Ribbon Wand Tutorial

We are always looking for fun, easy crafts to keep Miss M occupied during the day. She is always going at 100 miles per hour, constantly on to the next adventure. I saw a few tutes for similar wands, so Miss M and I came up with one of our own. This is a great project for the kids to help out on.

Materials-

1. Ribbon - I used 1/2'' thick, you can decide the perfect length for your little one
2. Dowel Rod
3. Hot glue gun and glue stick
4. Paint and brush
5. Glitter
6. Mod Podge
7. Lighter- optional
8. Sand paper- optional
9. Plastic bag or other protection for your work surface

First you need to cut, or break your dowel rod down to size. Any hand saw will do the trick. I had nick cut them for me awhile back for a different project. The ends were a little rough for my liking so I sanded them down. I used a hand sander, but plain old sand paper would work just as well. It only takes a couple seconds.

Next set up your paint station. I let M paint it to her hearts content. The sponge brushes work best- no drip. (plus they're cheap!)

After you have it painted and dried (about 1 hour or so), cover the entire rod with mod podge. Lay it out on the plastic bag and let your little helper shake some glitter on it. Let that dry about 10 minutes then put a second coat of mod podge on there. That will keep the glitter on the wand. If you have little girls, glitter probably plagues your house, let's try to avoid adding to that. I sat our wand up right against a box to dry.

While your wand is drying pick out your ribbon. Decide the length you want. I didn't measure ours. I kept unrolling the ribbon until I thought it was long enough and whipped it around to make sure it would work. I tried to make it long enough to do the cool figure 8's and swirlies but not so long that short little miss M would trip herself on it. (Sorry no pic of this part!) Use the lighter to heat seal the ends. Just run the flame across each end quickly.

Next, this part is for the mommies and daddies only, use your glue gun to wrap the end of the ribbon on the wand. Choose which side you want to be the top, apply a dab of glue to the top 1/2'' of the wand (or however thick your ribbon is) and wrap the ribbon around it one time.Make sure to get all of the edges glued down. This wand is sure to take a beating, and pulling, so better prepared than have to fix it umpteen times.

How easy was that? A good way to store these is to roll the ribbon down the wand, cone style, to prevent tangles and knots. And if you are wondering where I got a table to match my wand, lol, that is just one small piece of the living room we are working on. Keep posted for all of the living projects.

Now let your little dancer go to town! ........ And, there is a reason she is wearing tube socks and sparkly red shoes with a purple outfit. Well, for starters shes almost 4. Nuf said. But, she LOVES Wizard of Oz and was playing Dorothy. The socks? Well, as of right now, all of her clothes, shoes, etc. have "lines." She doesn't like lines. Apparently sock lines are better than Dorothy Slipper lines.

*Tips*

1. For a more natural route, you could use a stick. Take off the bark before you paint or glue.

2. You could use a few ribbons in different sizes, or a few ribbon strands that are thinner.

3. These would be great for favors for a little girl birthday party! Cheap too.