Magic Wand Tutorial

First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for the terrible quality of pictures. The only camera I had available was my phone, which has an awful blue-ish tinted flash. Again, I'm sorry and I hope it's not too unbearable!

I made these with the kids in my Harry Potter Club and they really loved it! It kept them busy and I liked that I did it in the early weeks because it gave them a chance to talk and get to know each other while they were gluing and doing the papier mache.

I did not come up with the idea for this on my own. I looked up a bunch of tutorials and I modified each of them and combined them in my own way. Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones I used but if I find them, I will put a link in this post to the blog sites.

Here are the materials you will need.

BBQ Skewers
Pipe Cleaners (aka Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring, and Phoenix Feather etc)
Glitter (aka Magic Dust)
Newspaper (one full sheet and a good amount of strips
Tape
Papier Mache mixture (I believe I used 1 part water : 2 parts glue)

Next you want to tape two or three skewers together with a Magical Core!

Roll it up in the FOLDED sheet of newspaper. (You know how a FULL sheet is technically 4 sections? I just used HALF (two sections) folded into one section...if that makes sense.

Don't forget to add some Magic Dust and recite an incantation!

Fold the ends of the newspaper over until the crease is just about at the ends of the skewers. We don't want any flimsy ends to our wands!

Now we begin the papier mache. Just dip and wrap! Feel free to let the strips of paper soak while you're working on your wand.

I wrapped the strips all in the same direction so when you smooth it out, it doesn't smooth in some parts and wrinkle in others. Remember, from here on out, it's totally up to the Wand Maker! If your little witch or wizard is not following this exactly, please don't try to micromanage. Just let the tyke be and see what comes of it. Certainly, however, provide help when it's requested!

See how the left side is thicker than the right? The left is where my handle is going to be. (Note, I did let it dry over the bowl in between coats. I believe it's easier to do a little at a time so it has time to dry...then the wet stuff is easier to work with when it's not a huge sloppy, gloopy mess.)

Just keep working it until...

BOOM! Ollivander status.

Now for the bad news. I don't know where the picture of my final product is! I painted mine all brown (dark for the handle, light for the rest), added some silver glitter accents, and dipped it for a silver glitter tip (to look like Lumos!)

For the good news. Here is a picture of some of my kids' wands! They came out great!! My favorite thing, though, is that no child's wand is the same or even remotely similar to another's. Make sure you have a variety of paint and other decorating supplies you can think of so the Wand-Maker-in-Training can exercise full creativity! Aslo, don't forget that NO TWO WANDS ARE THE SAME!

These are the FAB wands my kids at the club made! I love how distinctive they all are!

This Bad Boy is mine! 

I hope you liked this tutorial and I HOPE you will make some wands with your fellow Potterheads.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow me on Pinterest!

xo Christie