Project Day: Princess Wands for Little Girls

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Princess Wands for Little Girls

Someday, when I have completed my parenting journey, or at least the first 20 years of it, I am going to write a book titled Things People Should Have Warned Me About Before I Had Kids." I think it will be a real help to parents who come after me. One of the tidbits I will share deals with little girls. All moms, especially those who are not "girly" types, need to be warned that no matter how they feel about it, glitter, the color pink, princesses, sparkles, and dress-up dresses will become subjects of serious discussion and importance at some (very early) point in their daughters' lives. I wish I had known this was coming, because I could have inoculated myself with small doses of pink glitter, and been better prepared to withstand the onslaught . Instead, I find myself caught up in a swirl of pink tulle ballet skirts and sparkly head bands, and with no defenses available, I have been conscripted to actually participate in princessness and MAKE fairy-tale paraphernalia.

THE VALENTINE PRINCESS WAND

What You Need:

* Cardboard

* Red or Pink Cardstock

* 12-15" piece of wooden dowel rod

* Several pieces of 1/4" ribbon approximately 20" long

Step 1: Cut out one heart from cardboard and two hearts from pink or red cardstock, all of the same size.

Step 2: Cut a vertical slice out of the center of the cardboard heart (I didn't think if this until I made the second wand, so it doesn't show up in the picture. This provides a "slot" to put the dowel rod in inside the wand).

Step 3: Glue one of the cardstock hearts to the cardboard heart - leave the center slot empty

Step 4: Tie the pieces of ribbon around the dowel rod and adjust the height of the knot so that it will be hidden by the cardboard heart.

Step 5: Glue the dowel rod into the slot created by the removed bit of cardboard. Apply glue to the ribbon knot as well, so it stays in the right position.

Step 6: Glue the remaining cardstock heart to the cardboard, covering the dowel rod. Use weights or clothespins to hold the layers together until the glue is completely dry.