qbic Hotel purchased WITH flight through Expedia: https://qbichotels.com/london-city/gallery/
• $102.33 - Train from London to Edinburgh, Scotland: Virgin Trains East Coast https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com
• $94 roundtrip - Train from London to Paris, France: Eurostar http://www.eurostar.com/us-en
• $48.61 - Oyster Card 1 week pass to ride the tube unlimited per day in zones 1 & 2

Attraction Expenses: All prices listed are the total for ONE PERSON

• $39.01 - River Thames Cruise with Afternoon Tea https://www.viator.com/tours/London/Thames-River-Sightseeing-Cruise-with-Afternoon-Tea/d737-3542AFTEA
• $120.76 - The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour and Oxford Day Trip https://www.viator.com/tours/London/Warner-Bros-Studio-Tour-London-The-Making-of-Harry-Potter-and-Oxford-Day-Trip-from-London/d737-5528IFPOTTER
• $17.91 - Walking Tour for Muggles https://www.tourformuggles.com
• FREE - Walking Tour of Edinburgh http://edinburghfreetour.com
• $34.54 - The London Dungeon https://www.thedungeons.com/london/en/
• $18.44 - The Louvre Museum https://www.ticketlouvre.fr//louvre/b2c/index.cfm/home *If the site pulls up in french, change the language at the top right of the page. The first of three options (Musee du Louvre) is the option we chose.
• $14.86 + $1.57 to print at home - Musee D'Orsay https://musee-orsay.fnacspectacles.com/processreservation/disponibilite.do *This site is partly in French and I couldn't figure out how to change it though I speak some french so I navigated. To purchase simple day tickets, go to that link, type in the number of tickets you want, choose the "print @ home" option under the "Credit Card" section and click continue. The next page allows you to purchase ticket insurance. Click continue and make an account. It will walk you through the rest. Comment below if you have any trouble!
• $18.44 for adults ages 25+ to go to top floor/$11.93 for second floor - Eiffel Tower http://ticket.toureiffel.fr/index-css5-sete-pg1-lgen.html?_ga=1.2897141.453521011.1490493465 *Tickets for those aged 12-24 are cheaper!
• $40.60 - Paris Big Bus Tour with Seine River Cruise https://www.bigbustours.com/en/paris/paris-tour-tickets-and-passes/paris-bus-tour-tickets/?qty[adult]=0&qty[child]=0&focus=top-filter-form/ *Their bus tours change throughout the year so check and see what's available when you book.

A couple of things:

• We used Expedia.com to book our hotel and flight at the same time. I obviously can't guarantee matched prices for those things, however, if you go at certain times you'll get cheaper rates. We're going during spring break, April 1-9 which isn't really considered peak time for London. 
• The hotel we booked is called Qbic. I immediately fell in love with its modern and quirky mix of modern and minimalism. It's got amazing looking breakfast (will do a follow up post!) and is eco-friendly! Personally, I would recommend this place over a regular hotel because a) it's similar or cheaper in price and b) it's an experience in itself! Check them out at qbic.com
• We planned our days out based on our flight times and on spacing out heavy walking days with heavy travel days. Feel free to switch things around!
• Prices of any item listed may change at any time. 
• Purchasing advance tickets for attractions in France can be finicky. Make sure your bank doesn't have restrictions placed on purchasing out of country items. Also, if you plan on buying advance tickets for the Eiffel Tower, you need to get your tickets waaaaaay in advance. The Summit ticket (travel to all three floors) is booked up until May for us, so we'll have to buy tickets on site. 
• Again, lots of items on this itinerary are Harry Potter centered. I'm a huge fan and this is a dream come true trip for me. If you aren't keen on the series, substitute in another walking tour or show! Or just go get converted into a Potterhead - it's great. :)
• If you intend to go to The London Dungeon attraction AS WELL AS The London Eye, Shrek's Adventure, and/or The London Aquarium please note you can buy these attractions in packages and save money. We only went to The London Dungeon but if you have kids and want to work the strip and see all four of those attractions or even just three, they have money saving packages you can purchase here https://www.thedungeons.com/london/en/book-tickets/ticket-prices-and-offers.aspx or in person!
• We printed out every possible ticket, voucher, confirmation page, hotel itinerary, map, etc. possible for two reasons. 1) I don't believe you should rely solely on your phone for mobile tickets because you're going to be taking pictures and videos left and right. Don't get stuck out and about without your ticket. 2) Several places in London and France require a paper ticket over a mobile ticket. Carry a small, secure backpack or purse and take the day's activities tickets with you just in case.

I really hope at least one person finds this itinerary fun and useful! It's been months of excited planning and I'm 99% sure I didn't forget anything, but please let me know if you think of something else! With this itinerary, you should be able to take the exact trip we are and purchase everything with ease just by following the above information. A personal travel agent service for free! I'll be doing a follow up post when we return with pictures, reviews, and any changes I would suggest. 

If you have any problems or questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

With love, Jessica.

Harry Potter Silhouette Painting

Happy November Everyone!

I did this painting a bit ago actually but thought, with the holidays coming up, it might be a good gift idea for the special Harry Potter nerd in your life!

I've mentioned before I love DIY's that let me paint...and I may have mentioned I'm ferociously obsessed with my favorite wizarding world. ;) So, this was the perfect blending of my passions and I have to say, I love how it turned out! 

It was pretty simple. I started out by choosing my favorite HP quote that represented what I was going for:

"Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

Next, I posed like the muggle I am with my personal wand straight from Ollivander's.

I don't have a picture of this next step, but I printed my muggleshot (get it? muggleshot? mugshot?) and used an exact-o knife to carefully cut out around my silhouette. I then laid it onto the lower corner of my canvas and traced it with a pencil and painted in the silhouette with black paint. Finally, I added some Potter-esque swirls coming out of my wand in what I hope channels a Patronus, and painted on my quote! Ta-da! 

I don't like my handwriting or spacing but I still love it. 

So, do you think you'll be making your own magical silhouette? Comment your painting below - I think this allows for so much creativity and I'd love to see what you come up with!

Christmas 2015 Planner Pages - 22 pages for FREE!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I've recently received some feedback on my Mini Binder Christmas Planner and have done some work to add two more pages AND now every page in the planner is available in full size! If you don't yet have a mini binder (a half page sized binder available at most places where office supplies is sold) check out this post on how to make your own! If you don't have the original mini-binder Christmas Planner pages, go here! 

Below, you will find links to the PDF's for the two new mini-binder sized Christmas Planner pages, and every single Christmas Planner page in full 8.5 X 11 size! Great for those who want a bit more writing room.

Also, a note on printing the mini sized pages. You may need to change the page size before you print, if your computer doesn't do it for you when you access the PDF. Simply go to File -> Page Setup or File -> Print and change the page size from there. You need to change the page size to 5.5 by 8.5 (or it may show up as 5.50 by 8.50). This is simply a regular sheet of printer paper cut in half. I suggest buying a pack of printer paper and taking it to your local office supplies store and asking them to cut the entire stack in half. They have a cutting machine that does it all at one time and they even box it up for you! 

Also, ONLY for the mini pages, if you have a handheld single hole puncher, I included black dots on the margin where you should hole punch. If you're printing the full size pages, the template pictures below show the black hole dots, but they are not included on the PDF's. A regular three hole punch will work on the full size pages only. 

Another good tip I got from a commentor is to print double sided! More bang for your buck because you don't waste paper!

Simply click the link below each template to access the PDF!

First, the two NEW Mini-Binder Christmas Planner Pages

Who doesn't love a good Christmas morning breakfast? Plan it out with this page!

Mini-Binder Christmas Breakfast Planner

Get organized on your kids' stockings with this stocking stuffer page!

Mini-Binder Stocking Stuffer Planner

And for those of you wanting to go big this year, here is all 22 Christmas Planner pages in full page size!

Black Friday Full Size

Charity Full Size

Child Gift List Full Size

Christmas Breakfast Planner Full Size

Christmas Eve Dinner Full Size

Christmas Day Dinner Full Size

December 2015 Calendar Full Size

Elf on the Shelf Ideas Full Size

Family Gift Planner Full Size

Friends Gift Planner Full Size

Game Planner Full Size

Basic Gift Ideas List Full Size

Gifts Budget List Full Size

In-Laws Gift Planner Full Size

Notes Page Full Size

Parents Gift Planner Full Size

Generic Recipient Gift List Full Size

Secret Santa Planner Full Size

Significant Other Gift Planner Full Size

Stocking Stuffers Planner Full Size

Supplies List Full Size

Christmas Traditions List Full Size

If you have ideas for more pages or if you need help with anything, please feel free to leave a comment below! I love comments!

~ Jessica

DIY: Faux Leather Nightstand

I have returned!

I know it's been a while since I've made a post. So, to kick things back off, I have a little DIY that is everything I'm about: cheap and shmancy looking. I've had one of those ugly little chipboard round tables for a while now. I picked it up for $1 at a thrift store a while back thinking I was going to do some project with it and true to form, that project never happened. ;) But now it has been reborn! I have a really tall bed and my current nightstand wasn't cutting it height wise. I also wanted something edgier and more in tone with the rest of my room's style, which I've recently redone as well. I'll post pictures later! Anyway, cue up my ugly little decorating table. 

Get your own ugly table here!

One of the things I did on my hiatus was take a trip (or three) to California where my friend recently moved.

Of course I scoped out every Goodwill in a 20 mile radius from his apartment, and while I was there, I found a yard of amazing brown pleather for less than $2! I stuffed that shiz into my carry on and brought it home. It sat for awhile until the other day, when I was ranting about how I couldn't find a nightstand high enough for my bed, my dad suggested I cover my ugly table with the pleather. I was SO on board! 

My only tweak to the idea was to cut down the table top to have a straight-edge side that I could push up against the wall. Trying to save as much room as possible!

What You Need

- ugly little table

- thick, durable fabric

- staple gun

- scissors

- saw

So, we started by cutting off one side of the round tabletop, keeping in mind the placement of the legs on the underside. 

I didn't take pictures of the next part but it's incredibly easy. Whip out your staple gun and go crazy. I just flipped the table upside down on the pleather, cut around the edges giving myself about three inches extra to work with, and wrapped it around the sides and stapled, stapled, stapled. My suggestion would be to start stapling down the fabric on the straight-edge first, then switch across to the middle point of your half-circle and work your way around each side until you get to the back corners. Folding is your friend! This is what I ended up with.

Please forgive the horrible photo quality (it was nighttime and my room gets pretty dark) but this is the finished product in my room! You can see how tall my bed is, so I was very excited to get this edgy little table in there! Some things I might do to this later on to make it ever more industrial-chic is add gold or brass caps to the ends of the legs and 'maybe' stain the legs a slightly darker color. I thought about adding a brass brad trim but thought that might look a little outdated. What do you think?

Hope you like it as much as I do. These little tables are abundant at thrift stores all year round so if this is something you'd love to throw in your bedroom, hall, or entryway, you won't have any trouble snagging one of your own!

Valentine's Day Inspired Pedicure

If you're looking for a last minute way to spruce up your Valentine's Day, try this quick DIY pedicure! 

I began by applying a layer of clear base coat to all my nails. Then, I chose a festive color, pink, and painted all toes except for the accent nail next to my big toe. While they were drying, I did two quick coats of pink glitter on my accent nail. Next, I just free-handed white French tips on all my pink nails (it's much easier than free-handing tips on your fingernails!). If you don't do so well free-handing, my other go to is a thin strip of scotch tape that I've stuck on my skin a few times so it's not as sticky (to save it from ripping up my first layer!). Simply place it where you want to achieve your desired tip thickness, paint, and peel carefully from one side. Finally, finish all nails with a top coat of clear polish and you're good to go!

DIY Christmas Wreath and Centerpiece Décor

This past week was an eventful one for me between getting my certification for a new job (Hello, substitute teaching!) and pulling down ALL the Christmas decorations from the attic to deck the halls. Somewhere in there, I managed to do a couple diy projects to spruce up my mother's village collection and our dining room table. 

Read on for how you can make these yourself and how Raise.com can help!

Christmas Wreath

You need: artificial poinsettias, wreath form, red ribbon, phrase plaque, hot glue gun

step 1: wrap wreath form in red ribbon. i used a straw form so i held my ribbon in place with sewing pins. the exposed portion will be covered by the flowers.

step 2: for this project, i found this wooden plaque you paint yourself (a craft within a craft! my favorite!) at goodwill but Walmart and Michael's have phrase plaques for super cheap that you can use in place. Raise.com can help you out, too! If you sign up (for free...score!) on their website, you can buy a Walmart or Michael's gift card (among many others) at a reduced price that you can use to get all the materials for this craft!

Because who else needs a reason to go shopping other than saving money!

step 3: pull your flowers and leaves from the stems.

step 4: using hot glue, attach your plaque and flowers in any orientation you like best!

step 5: i hung my wreath over my mom's Christmas village with Command strips. i'll be doing a post later on how to do the snowflakes you see on the window with just two materials!

Table Centerpiece Décor

You need: stemmed glasses, candles, small holiday trinkets, charger or decorative plate, fake snow, additional décor

the base of this centerpiece is really the overturned stemmed glasses that conceal small, holidays trinkets, topped with festive colored candles. the other items are optional but help complete the scene! I've been seeing the cutest holiday things at Target (my friend and i live there...in the dollar section) that you can snatch up for this centerpiece with a gift card from Raise.com. 

I would love to see someone do something similar with these glitter reindeer! Get them cheaper with a raise.com gift card!

step 1: gather equal numbers of stemware, candles, and small, holiday trinkets

step 2: on your charger/plate, overturn your glasses with a trinket underneath and a candle on top

step 3: add faux snow around your display (we got ours from an old pillow!)

step 4: embellish your display with any additional décor you have. we used my favorite brass deer, a festive candle snuff, and threw in a few fake poinsettias for good measure.

And there you have it! Two crazy simple Christmas decorations to get your house in the holiday spirit!

DIY Harry Potter Ornament Series Part 4: Winged Key, Quill, Sorting Hat, Nagini, Scabbers, Sir Cadogan

Hello once again!

If you've been keeping up with the craftin', we're on part 4 of my DIY Harry Potter Ornament series! See parts 1, 2, and 3 here!

These five ornaments took me around an hour or so to make. It was very enjoyable too because they involve painting, which is always my favorite way to transform a piece into something more recognizable. Now, onto the fun stuff!

First, The Winged Silver Key from HP&SS that Harry had to catch to advance in capturing the Sorcerer's Stone.

Next, a Quill used by Hogwarts students.

As you can see, this one is hardly a craft as it's mostly done for you. But quick and easy is always a plus in my book!

The Sorting Hat we all know and love!

1. Gather a black witches hat (this felt one was $1 in the doll section at JoAnne's) and brown paints.

2. Cut a wavy, worn edge onto the brim.

3. Glue over the tip of the hat to make it worn and floppy.

4. Using hot glue, "draw" on your highlight lines where the eyes, mouth, and creases would be.

5. Paint entire hat dark brown.

6. Paint in shadows with black paint and highlights with light brown.

7. Attach hook and hang!

Nagini, Voldemort's beloved horcrux.

Again, very simple. Just painting her black designs on.

Scabbers, the untrustworthy fat rat secretkeeper. 

Much like Nagini, just paint with as much detail as you like!

And finally, Sir Cadogan in one of his paintings!

Five more ornaments down, still like thirty to go and only 38 days till Christmas! Keep an eye out for more DIY ornaments coming soon!