How to Make a Origami Wand

I think the coolest part of Harry Potter for my 5 year old son is the fact that he carries a wand. So when my son saw that my nephew had a wand, he had to have one, too. Unfortunately, it was a shish kabob skewer, with the tip cut off and not a good idea for my son to carry around. I knew this was a great time to try out these Magic Wands that reader Nicole showed off in my Hi-5 Friday Party a few months ago. We gave them a try and they were a HUGE hit! They are super easy to make. All you really need is a sheet of paper, a hot glue gun and a little paint.

What You Need:

2 Sheets of paper
Tape
Glue
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Paint
Small amount of black paint (optional)
Small amount of metallic paint (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a line across the paper at an angle. It does not have to be corner to corner. We put their previous stick wands to use and they helped us make great straight lines.. Then roll your sheet of paper up at an angle aiming for the line you just created. Put a few pieces of rolled up tape on the line and stick your paper roll to it. This will hold your roll in place.

Step 2: Apply glue on the remaining portion of the paper. Make sure you give it a good cover and then roll up the rest of the paper as tight as you can. Let it dry. It can get a little messy, but we have learned that the glue, if applied well, and the more of it, the stronger/stiffer the wand feels once dry.

Bonus: If you want to make the wand a little firmer, you can roll up another sheet of paper as tight and small as possible and insert it into the wand just glued. It will fill in the inside of the wand.

Step 3: Once the wand is dry, heat up your glue gun and get creative. Glue the ends first to close up the inside. You can get as fancy as you like and it helps to keep the wand twirling/rotating as it is drying the first few minutes as the glue has a tendency to drip. Once the ends are dry start designing the look of your wand. Do as little or as much as you like. It all looks cool when it is finished! Make sure the glue is completely dry before you move on to painting.

Step 4: Paint a base coat to seal everything in. We happened to have spray paint this time, but if you don't a quick/thin coat of any paint has worked well, too. Let the wand dry completely and then paint the wand your desired color. Wait for it to dry.

Step 5: Next you can antique the wand. Paint a little bit black and then wipe it off with a paper towel. If it ends up too dark, get the paper towel a little wet and wipe it off a little more until desired look is met or if you want it darker repeat the painting. Do this to the whole wand. I think it gives it a great look!

Step 6: Use the metallic paint to paint the raised/hot glue gun portions of the wand. A little goes a really long way.This totally finished the look!

Step 7: If you have it, spray a final clear protective coat to seal everything in.

Step 8: Have fun! My kiddos love their wands and everyone is working on making another one. The neighbor kids are even coming over and asking if they can make one. Bitg hit over here!