Magic Wands

We didn’t need to put on our smocks for this project, but had some amazing together art time, just the same! Heath (@heathfernance) is hosting Myths and Magic Week, and since quick and easy is my jam with a newborn and a toddler I did a quick Pinterest search for inspiration. A pic of some gorgeous Harry Potter Magic Wands caught my eye. Natalie (@doodlecraft) made them with her kiddos and posted detailed instructions. And since I scanned her post quickly with a baby crying in one ear, I didn’t exactly realize how long it was going to take us. It took us hours!
 

Nothing went as I expected it to, but we had so much fun doing it. I just kept cracking up bc it was the farthest thing you could get from a Pinterest perfect day, but we haven't had a chance to connect like this for awhile bc of the new baby, and we had a REALLY good time.

Wanna try it? You’ll need:

• Sticks
• Polymer clay (oven bake clay)
• A knife
• An oven
• Paint (Metallics look the best!)

1. Whittle the bark off of your sticks so they’re pretty and smooth. Wipe them down. (The step I didn’t read about ahead of time! Definitely added time onto the activity. I advise you to take care of this before you get your kiddo excited about making magic wands, or you’ll have them dancing around you in the backyard for 45 minutes as you work with a knife. Not ideal!)
2. Paint some of the sticks gold or silver. (Not a necessity, but we’re suckers for gold and silver branches over here!)
3. Decorate with clay or Sculpey.
4. Bake in the oven according to the package directions. We baked ours at 275 for 20 minutes.

These magic wands are gorgeous and a GREAT project for the whole family to do together. As long as you let go of your expectation of the end product. My husband and I made these…

And these were our three-year-old daughter’s creations…

She still worked those fine motor muscles, AND we spent some quality time together, so I count this one a total win.

My little wizard wanted to get started casting spells right away...and was a bit disappointed they didn’t ACTUALLY make magic.

If you make these, please tag @smocks.on and @doodlecraft. And check out her blog if you’re a Harry Potter fan! A couple of years ago, Natalie's family had a Harry Potter themed party and she wrote a series of blog posts to get ready for it. Each and every craft is amazing!

Happy casting!
xx Melissa