Tuesday, January 29, 2013

DIY Harry Potter Wands

One of the most commented on aspects of Katie's Harry Potter Party (full overview here) has been the wands, so I thought I'd share those next.  I didn't really come up with much of my own for this one...mostly used some great tutorials.



My favorite wand tutorial was this one from Micah C Micah Do.

And another good one was this from majann on Deviant Art.

All you need are some chopsticks (or other wood for a base), glue gun and glue, a variety of brown and metallic paints, and in my case also some shiny acrylic sealer.  (My paint had a matte finish and the sealer made it shiny.  If you use glossy finish paints, then you can skip the sealer step.)  You can also use tiny beads to add some texture, although in the end, our favorites were the ones without the beads.


It was surprisingly easy to use the glue.  Especially for the handle part, I found it worked well to pile on a bunch of glue, then spin it slowly in my fingers until it was partially cool and then let it slowly drip toward the end of the wand slightly.  It was fun trying things out for different shapes and swirls.  With the craft paint I had, I found that 2 coats was about what I needed to get good coverage.  I covered each with a double coat of brown.  Then when it was completely dry, I went and painted the glue details either in another color of brown or with metallic gold or silver paint.

Edited to add:  After making several batches of these wands, I recommend spraying them with a coat of acrylic sealer when they're complete painted.  Otherwise, the paint tends to rub off the glue parts fairly easily.
The wands were so easy to make that I made enough so that every child at the party could have a wand with 6 or 7 left over.  That way even the last child to choose could still feel like they had plenty to choose from.

We used the wands as decorations and then the kids were also given spell books.  They got some time to practice some of the spells and had a great time pretending to disarm or petrify or levitate each other.

I also heard from several parents that plenty of spell casting practice went on at home in the days following the party.

I don't currently carry wands in my shop, but I do have quite a few other Harry Potter inspired items, including necklaces, keychains, and Christmas ornaments my Etsy shop.  

I have lots of Harry Potter inspired gifts and fun things in my shop.  The selection is always changing.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PiecesByPolly?section_id=14186184&ref=shopsection_leftnav_5

See these links for more details about other Harry Potter themed crafts we've done...and be sure to check back because I'll be adding more as I get them written up.


Gryffindor Deathly Hallows Quilt
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html

 

 Hogwarts Crest Quilt
 

Slytherin Quilt - Green and Silver
 Slytherin Quilt

 
 Giant Monster Book of Monster Cushion (No Sew)
 


Golden Snitch Birthday Cake
 Slytherin Quilt

 

Granger-Lovegood 2016 Election Shirts 
 

Potter - Weasley 2016 Election Shirts 
 

 

Lumos and Nox Quilt


Harry Potter Party Overview


 


 Hedwig Necklace
 

Accio Book Tote Tutorial - Freezer Paper Stencil 
  
Harry Potter Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil



Easy Harry Potter Wands 


Printable Hogwarts Library Book Plates

Printable Harry Potter Valentines


Easy Harry Potter (Hogwarts) House Scarves


Golden Snitch Necklace

Golden Snitch Cupcakes
 


Ron Weasley "I'm a Keeper" Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil
 

Ginny Weasley's Golden Snitch Skirt
 
DIY Quidditch Association Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil (Boy Version)
 
DIY Quidditch Association Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil (Girl Version)
 
Harry Potter Wizard Robe in 15 Minutes from a T-shirt
 

Harry Potter Family Themed Costumes
 

Harry Potter Inspired Charm Ornaments
 


Harry Potter Printable Spell Books
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html

Harry Potter Printable Dementor Themed Chocolate Bar Wrappers Books
  http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2014/01/harry-potter-valentine-printable.html



The Hermione Skirt
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html
Dementor's Kiss-Away Free Printable Party Favor or Valentine
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html

DIY Hogwarts Robe for 18-inch Doll
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html

Hermione in the Library - CraftingCon Post
 http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2013/10/harry-potter-printable-spell-books-sew.html

Harry Potter Potions Ornaments

 Harry Potter Robes with Oly*Fun


 The Wand Skirt

 Always Doe Pillow

Deathly Hallows Pillow
 Deathly Hallows Pillow



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7 comments:

  1. This party looks like it was so much fun with so many details. I bet my nephew would love a wand. I think I need to find my glue gun, haha.

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  2. Very impressive. I'm glad to hear that they were easy to make...they look great!

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  3. What wonderful wands! Each one looks unique and different! I will be sharing this post on the Read.Explore.Learn. Facebook page and Pinterest board.

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  4. The party looks amazing! And those wands are absolutely wonderful- wow!

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  5. Thank you for visiting my blog. I love how unique all the wands are. I am sorry I have not visited sooner, but life is returning to normal for us. Thank you again, love visiting your blog.

    ReplyDelete

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