Sometimes, just getting dinner on the table can seem like the world’s biggest challenge. Whether I’m going for a multi-course meal or just a grilled cheese sandwich, cooking usually requires cleaning, rummaging through the pantry and the fridge, following directions, making up my own directions, emptying the dishwasher and clearing off the dinner table.

I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be if you have little ones running around, doing homework on kitchen tables, spilling chocolate milk on the sofa and leaving Legos for you to step on, barefoot, while trying to get those dang grilled cheese sandwiches ready.

Just getting it all done can seem like magic — to your friends, your family and, sometimes, even yourself.

So why not make it official and give yourself (and your fabulous friends) a sparkly wand to use while performing that kitchen magic?

I must confess that while I love a good DIY, I tend to be terrible about actually finishing them. I need projects that are fun and impressive-looking but don’t take hours of time to complete. This project fit the bill.

 

Like anything involving glitter, this DIY made a far bigger mess than I anticipated. It also wasn’t quite as easy to get a perfect edge as this tutorial said — I had to put two coats of glitter on the spoons, and painting glue over the glitter is a messy affair. But I really do love how they turned out, and I’d certainly try again.

 

Plus, the decoupage glue topcoat seals the glitter in, so you can wash your kitchen fairy wand. If that isn’t magical, I don’t know what is.

Kitchen wands (aka wooden spoons with sparkly handles), idea and method adapted from Something Turquoise
Supplies:
Wooden spoons
Masking or painter’s tape
Glitter
Martha Stewart decoupage glue (I used the kind that says it creates a dishwasher-proof finish when dry)
Cheap paint brushes
Newspaper
Paper plate and/or piece of paper
Something elevated to set the spoons on while they’re drying

How to:
First, carefully wrap tape around the handle of the spoons about halfway down (or wherever you want the glitter to stop). If you want all the spoons to be about the same, mark a piece of paper with the distance from the end of the first spoon handle and use that as a guide for the rest of the spoons. Make sure the tape is straight/perpendicular to the handle, unless you’re going for a diagonal line.

Lay out some newspaper and a paper plate or a piece of paper (to catch the excess glitter). Lay out more newspaper under a book (or whatever you’re using to set the spoons on while they dry).

Shake the decoupage glue, then open it and use a paintbrush to evenly coat the end of the spoon (from the tape up). Make sure you really get glue all over the handle, but try to make sure it’s relatively smooth and not globby. Immediately shake glitter generously over the glue, then tap the spoon to remove the excess glitter. Remove the tape (otherwise, it will get stuck on there forever) and set the not-glittery part of the spoon on the book with the glitter end hanging off.

Fold the paper plate or piece of paper that is covered in glitter and pour the glitter back into the glitter jar. Repeat the glue-and-glitter process with remaining spoons. Wash the paintbrushes.

Allow the spoons to dry for a few hours, then shake off excess glitter again. If necessary, apply another layer of glue and glitter, but be aware that applying the glue will be difficult without spreading excess glitter. Wash the paint brushes again afterward.

Once the spoon handles have the amount of glitter you desire and have dried, shake off excess glitter again and apply a thin and even layer of the glue on top of the glitter to seal it in. Allow to dry, and wash the paintbrushes. Apply a second layer and allow to dry (and wash the paintbrushes!).

Read the instructions on your glue, but spoons should be hand-washable within a day or two. I usually avoid putting wooden spoons in the dishwasher anyway, but the glue should be dishwasher-safe after it’s fully set.