A friend of mine wanted to go to a Harry Potter themed day at Waterstones here in the Netherlands, but she did not have the right wand. So I did her a favor and made her one out of relatively cheap materials.

The wand is made out of rosewood, a shell the shape of a snail and the grip is mother of pearl according to the harry potter wiki ( http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Queenie_Goldste... ).

The wand I made is of a different type of wood and a white snail shell found on the beach. It was made without using any machinery, although I can imagine it would be faster if you them.

What do you need:

a wooden rod, longer than 14" or 37 cm
black, white and gold paint
clay/ paper-mache clay
a white shell like the one shown above
nail polish (mother of pearl )
sugru or hot glue
a file or a hand plane
a hand saw
cling film

If you do not live near a beach, you can buy multiple shells on ebay or use the shell of a snail, although you might have to paint it if you do.

Step 1: Make the Wand

Go to the local hardware store and buy a rod of approximately 2 cm diameter.The wand has a length of 14" or 35,5 cm when it is finished, so the rod should be longer than that.

Take the rod and mark the right length ( about 14" or 36 cm ).

Once you have cut the rod, decide which side will be up (the tip), and which will be down (the grip).

Measure the size of your shell, and mark the wand at that distance from the grip. The cutting line should not be perpendicular to the side of the rod; instead it should have a 45 degree angle.

Cut the rod at the mark, and use the hand plane or rasp to give it the right form; tapered to one end (the tip).

When you are satisfied with the shape, you can sand it so the paint will attach better to the wood.

Step 2: Give It a Little Color

Mark the place where white ends and black begins, this should be about..... from the tip of the wand.

Now you can paint it; the top becomes black, and the lower halve becomes white.

When the paint has dried, you can apply the nail polish on the white part, too give it the right look.

you can also coat the shell in nail polish to make it even more shiny.

The ring will mask the line between the mother of pearl/ white part and the black part.

Step 3: Add the Shell

When your wand has dried, you can glue the shell to the end of the wand.

Try to put the opening of the shell on the lower side of the wand (see picture), and sculpt the glue or white sugru around it so it looks like the shell grows out of the wand.

Step 4: Make and Add the Ring

For the decorative golden ring, I used the recipe for paper mache clay from the paper mache class, but you can also use any other clay which dries in the air.

When you have made the clay, proceed as follows:

Wrap the wand in cling film. Take a small piece of clay and roll it between your hands to form a thin strand and put it aside.

Now take another piece of clay, flatten it until it is about 2 mm thick and fold it around the wand to make the basic form of the ring around the wand.

Then put the strand on the top end of your clay ring, and let it dry.

While the clay is drying, grab a toothpick and use it to engrave the design which is on the ring, in the clay.

When the clay is completely dry, gently remove the ring from the wand, and remove the film.

Paint the design black with a fine liner or a thin brush, and paint the rest of the ring gold. Gold nail polish will also do the trick.

To finish the wand, glue the finished ring back into place.

That's all

If you have any suggestions on how to simplify or improve this project, please let me know.