Jona

Because of recent events, it´s pretty much impossible to just go out and buy some dye. Or, if you are like me, you don´t like predyed felt or can´t really afford normal fabric dyes. So I went through my house and searched for alternative solutions like tea or even food coloring.

I used white craft felt for my material, but I´m sure you can do the same thing with thread, cotton or even aida. Just take a little piece and test it out beforehand, I put them in dry and without any additional fabric medium.

I wanted to test out how much you can intensify the color and used 100ml (3 fl.oz) of hot or boiling water as the medium, in some cases it didn´t really made a difference (like Fennel tea), but see for yourself :)

Here are my results:

So the “natural” dyes like tea, coffee and ink are not really intense, but make for nice off-white shades and earthy tones. They didn´t change the texture of the felt, don´t smell weird or anything but will probably fade, if you should wash them again.

On the other side, we have food coloring (I used Wilton), which made very bright and nice shades, but also made the fabric a bit stiff and ruins every surface you put it on. It´s still the best alternative if you want bold colors with wide range, but make sure it dissolves fully before you put anything in it.

Acrylic paint wasn´t really a failure, it can make a nice marble look, but also leads to dark, stiff rings at the outer edge of the fabric (which you can just cut off). Probably my least favorite technique.

I´m a casual watcher of the Harry-Potter-Movies and was really excited for the new Fantastic Beasts, because I Ioved the first one and thought of it as a refreshing change after so many years of “just Harry & Co”. I´m NOT a lore expert, but even I noticed so many plot holes and bullshittery.

Crendence can not be a Dumbledore. Period. It has to be a lie by Grindelwald, otherwise Rowling is just destroying the whole world and canon she build over 20 years

- he is obviously not the Corvus Lestrange baby, that got swapped. He is the other random baby from that random woman on the ship. The woman and Corvus both died.

-Dumbledores mother died because of her daughter, during the time Dumbledore graduated from Hogwarts. Her husband died in Azkaban even earlier. There can not be a fourth child.

-by the way, how likely is it for a random woman to have a baby with magic abilities (if she was a witch she would have survived the ship sinking)

-if Credence is a distant relative to Albus Dumbledore, this twist would even be more lazy. Plus, what does it really change? About anything?

Queenie went from “Grindelwald bad” to “why not” because of no reason, literally.

Flamel was unnecessary and pure fanservice. Bad fanservice.

Nagini was alright. I do not really care that she used to be a woman. But she is clearly against Grindelwald, but decides to follow Voldemort later in life?! Maybe she joins him later in the films.

Tina was wasted potential, she did nothing, because nothing happend. People stood around and talked, that´s it.

This Kama Guy, was unnecessary too. The whole prophecy plot means nothing. Leta and her death served nothing. Newt would have choosen his brother´s side anyways, if Queenie joined Grindelwald.

We know that Grindelwald is evil, he is Wizard Hitler, we do not have to see his henchmen kill a child. We get it.

(If a phoenix is only coming to a Dumbledore in a time of great need, why does Albus have one in The Chamber of Secrets, before all that basilisk stuff happens? UPDATE: aleccastairs said that he got Fawkes during the great duel with Grindelwald, thanks :) )

Rowling thinks she is the most progressive person ever (look at her Twitter) but can´t even show two dudes kissing? It´s not like gay love is banned from the big screen. Showing Dumbledores homosexuality in a non-cryptic context would have been a statement.

If she really continues to change the canon she destroyes her reputation and legacy. The film felt like a book, it was paced like one. But film is a visual medium, show something else than people talking and flashbacks. If you have trouble transitioning from literature to screenwriting, ask for help. Get a co-writer. No one will judge you for that, it will improve your project.

What I enjoyed

Despite my critic I liked the movie and want to still follow the francise. I´m no expert when it comes to film critic but I just want to enjoy the experience and not think about giant plot issues.

Newt, Theseus and Jacob were great as always. The CGI was so good and felt real at times. Everyone complained about Depp after the first film, but now it is clear that role of Grindelwald was made for him. He was one of the best parts. Same for Jude Law. The Beasts were really creative and nice to watch.

I hope the next movie is going to be better. Crimes of Grindelwald was like two hours of exposition, please do something with that. Every project can be improved, even if it is by J.K.Rowling. Please do not betray your own work.

Finally! I nearly stabbed myself to escape this carrot, but now it will decorate my butt while I hand-weed the hot mess of our garden