Season Of The Witch (Harry Potter Keychains)

 In popular culture, witches often get lumped into the same 'paranormal' category as vampires, werewolves, and other, frequently sinister mythological beings. Although Wicca and various 'modern-day pagan' groups have, in more recent years, made efforts to combat the age-old stereotype of equating witchcraft with devil-worship.

The seven book Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, set primarily at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is statistically the best-selling book series in history. Add to this a blockbuster film franchise based on the books, as well as "The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter" at Universal Orlando theme park, and it could be argued that Rowling's characters rank among some of the most famous magic practitioners in fiction, right up there with Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth or even Shakespeare's 'Three Witches'.

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought that now would be a good time to show off some Harry Potter themed keychains. I already shared a couple of 'wizarding' keychains in my "Buy What You Like" post, under the header "Pop Culture Touchstones". Also, in another previous post, I wrote about a blind bag Ron Weasley wand keychain made by Paladone Products Ltd. that I found at Dollar Tree. In that post, I mentioned how another company had released several blind box wand keychains made from metal, rather than plastic. I also hinted that I would be sharing more information in a successive post. Unfortunately, that follow-up got buried in my list of future post ideas, where I eventually forgot about it. I will attempt to make amends to my readers here, and I apologize for keeping you waiting.

The metal wand pictured above is from the "Harry Potter Collectible Keychains: Series 1" line by Se7en20. It's meant to be Ron Weasley's broken wand from the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. If you look closely at the photo, you might be able to see the molded 'Spellotape' wrapping on the wand.

This "Wingardium Leviosa" keychain is also from the same line. I actually bought this one in its original blind box, at an actual retail store. I more often buy 'blind' items used rather than at retail, so that they're pre-opened and I know exactly what I'm getting. However, this was on clearance at the time.

The Triwizard Cup keychain pictured above is from a similar collectible keychain series by Monogram International Inc., the "Harry Potter Collectors Keyring: Series 1" line. This keychain would've been a blind bag item originally. However, I bought mine secondhand.

This Hogwarts crest, labeled as a "Harry Potter Soft Touch Keyring" on the tag, is another Monogram International Inc. product. However, this item wasn't blind-packed.

Speaking of crests, here's the official emblem of Hogwarts' Hufflepuff house. Each Hogwarts house features a different animal on its crest, with Hufflepuff represented by an animal that some refer to as 'the badger of mediocrity'. However, judging by the number of times that I've walked into a Build A Bear Workshop store and found all of the Hufflepuff merchandise sold out, while merchandise for every other Hogwarts house was still in stock, I think a lot of Harry Potter fans must have a soft spot for this particular house. And in my mind, this actually makes a lot of sense. While many of us may aspire to be Gryffindors or Ravenclaws or even Slytherins, I think that deep down, most of us identify more with Hufflepuffs. Incidentally, this Hufflepuff house keychain was put out by ATA-BOY Inc.

This Lego keychain also features the Hufflepuff house emblem.

When I told my online keychain collecting friend, Heathersmoo, that I'd acquired a secondhand time turner souvenir keychain with identifying markings from Universal Orlando theme park's "The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter", Heather seemed very interested in seeing it. There's also a story behind my managing to snag this keychain from an online auction site that I think could be useful to other shoppers who buy from secondhand sites. I first stumbled across the auction listing for this time turner keychain by accident, when I typed in a search for, I believe, "hourglass keychains". The auction details stated that this keychain was an estate sale find, and I have a strong suspicion that the seller didn't know what it was actually called because neither the auction header nor the item description included the words "time turner". This may have worked in my favor, as it might partially explain why I was the only one who put in a bid. My guess is that because those crucial keywords were missing from the listing, no rival bidders were able to find the auction, despite the fact that the name Harry Potter was included in the title by the seller.

Let's shift our attention to Paladone Products Ltd., the company responsible for that "Harry Potter Backpack Buddies" blind bag wand keychain I picked up from Dollar Tree. This "Harry Potter Light Up Key Ring" is another Paladone Products item. Coincidentally, I bought this keychain from Dollar Tree as well.

I don't really know a lot about this Harry Potter name/logo keychain, since I bought it secondhand from an outdoor flea market. An online seller who also had one listed for sale stated that it originally came from Hot Topic, a store specializing in pop culture related items. But so far, I've been unable to verify this.

I hope that you enjoyed this 'seasonal' post, and Happy Fall to you all.

Signed, Treesa

Disney Keychain Shopping Spree Haul: February 2019

I think I mentioned in a previous post that my favorite 'vacation destination' is the Disney parks. Ever since my family's last trip to Walt Disney World in 2011, several family members, including myself, have been putting aside money for a return trip. My third sister, A., had been lobbying for our next family trip to Disney to be during the winter holiday season. From what I understand, the Disney parks really go all out for Christmas. Well, it looks like A. might be getting her wish. Barring any unforeseen events or expenses, the next family trip is tentatively scheduled for the beginning of December 2019. I think I'll be riding up and down on that wave of anticipation for the rest of the year, especially since my birthday is also in early December. How cool would it be to spend my birthday in one of my all-time favorite places?

Being a keychain collector, I also started thinking about vacation souvenirs. Things are frequently overpriced at any popular tourist destination, but the Disney parks can be especially pricey. When my family was taking the shuttle bus back to the airport after our last Disney trip in 2011, the driver even made a joke about the price of a bottle of water at the park versus the price of bottled water in the 'real world'. Now that my family's next Disney trip has a more definitive time frame, as opposed to being at some undetermined date in the hazy future, I've found myself wondering if I should start putting aside even more money for a souvenir fund.

That's when I came up with a crazy idea. What if, instead of buying keychains at the park, I tried to save myself some money in the long run by going online and searching for Disney parks souvenir keychains at a discount on the secondary market? I know I stated in a previous post that I don't buy a lot of keychains online, mostly due to shipping costs. However, I figured there was no harm in looking around. Online 'window shopping' wouldn't cost me anything but my time, and if I couldn't find anything at a price I was willing to pay, then I could just log off empty-handed.

I discovered something while I was searching online that other keychain collectors might find useful. If you're searching for keychains from a specific Disney attraction, then there will be fewer search results, and the prices will be harder to justify budget-wise. On the other hand, if you're searching for more general Disney parks keychains, there will be more results at a wider range of prices. So consider that your secondhand shopping tip for the day. I was personally able to find a number of what I considered good deals. In fact, I sort of went overboard. I can definitely understand why people say that online shopping is addictive.

The first keychain I picked up on my "shopping spree" was this one. The words "Disney Parks", and a small castle in the clouds design logo, appear to be etched into the metal. This was, by the way, a bit tricky to photograph due to the reflective surface. Overall, I think the combination of the metal with the red leather or faux leather strap, I'm not sure which, gives this keychain a very classy look.

The next keychain I ordered had a nice design of the Disney castle on it, though again, the reflective surface made it difficult to photograph. However, this keychain isn't actually from the parks. I knew this was the case before I bought it, but I still really liked the design. According to the text on the back, this keychain is an advertisement or a premium of some kind for Partners Home Mortgage.

I looked up Partners Home Mortgage online, and the name seems to be connected to Partners Federal Credit Union, which, according to their website, "provides financial products and services" for Walt Disney Company employees. I wasn't aware that the Disney Company has its own private credit union. You learn something new every day.

This Lego Star Wars Princess Leia keychain probably didn't come from the parks either, although there was a Lego store located in a shopping district at the Walt Disney World resort the last time I visited. However, I'm fairly sure that the Star Wars franchise didn't officially join the Disney 'family' until more recently than that. Still, now that the Star Wars films are being produced by Disney, Leia should totally count as a Disney princess.

Truthfully, I've wanted one of these Princess Leia keychains ever since I first saw them at a shopping mall based Lego Store a while back. The thing about this particular version of Leia that got my attention was that she has a second facial expression on the back of her head.

I liked the idea of going from smiling Leia to frowning Leia.

This letter T monogram keychain was originally made for the Disney parks. It says so plainly on the back.

I also bought some theme park nameplate keychains that have my full name on them. In a shocking twist that will surprise no one, my real name is...

Obviously, the Harry Potter Gryffindor crest keychain did not come from the Disney parks. However, it is from another Florida theme park, namely The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. Both keychains are marked on the back, with the Disney one specifically being from Disneyland.

Next, we have a Walt Disney World 25th anniversary keychain.

I picked out this keychain because it had The Genie from Aladdin on it. The Genie was one of my favorite Disney characters when I was growing up.

This next keychain depicts Disney's famous Partners statue, with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands.

If you look closely at this photo of the back of the keychain, you should be able to make out the words "Walt Disney World".

I'm not sure if this coin purse keychain is actually from the Disney parks, but I doubt it. Other keychains that I've seen from the parks with fabric labels will say "Disney Parks Authentic", or something similar. The fabric label on the inside of this coin purse keychain says "Mickey Unlimited". According to the online listing, the seller attributed the design on this keychain to artist Andy Warhol. I'm not sure how accurate that information is, but I do like the design.

This last online purchase was sort of an impulse buy. By the time I stumbled across the listing, the auction was almost over. I quickly looked over the page and noticed that the cost was low, that there were no bidders, and that the seller had an excellent feedback score. I also liked the 'Mickey Mouse head' shape of the keychain. So I took a chance on it. The Disneyland castle design on the keychain is a little more stylized than I would've preferred, with its heavy, black outlining. But overall, I'm happy with my purchase.

While I was in a Disney mood, I also picked up this item from my favorite thrift store. It's meant to be the rose with bell jar from Disney's Beauty And The Beast animated film. I found it attached to the zipper of an empty Beauty And The Beast themed art kit. Because the kit was missing all of the art supplies, the price on it was low enough that I felt ok with buying the case and then donating it after I removed the keychain. I suppose it's actually more of a zipper pull than a keychain but hey, my collection, my rules.

I also picked up this Lego Star Wars landspeeder keychain while I was at it. This keychain was purchased from a store called Andy's Brick Shop, which specializes in Lego items, mostly second-hand pieces and sets, but also old stock still in package. I'm assuming this particular keychain was used, since it didn't come with a cardboard tag or any other original packaging.

So, this wraps up my "shopping spree". Like I said, I sort of went overboard. But at least I can own up to that fact.

Signed, Treesa