Fairy Wand

Every little girl wants to be a fairy princess.

And what princess is complete without a fairy wand??

I wanted to find Meredith a fairy wand for some time now.

After looking through all the tulle wands on etsy, I wondered what one would look like if I used ribbon. 

I have heard how easy it is to make korker bows in the oven, so I decided to give it a try.

I looked up directions and was ready to go!

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I purchased wooden dowels at my craft store for about $2.

I also needed paint, a brush, floral wire and clothes pins.

For the ribbons, I chose various shades and widths and textures of the color scheme I wanted.

I had 14 different ribbon spools.

You will need Fray Check or a lighter to singe the edges of the ribbon so they won't fray. 

You will do this AFTER you have baked them in the oven because the fray check is flammable.

(I opted not to use the fray check, because it is messy and I am an expert at the lighter method!)

With clothespins, I pinned the edge of the ribbon to the dowel. 

Spiral wrap the ribbon around the dowel and clip on the other end with a second clothes pin.

The tighter you wrap the ribbon, the tighter the spiral will be!

In a preheated 250* oven, bake the ribbon on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove your ribbon from the dowels and cut in half!

I ended up with this.

I also cut four colors of wider ribbon to hang straight in the wand.

This was done twice.

Meanwhile, you need to take your paint of choice. 

I chose an acrylic silver glitter paint, that required WAY too many coats!

I painted my dowels with the paint, using styrofoam to hold them upright.

Once the dowels are dry, take your drill and the smallest drill bit you have and make a hole approximately 1/2 inch from the top of the dowel. 

Then it is time to tie the piece of the wand that makes the magic! 

Once you have placed your ribbon in the order you would like the colors to occur...

You need to cut a piece of thin ribbon LONGER than you will think you need. 

I spread out my large, flat ribbon to ensure that it wouldn't lay flat on top of each other. 

then I gathered the curled ribbons and placed them on top...

With a second pair of hands, I held everything in place, while the other hands tied the ribbon in several tight knots.

The finished piece will look like this. 

After a bit of fluffing, take a 4 inch piece of floral wire and thread it through the hole of the dowel. 

Wrap the wire around itself, the dowel and through the ribbon you used to secure the "magic" part of the wand.

Sorry for the lack of photos on this step!

The final piece will look like this!

Your child will be more than happy to cast evil spells on her brother with such a cool wand! 

I'd love to see photos if you make one!