Supplies:

 3/8″ dowels – a 3′ dowel will make 3 wands, a 4′ four wands, etc.

brass hooks- the kind that you can screw into things

a handsaw

pliers

sandpaper

ribbons: in a variety of widths, no greater then 5/8″ wide

optional:

ric rac, lace trim, pom pom trim

We made these wands for people to wave at the end of the ceremony.  The ceremony was supposed to take place in the garden, but an unexpected rain storm drove us inside at the last minute.  Instead we took shelter on the porch, which is rather small and didn’t leave much room for waving.  But it mostly worked out.  And Iain Irish Danced us back down the aisle with some in hand.  The wands were a big hit with the kids and wildly popular with pretty much everyone on the dance floor.  I think they would be a lot of fun for a kids party or just for dress ups and creative movement type play.  We’re planning on breaking out our collection for people to borrow for May Day next year.

For ours I used three different ribbons, all satin; a 1/4″ light blue, 3/8″ darker blue and 5/8″ sage green.  You can use any combination of colors, widths or textures and mix in other kinds of trims.  I think they are much prettier and more interesting with a bit of variety, all of one kind of ribbon would be a little dull.

How to:

Cut your dowels into 12″ lengths.  Sand well.  We made all of the edges on ours curved.  At this point we also polished ours with beeswax polish, but that’s entirely optional.

Carefully screw the hooks into one end.

Cut your ribbon to approximately 68″ lengths (somewhere around 5 1/2′)

Layer 4 or so ribbons on top of each other.  Depending on the width of the ribbons used, you might want more or less.  Fold them in half lengthwise.  Poke the folded edge through the hook to create a loop.  Pull all the ends of the ribbons up through the loop and tighten.

Using pliers, pinch the brass hook completely closed.

Dance around and enjoy!