Step Away From The Credit Card! Making My Wand.

OK, so I admit it I was expecting to make my wand and to be hailed as the fantastic craftsman that I know lies dormant with in me… Ha, ha, ha.

Anywho, here is what I need to make your wand:

• Swiss Army knife or a good sharpe knife,
• Sand paper; course then a more fine-grained paper,
• Super Glue,
• My chosen branches,
• Crystals, ribbon etc.

So far things were going well, I collected my willow branch and an extra Dogwood branch for luck. First, I used my Swiss Army knife to cut all the bark off; I had brought the braches in green (before they are dry) so I could begin to straighten them a little. They were already fairy straight so it wasn’t too much hassle for me to steam them straighter, which I did by holding it over a boiling kettle (be careful steam hurts!) and by peering down the shaft so you can see where it needs to be straightened out. Then I gave it a good sanding with course sandpaper and with fine sandpaper, it is very messy so I suggest sanding outside.

With only a few scolds, I was looking at my nice, clean, (quite) straight willow branch; suddenly I was inspired to carve a nice pattern for the handle. La, la, la, I am the most wonderful craftsman, with great patients and a knack for carving wood.
You see the trick is to carve it when it is still green; the wood is softer and makes it easier to carve. I cut V-shaped groves into the wood in various patterns and then sanded down some of the shapes to round the edges off, I believe the style is called Low Relief carving.

I even drilled a whole through the end of the handle so that I could hang it up, la, la, until…
Yep! I broke it!

For a while I was really bummed, so I just put it aside. I would stare at it every now and then, trying to figure out what I could do with a broken wand.

Until, one day I brought a little polished quartz crystal that was the perfect size to go on the of the broken handle. I drilled the end with a little blade from my Swiss Army knife and glued in the crystal, and I think it is lovely! It is like a mini wand! I figured I could use it like a travelling wand.

It’s a cop out but I may as well do something with it as I have already put a lot of time in to it and I am going to finish the other half off as well.

It’s funny actually, how the property of the wood changes over time, originally I thought that the Dogwood branch was a very soft wood compared to the willow and now that it is dry it feels much more dense, the bark has also become thick and tough which is why I haven’t stripped the bark of it… I also like the colour!

So here we are, this is the stage I am at.