This post contains affiliate links.

My children have recently watched some of the Harry Potter movies for the first time. They each asked for a wand for Christmas so I did some Pinterest research. I saw some home made wands with chopsticks and hot glue and thought I would give it a try.

I was going to try this on a restaurant chop stick, but it was just too little and flimsy. I bought mine on amazon (its a pack of 10 pair, but we are going to use them for a Harry Potter party later). I don’t remember the exact kind I ordered, but it was something like this Chinese Natural Bamboo Chopsticks, 9.45Inch/24cm Long Lightweight Chopstick Set -10 Pairs Natural.

The hot glue gun I used is a cheap little thing, but it has lasted me forever (Ad-Tech Mini Hi-Temp Hot Glue Gun Combo Pack, White). I like the Gorilla hot glue sticks the best (Gorilla Hot Glue Sticks, Mini Size, 4″ Long x .27″ Diameter, 30 Count, Clear, (Pack of 1)), at least that is what I am most used to. I really had no idea if it was going to work for Voldemort’s wand, but I was going to try to shape the hot glue with the glue gun. It took a lot of patience (not really all that fun), but layer by layer it started to take shape. Starting with a thin layer, I built up more and more glue, letting each layer dry. When I had enough glue, I was able to use tip of the glue gun to shape my “blob” into the shape of the wand. Unfortunately I don’t have step by step pictures for this one, but if you push the tip alongside the hot glue, you can make the little hook shape by slowly melting it and spreading it where you want it to go.

After an hour or two (yes, it did take me that long), I was happy with the shape. REALLY happy.

Next, I spray painted it a random color (I tried without the spray paint, but the color had a hard time sticking). THEN I colored it with acrylic paint. I used a clay tool to poke the holes and lines on the wand, but you could use the tip of a pen or something of similar shape. I made sure to use a small paint brush to fill the holes with a darker color like the original. If you miss the holes a little, just get a wet wipe (it does a great job wiping off what you don’t want, leaving only the paint inside the holes).

The end result was better than anything I hoped for. I made some more wands after this one. I think they all turned out great!