Making one of these sweet little ribbon wands for Miss G has long been on my project list, and since her last dance class took place today, it was the perfect motivation to not only make one for Grae, but to make one to gift to each of her little friends too.
If you poke around the internet, you’ll find tons of different styles of ribbon wands and methods to make them, but when we stumbled upon these adhesive picture hanging strips (available at hardware stores), we came up with a way of our own.
First off, we took wide satin ribbon and cut it into strips approximately 125 centimetres long, cutting one end straight across and one end at an angle. Then, using a lighter, we sealed off the cut edges.
Next, we took the adhesive backing off of the picture hangers and firmly attached them to the straight end of the ribbon. At this point I was going to sew the picture hanger onto the ribbon for added security, but the adhesive was so strong that it wasn’t necessary.
With our ribbons ready, we moved onto the wand part of the project. Using painter’s tape, we taped off our 6 inch dowels about a third of the way up.
Then using crafter’s acrylic in colours that coordinated with our ribbons, we painted the bottom third of each dowel with two coats of paint.
When the paint was good a dry, we carefully removed the painter’s tape to reveal the handle part of our wands.
Next, we used a tack to poke holes in the top ends of the dowels.
Then it was time for these guys – small eye hooks available at all hardware stores.
We screwed the eye hooks into the recently made holes by starting the process by hand and using pliers part way through. (One thing to be mindful of at this point is that if your eye hooks are on the larger side (like ours), you don’t want to force them down into the dowel too far. You’ll get a pretty good sense on when you should stop twisting, and please do so. Spoken from experience, if you force them down too much, the dowels will split open.)
Your wand should now look like this.
Now the final step… We hooked the metal picture hanging hook onto the eye hooks and use pliers to squeeze the hook shut tightly.
And there you have it – a pretty little ribbon wand.
In order to transport them to dance class without a big tangly mess happening, we simply wrapped the ribbons around the wands, and secured them with a bit of polka dotted washi tape.
♥
This is hilarious, Elliot was asking me for one of these just this afternoon. We tied some ribbon to his little hockey stick, but it wasn’t very effective. I’m definitely going to try this one.
thanks for sharing! These would make great party favours
I tried to find the adhesive strips at Home Depot, but they didnt carry them. Do you know where i can find them. Thanks!
Hey Rachel! I’m not sure where you’re located, but I’ve bought mine both at Canadian Tire and at Dollar Giant. :)
I love these! However, I cannot find the strips either (in the U.S./Michigan). Can you share the brand name and what they are called on the package? Thanks.
I believe they were called “adhesive picture hanging strips”, Nicki! We made these back in 2012, but I did just recently see the strips in Canadian Tire (a big hardware store). Let me see if I can dig up a link for you on Amazon.com. :)
Here are some on e-bay, should you still be searching for them http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Packs-of-6-Adhesive-Fabric-Picture-Hangers-Hooks-New-Old-Stock-/371473664787
I was able to find “OOK Adhesive Hanger and Eyelet” 3 pack set for $1.98 each online at Home Depot. I live in California. Mode # 50085. And they look just like the ones she has photographed in pics. This is turning out to be an expensive party favor for my 5yr olds gymnastics bday party. But I’m hopeful they will turn out functional and super cute!
These are adorable and look easy to make. I don’t know a little girl that wouldn’t love one of these. They would be really great for a ballet party!
Wouldn’t they, Catherine??
How wide do I buy the ribbon? How wide are the adhesive picture hangers?
These are so cute! Where did you get the adhesive picture hanging strips? What brand are they. I haven’t been able to find anything like them online.
What length / thickness for the dowels? Thank you!
Those are so clever and adorable!
For anyone who may be searching for the hanging strips, I found them in Amazon: Hillman Picture-Hanging-Hardware 121148 Adhesive Lightweight Wallsaver Poster Hangers 10 Pack, White, 10 Piece https://a.co/d/gEMlMpI