What would a Harry Potter birthday be without magic wands? I used these wands as party favors for my guests so I made enough for everyone who came. To #humblebrag just a bit they were definitely the biggest hit and most people were surprised to learn I had made them. While these did take a bit of a time investment they are fairly easy to make yourself - details below!
What you'll need:
Chopsticks (I used these & these)
Hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks
Paint in assorted natural colors (I also used metallics for accents)
Mod Podge
Paint brushes
Hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks
Paint in assorted natural colors (I also used metallics for accents)
Mod Podge
Paint brushes
How to:
First thing you'll do is the hot glue - use the glue gun to sort of paint the pattern you want your wand to have onto the chopstick. In the example I'm using here I made little rings around the chopstick down about 3/4 of it but you can do whatever you want - you can see many different examples of the finish product at the end of this post.
For obvious reasons you won't want to lay the wand down until the glue is dried. Once the glue is dry you get to the extra fun stuff of painting the wands! I mixed up a lot of my own colors in ranges of tan, brown, red, and black (for some I mixed a bit of metallic paint in with the base to give it an extra shine). If you're making more than one wand at a time you'll want to put the freshly painted wands aside while you work on others. To keep the wet paint neat I laid the wants across a tin tray - resting on the edges. The wands will probably need a couple of coats and more than likely a couple of touch ups.
Once you're happy with the color you can either choose to keep the wand one color or add an accent - I did most of my accents with metallic paints and used a sponge brush to apply it to give it a lighter touch.
Once all the paint is dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge (I used the satin finish which I was really happy with). The Mod Podge will protect the paint and keep it from easily chipping. It may go on white in some places but don't worry, it'll be clear once it dries.
As soon as the Mod Podge dries you're ready to start casting spells! Lumos!