DIY Harry Potter Wands

These super easy DIY Harry Potter wands are a fun craft for the whole family, and the design possibilities are endless!

Admit it.

At some point in your life, you reached down, picked up a stick and waved it around in the hopes of violating the laws of Mother Nature.

Perhaps you tried to turn your little brother into a newt – a noble quest, I’m sure – but alas, one destined to failure. Physics just won’t allow for 55 pounds of bratty brother to fit into a 5-ounce amphibian.

Or maybe you wanted to try the old pumpkin-to-chariot trick. It’s a nice thought, and it looks great in the movies, but after several ill-fated attempts at conjuring a Lamborghini from a rutabaga, I can assure you that here in the “real world,” the results were somewhat less than I anticipated.

But those are big, complicated spells. Maybe something a little more…Harry Potterish?

Figuring What the heck, I whipped up a bunch of DIY Harry Potter wands to see if there was anything to this whole “magic is real” thing I keep hearing on the internet. If it exists, I was determined to find it and show it to the world!

Okay, so I’ve tried Lumos about a hundred times now, and I haven’t seen a puff of smoke, much less a powerful guiding light at the tip of my wand. Next time, I may just cheat a little and help the spell along with a real magic wand.

Alohamora? Locked my keys in the car the other day, but instead of unlocking the dang door like it’s supposed to, all Alohamora did was attract the attention of a passing patrol car. The officers were curious about the un-tanned middle-aged weirdo shaking a stick at an old Ford Edge.

I had high hopes for the Caterwauling Charm when I first stumbled across it. It was to be my silencer and last line of defense against Yapsmerelda, aka Lady Yapsalot, aka my wife. One swish of the wand was all it was supposed to take to put a cork in her pie hole with a piercing shriek.

I barely survived to tell you that there is nothing charming about the Caterwauling Charm.

Now, Engorgio may or may not have worked. More study is needed. Realizing a bigger me would help tremendously with moving, because the bigger and stronger I became, the boxes would be that much smaller and lighter. So I pointed the wand at my midsection and uttered the word.

My stomach has grown since that day, so like I said, more research is needed.

Okay, failure on all fronts, so I decided to take it back to basics. What’s the first spell that Harry, Hermione and Ron learned? That’s right! Wingardium Leviosa!

If an 11-year-old can do it, this blob of middle-aged DIY Dynamite sure as hell can too!

But it turns out that gravity is a persistent and insistent little bugger. It just doesn’t want to give up its grasp on the world, no matter what words we utter and how we pronounce them! My best workaround for this spell is to have it at the ready when my babes and I watch horror movies together. When I know a jump scare is coming up, I ready my wand. Then, at the precise “boo” moment in the film, I cast my spell towards Handan, shouting “Wingardium Leviosa” at the very moment she jumps out of her seat with a screech.

It’s the little victories that make me feel like a successful wizard.

Okay, so maybe I’m too Muggle-ish for this magic stuff. Maybe you’ve got the real thing in you? All you need is a wand to coax it out.

You could search around for an invisible magical alley and hope you find a wand store there with a wand that picks you.

Or you could DIY your own Harry Potter magic wand. I’ll show you how I made all of mine. It’s easier than you’d think. In fact, it’s just about the easiest thing ever! All you really need are some chopsticks and hot glue.

Let’s a have a look.

Okay, this is less of a tutorial than it is a nurturing circle of encouragement. You can do it! I believe in you!

No, really, this project is so easy – there’s really not much to explain. And since each wand is unique to its creator…you can kinda do whatever you want! I’ll just show you how I made two wands.

DIY Harry Potter Wands video tutorial

For a quick overview of how I made the first wand, check out our Instagram Reel below, then scroll down for more information about this wand and the next!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Navage Patch (@thenavagepatch)

DIY Harry Potter Wands tutorial

The chopsticks I used are made from wenge wood, and it’s a beautiful dark brown color very much like walnut. But I wanted some variation, so I painted some black and some white before adding any glue. Let’s start with a simple one made on a natural wood chopstick.

For this one, I wanted to give the appearance of gnarled black roots running down the wand, so I ran lines of glue down the stick, keeping it thicker towards the top.

There’s no need for planning nor for much thinking at all. In fact, I recommend a dry martini and whatever music makes you happiest.

There is no right or wrong way here, madam.

This is simplicity, pure and, well…simple.

Now, I had intended to stop it right here. Simple. Black and brown. A classy wand for a badass witch or wizard.

But then my babes wandered near, took a look and said, “Oh, I love that one, my babes! Now put a gold wrapping around it.”

Hey, if my babes wants a Harry Potter wand with a gold wrapping around it, my babes is gonna get a Harry Potter wand with a gold wrapping around it!

I’m not much of a glitter man, but I really do like these glitter glue sticks. I guess it’s because the glitter is well and truly trapped in that glue, and there’s not much change of a glitter contagion.

See? I told you it was quick and easy!

Here’s another one I made in the same manner on a black-painted chopstick and without the gold.

The next wand I want to show you I made on a white chopstick. I loved using the two blue glitter sticks, the green glitter and the gold glitter together on the white sticks. For this next DIY Harry Potter wand, I used two blues.

This time, I just made simple rings around the stick. I started with the darker blue glitter stick.

I just took my time and made ring after ring.

I built up a disc of blue glue much like the cross-guard of a sword.

I switched to the lighter blue glue and made wavy lines coming down from the cross-guard.

As the glue hardened, I built it up with more.

A fine Frost Wand for an ice witch or wizard!

I made a bunch more magic wands. Take a look!

I call this one The Sphinx.

The Dark Collection.

Did I mention, I really like blue, green and white?

I hope you like my collection of DIY Harry Potter wands, and I do hope you’ll try your hand at making some of your own! As far as Halloween crafts go, this is a very easy one, though it does take a little time. But with the right ambience and the right people with you, it is an enjoyable time very well spent.