Over the weekend, I made Princess wands with my girls and I thought they were so fun that I wanted to pass along the super easy tutorial for you guys.
I think these would be great party favors or you might just file it away as something crafty to do this summer to keep the littles busy.
You can of course buy wands for just a few dollars but I like making things with the kids plus you can customize these in any color scheme you like. A silver wand with blue and white and silver ribbon would be so perfect for a Frozen party or we did bright rainbow colors just as an addition to the dress up box.
You only need a few things to get started:
- Hooks- mine are called Screw Eyes and they came 6 pieces to a pack at Lowe’s. The current online price is $1.24 for all 6 and the item # for my hooks is 605303. You can order online and pick up in store to avoid wandering the aisles. If you want to do slightly larger wands, Lowe’s also has wood dowels in various sizes to choose from.
- Wood Dowels- I found a 12 inch package of dowels for $2.99 at the craft store. There are 7 to a pack– I think these were from Michael’s in the section with all the woodworking supplies. You can find dowels in all sizes but I did the 1/4 x 12 inch size for mine. (You might also check Amazon here- especially if you need a lot for party favors. The prices look excellent.)
- Paint/Glitter/Glue/ Mod Podge
- Assorted Ribbon- I bought the $1.99 spools at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off
To get started you want to put the hook into the end of the dowel. This just makes tying the ribbon on a little easier. Also when you are painting it gives you a place to hold the dowel. Just screw it right in to the end of the dowel.
Next you want to paint the dowel the color of your choice. I wanted super sparkly gold for our wands so I used a gold metallic spray paint I had on hand and just sprayed them. You can easily paint these with craft paint- if you have a glitter craft paint even better!
Next I added a thin layer of glitter glue to the dowels and sprinkled glitter all over. I just put a small piece of parchment paper on the counter and did one side at a time.
Once the glitter was dry, I added a layer of Mod Podge over the top to make sure the glitter wouldn’t flake off. the Mod Podge keeps it really secure. You just want to use a fluffy brush to brush on the Mod Podge- if you use an older brush or a harder bristled brush you will just be scraping the glitter off rather then applying a protective top coat.
If you have glitter paint though you can skip all these steps. I just used what I had on hand to make these.
Next I cut the ribbon in equal pieces that were about 13 inches long and tied them to the screw eye. I trimmed the excess pieces and used a lighter flame right next to the end of the ribbon but not quite touching. Just for a second do that and it will seal the end of your ribbon so it doesn’t fray.
As one final touch I just happened to be cleaning out my craft supply closet over the weekend and discovered a bag of jingle bells left over from Christmas. I used my hot glue gun to put one of the bells at the very top. It serves as a little tinkle when the girls wave the wand and also hides the knots of ribbon so it looks a little prettier. If you don’t have bells, don’t worry your wand will still be really pretty.
Oh and then one final thing- after the girls played awhile I noticed the ribbons fell off. To solve this problem after you tie your ribbon in a knot you might dab one little dot of hot glue. That will keep the ribbon knot from coming undone.
And voila! You have a magic wand in just a few minutes time!
The girls had fun playing with these wands- my 4 year old in particular had a great time running around with it. It was hard to snap a picture because she was spinning and swirling and moving so quickly 🙂
And here are a few other crafty little things to do with the kids this summer:
How to Make a Homemade Tutu (so easy to do in any color you like!)
How to Make a Giant Outdoor Water Bed– this is the highlight of the summer for us. So much fun! Pick up the materials for this project while you are at Lowe’s!
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