these are great (made these with my nieces last spring). however, one thing that is probably better for small kids is to use rolled up paper or straws for the base of the wand. they'll look about the same in the end, but the risk of getting stabbed or impaled will be lessened.

This is a great tutorial! I was wondering how you got so much glue applied for the base, in enough time for it all to cool at the same rate so you could shape it with your hands. It took me so much time to get that much glue applied, that by the time I finished, some of it had already cooled so much it was no longer "moldable".