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Tuesday 12 August 2014

Wands for witches


I have discovered the magic of wands and I don't just mean using a wand but creating them from pieces of wood found on my wanderings.
It gives me great pleasure to create something not only useful but beautiful as well. The wood for the wands is mostly gathered after storms and is all green when collected, I leave it for at least 4 months but usually a lot longer and then I spend time looking at the pieces to see which one suggests and idea. The selected piece then undergoes a magical transformation from plain old stick to beautiful wand. Some are stripped of bark,
some are carved, some have crystals added and some are pyrographed. All are sanded with many different grades of paper till smooth and silky and then are oiled or polished with beeswax. At the moment I am working on a cherry wand that is carved with a Goddess and a spiral, the wood came from a felled tree in my garden and has been drying for a couple of years in the garage. I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it when I collected the branches but now I am glad I did.
It is a wonderful wood to work with.
I find wand carving the most relaxing of all the crafts I engage in, it has a
very calming effect and always uplifts my mood, so anyone who wants a mood booster just have a go at making a wand, you may be suprised by the outcome both with the wand and the effect it has.
If you do not fancy making your own then take a look at my range on Etsy, I also take commissions so if there is something in particular you would like just message me on Etsy.