wand maker

I'm always fascinated by the wandering and looping path that Smootch's interests take. She usually operates in a sort of creative free association, where one momentary obsession will jump over to a related idea over to focusing on just one aspect and so on. A few weeks ago she found a (too small) wizard's costume at a garage sale. Putting on the costume, Smootch turned into a nasty wizard bearing magic potions that would make people fall in love with goats when they drank them. Of course, every potion was presented in a sweet as agave nectar voice by Smootch in her (too small) wizard regalia, her pointy hat draped with some sort of floral, sweet dress or scarf, disquised as a innocent merchant of refreshing drinks. When the unwitting victim drank, however, the disquise would be whipped off and a truly spine tingling crackle would echo off the walls. With such glee Smootch poisions us with bovidaphilia.

From this dark start, Smootch's interest meandered over to potion making of all sorts. Garden dirt, flower and grass make the outside potions. Oil, flour, sugar, and whatever else she can reach make up the inside potions. Sometimes bits of paper are mixed in with odds from her collage box.

And then. looking through a book about wizards we brought home from the library, Smootch fell in love with the wizard's magic wand. Up until this point wizard gear has been limited to some fairly complex facial expressions, body language and voices - she hunches over, squinches up her face, and speaks with a cackly voice - sort of like a halloween witch with the runs. But now our house if finally wizard free as a more commerical venure has taken hold.

Smootch is now a maker of fine wands for all of your magical needs. Behold!



Wands are amazing fun to make. If you have a wee one interested in become a wand making apprenctice, Smootch has shared her techniques with me:

You get your sticks (we go gathering several times a day now), your pipecleaners, yarn, ribbons, material scraps and anything else you can think of to tie or wrap. Smootch began with twisting pipecleaners together (which is not fun to be accidently hit in the face with, just so's you know) and moved onto using a stick base to wrap, twist and tie onto.

After the wands are made, if they are to be made into gifts or simply for storage, Smootch has devised a packaging for them that doubles as a gift card. A piece of constuctions paper, cut into four pieces, then each piece folded into 2 lengthwise and stapled on the bottom and up one side will give you a small wand sheath, which the recipient's name can be written along with appropriate wizardly writing and symbols. The sheath can also detail wand use instructions or special cautions (like do not use while operating heavy machinery).


I'm waiting to see what direction Smootch's imagination will go off to next, whether it be a somehow related or something completely off the wall. In the meanwhile, as long as this wizard love runs its course, we are staying away from Harry Potter or anything Hogwarts related. Once day she'll have her imagination refertilized with R. K. Rowling's capitivating work, but until then I'd like her to continue create her own wizardly notions uninfluenced.