We’ve just moved to another house here in Portland, so it’s been a busy and exciting month. Moving is huge task on its own, but when you add kids into the mix, of course, it’s an even greater challenge. We still have a ton of unpacking to do, but so far, we’re really...

Making your own toys from things around the house is a fantastic way to help the planet. Very low carbon footprint, and when you’re done playing with them, they can even be recycled. Here’s a little round-up of some favorite earth-friendly projects. Happy Earth Day! Recycled Denim...

Happy spring everyone! Here is a new Easter coloring sheet! There are a couple more crafts below too, if you need more Easter activities. I hope you all have a great weekend! Click on the image below, then print. Make tumbling paper bunnies with printable template and two marbles! Weave your...

My daughter has been doing a little stitching at school, so I asked her if she’d like to do some embroidery at home. (I’ve been meaning to do this with her for months.) She was very excited and wanted to get started right then. For this first project, I told her to stitch wherever...

Hi Joel and readers, I’m excited to be here again! Our house has been a busy one with a 3½ year old boy who is seriously into creative dress-up play (mostly as a firefighter as you will see in the photos below) and a 10 month old boy who is on the move! One of my favorite things is to...

Baby E loves to find new things to explore with her mouth. The other day I quickly made this toy with some vinyl (left over from my DIY iPad case), and a little fabric I still had from these dolls. It was so fast, I think I’ll make some more that look a little different, so I can put...

I had some thin pieces of scrap wood, that I thought might work well for a necklace. So I cut some up, painted them, drilled a tiny hole, and threaded silk strand through them. Then I used some clasps from the bead store and crimped them on with pliers. It was pretty fun. My daughter painted...

I had so much fun making the Travel Sized Paper City Paris, and couldn’t wait to make more mini toys for on the go. I was getting ready to miniaturize the Dressy Cats, but decided that I was in the mood to create something a little different. So here are the Modern Mini Cats! (I’ll...

I’m having a super fun time “pinning” all of my favorite images on the web that I find inspiring. I’m brand new at Pinterest, and really underestimated how brilliant it is. I’d love to see what you all are collecting on Pinterest, too. So far, I’ve started...

I thought of this little circus unicycle rider awhile back. It’s easy to make, but requires pretty good motor control to wheel around, which is great for kids. If you want to try it out, watch the one minute video to see how to make them. There’s also a template below, but I...

Our twins love to get up early in the morning and play together while the rest of us are still asleep. But now baby E is wanting to get up early too. So, when I get the chance to nap, I’ve usually ended up with a stuffed animal draped over my eyes to block out the bright light in the...

Ever since I saw these awesome owls at El had a de papel, I’ve been wanting to try it out. Last week, my son got a Batman Lego set, and is very excited about all things Batman and Robin. So we made these! He loves them, and they were so fun to...

Just a quick note to say that I created a new site page for my book, Made to Play, where you can find info, download actual-size templates for the projects in the book, or ask questions. Here’s the link: http://madebyjoel.com/madetoplay Thanks...

Some friends of mine needed to add to their video portfolio, and I was one of the lucky participants. If you want a quick peek inside my studio, check it out! Screenshots...

I’ve been getting requests for a printable Valentine’s Day project. And I thought it would be cool to make a card that was also a toy. So here are some funny little Valentine’s card creatures. There is a small flap on the back so you can write a secret Valentine’s note...

I was drawing with some non-toxic fabric pens the other day just for fun. (See my favorite tools, if you want to know what kind of paint pens.) I’m not sure what I’ll do with all the drawings yet, but I made this bird into a little pillow toy. Kind of cute, and very fast and easy...

We got to spend all of last week at my mom’s house. Among the exciting fun with grandchildren, I got to spend some time with my mom too. We made this play mat for little E. I was lucky enough to somehow end up with this very cool strip of fabric from London that my mom bought in the late...

I actually got to enjoy an afternoon alone this week. I decided to go look at art books and magazines. One of the shops had some empty cedar cigar boxes for a couple of dollars, so I got one to try out as a small dollhouse. I love the smell of the cedar, and it ended up looking pretty cool...

It seems like we’re always in the need of more kids activities for restaurants and travel. Shortly after I made Paper City Paris, I wondered what a miniature version would look like. Finally, this week I had the time to try it out. It was really fun redesigning and simplifying the folds...

Today it was decided that we needed more people for the dollhouse, so I got out some scrap wood and had the kids draw figures on the pieces. Then I took my woodburner and traced over their drawings and made some “doll blocks”. It was so fast and fun that I had to try making a...

Baby E got ahold of my son’s old giraffe toy that I made when the twins were little, and she is having a pretty good time with it. I just used some natural canvas fabric and drew on it with non-toxic fabric pens. It’s held up really well over the last two years. I might have to...

The little Christmas Cat from the Holiday gift tags got the job of posing for my sister Lori’s little piano holiday album, “Playing for Christmas.” You can listen to it here on iTunes, if you’d like. Happy...

Last night I got out my paper scraps and glue to make a collage gift card for my friend’s birthday party. (He loves Datsun 510 wagons.) And once my kids saw what I was doing, they wanted to join in, too. So I gave them a piece of paper and let them dig through my box of scraps. They were...

My son and I are big Lego fans, and he just got a new knight that has a moveable arm. It looked like a lot of fun, so I thought I’d try and make a wooden version so we could have a friendly dual. We had a great time making a little video too. (Spoiler alert: Lego wins :) We’re...

By Wendi Gratz (Giveaway info below to win these bags!) Hello again everyone! Way back in July I posted here about some basic info you need to start embroidering – and I shared some of the details about how I stitched up one of Joel’s Paper City designs. As soon as I saw...

If anyone wants to see how the Martha Stewart show went, here’s a video. It was a blast making dollhouses together! Here are the dollhouses I brought to New York for the...

The Dressy Cats are here to celebrate the winter holidays with you! The kids and I had a great time making these sets. We did Christmas, Hanukkah, and two new kitty cousins that came over for the festivities. Templates are below, if you want to print them out and play. Happy...

This Guest Post is by my sister, Lori Henriques Caroling is Catching! As a music teacher, I often find myself inviting people over to perform or participate in some kind of music. One of my best memories is a Richard Rodgers Centennial celebration back in 2002 in which guests were instructed...

My son is really enjoying dinosaurs these days, so in case you have any dino-fans around, I thought I’d share some of the activities we’ve been doing – paper clip cutout toys, building dino skeletons in the yard, a pretty awesome interactive dinosaur book on the iPad, and...

My favorite home-town magazine, Portland Monthly, was very kind to do a review of Made to Play in their November issue. You can read a pdf of the article below if you’d like. Thanks Portland Monthly!     Click on the image below to read the article in...

My kids love wrapping and decorating presents. So in preparation for the winter holidays, I thought it would be fun to make some gift tags that they could cut out or color. I also teamed up with Lisa Mundorff, who is a children’s book illustrator and very clever holiday card creator over...

My wife took the kids to see the Pinkalicious musical today here in Portland. My daughter had a pink dress all picked out, but my son realized he had nothing pink to wear. So we quickly made this paper necktie together with an old cover of an Art Forum Magazine. It was very fast to make. We...

Hi Made By Joel readers! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here. My name is Phoebe and I’m a printmaking artist over at elSage Designs. Like Joel my boys and I like to create things. It’s pretty rad when the things we create can become useful beyond the project itself,...

Come join a pretty great discussion, here on the Facebook Page, for some wonderful methods and ideas on teaching your kids to read. There are some really great comments coming in, and we’d love to hear any of your ideas, too. Happy...

Our baby girl is starting to play with toys! At almost 5 months old, she’s still having a little difficulty holding on to things, and getting the right parts of certain toys into her mouth. So I decided to make her an easy to hold, sun shaped toy, with lots of rays to suck on. I also...

And the winners, according to the random generator are Denise, and Kirsty! Thanks so much everyone for the enthusiastic response! I’ll definitely try to do another giveaway before the winter holidays. Also, so everyone can get a little something, below is a new coloring sheet that I just...

This morning I was on the news show, “More Good Day Oregon” here in Portland. It was pretty fun! Here is a video stream if you want to watch...

Now that my book is out, I thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway. I signed two copies, so I’ll randomly pick two winners. If you want to be entered to win, then simply leave a comment on this post. On Friday morning (October 28) I will randomly pick the winner from all those...

While outside today, the kids were finding some nice old branches inside our laurel hedge, and we got the idea to make some broomsticks for Halloween. We used some old hose clamps, which made them very easy to make. It might be a fun addition for witch or Harry Potter costumes, or even just...

Check out this Etsy blog post if you’d like to see a tutorial for the Modular Leg Bands from my book. Julie, from Etsy, has cleverly thought to turn the project into “robot legs” for Halloween. Cool! Thanks...

I’ve been so busy for the last two weeks, I haven’t had time to make many new crafts, so we printed out the Paper City style trick-or-treat scene from last year. The fall leaves were so nice in our yard today, the kids took the paper people outside to practice up on their...

Got back late last night from the whirlwind trip to NYC. In case you’re as curious as I was about what it would be like at the Martha Stewart Show, here are a few photos from yesterday. My Editor for Made to Play, Jennifer Urban-Brown, and my publicist, Jennifer Campaniolo, came in from...

Just got done filming the Martha Stewart TV Show! Here’s a photo that my mom took on her phone of the monitor. I’ll post better photos later. I’m in the airport right now getting ready to fly home. It sure was a fantastic trip! Oh, and the show is schedules to air on November...

I’m really excited (and a little nervous) to say that I’m flying to New York on Monday to be a guest on the Martha Stewart TV show! I’m going to be making dollhouses and dollhouse furniture with Martha. I’ll be in the studio for two days. The first to set up and...

I just finished this embroidered shirt, now that it’s getting to be long-sleeve weather here. The design is actually some flower pots from an old sketch I did for one of these coloring sheets. While I was making it, my son got a piece of paper and said he wanted to draw the design too....

Wow, I’m so excited for my sister Lori. Today her album, “Outside My Door – Songs For Children Of all Ages” got a Parents’ Choice Gold Award! Nice work Lori! See the Parents’ Choice review of Lori’s album here if you’d like! Listen or get Lori’s...

The kids have been really excited to see beautiful yellow leaves starting to fall in the yard, and they wanted to collect some for the dollhouse. My son also found a small nut shell and some seeds, and made this really cool miniature bowl that we put on one of the tables. Always great to use...

This is Marcie McGoldrick, the editorial director of crafts at Martha Stewart Living.  I am excited to share a project here on Made by Joel from our new Handmade Holiday Crafts book, which just went on sale today.   It is never too early to start thinking about Halloween. One of my favorite...

This is my 200th post on Made by Joel! To make it easier to explore all of those posts, we’ve been working on a new design for the site. We’ll be adding a few more features, but you can start trying things out now. One fun thing to try, is when you click on a post, you’ll see...

Greetings readers of Made By Joel. I hope everything is tickety-boo with you. I am over the moon to be writing this guest post for this most wonderful blog. My name is Harry (I’m a girl). I work for the London based children’s publishing company, Made in Me. We are the creators of The...

Lately, my daughter is enjoying dressing up and wearing accessories, like purses and headbands. Having never made a dress-up toy before, I thought it would be fun to make a nice family of cats that could be dressed up like paper dolls. We’ve been calling them, “The Dressy...

I’m excited and grateful to post that Martha Stewart Living Magazine did a small piece on Made to Play in their October issue. I just got my copy yesterday, and they’re starting to hit the newsstands already. I also did a guest post on the Martha Stewart website, if you’d...

I just had the most wonderful experience… Artist/author/teacher Ann Sayre Wiseman came to my house on Monday with her son Kiko Denzer, also an artist. Her phenomenal book, Making Things: The Handbook for Creative Discovery, is one of my all time favorites. You might recall I mentioned...

By Claudia Porta “We love our kids so much, we want to give them everything. We work hard to give them as many opportunities as possible. Sometimes we are so busy doing this, we don’t even have time to sit down and relax together. We know this is just as important as the piano...

My advance copy of Made to Play arrived in the mail today! It’s pretty exciting to see it in person. I’m looking forward to October 11, when it will be in stores. Wish me...

My son loves stripy pants as much as I like stripy socks. You can see in this old post that he’s been sporting these trousers for almost a year and a half. After finally wearing a hole in them, we tried to talk him into cut-off shorts, but he didn’t like the idea of his favorite...

Our new baby girl loves looking at the Modern Paper Mobile for Babies that I made awhile back, but her favorite place to relax is in her bouncy seat. So I made this simple stand with some scrap wood and wire. It’s very lightweight and sturdy, so I can carry it around the house along with...

Voilà, Paper City Paris! I’ve been working on this for a very long time now and had so much fun creating it. My kids have been watching me draw and sketch for two months, and they’re now huge fans of the city. They kept asking me, “When are the buildings going to stand up,...

My wife’s birthday was this week, and we made her some necklaces. The kids made bead necklaces, and I wanted try something with wire. It worked pretty well. I just bent sterling silver wire with pliers, and then gently pounded it flat, using a slightly rounded hammer. I took less than 15...

A lot of people ask me what toys and craft projects end up being favorites in our house. One of the hits has been these vintage fabric dolls that I made a year and a half ago. My daughter really latched onto hers, and has slept with it every night since, taking it on vacations and all around...

There is a new preview for a peek at a few pages inside my book. Click here if you’d like to check it out! Only a few more weeks to go. It will be in stores on October 11. You can pre-order it here if you’d like. (Or here for more pre-order options.) I hope you’ll enjoy...

By Jo Pollitt and Lilly Blue of BIG Kids Magazine The BIG collaborative ocean project The ocean is both wide enough for us to frolic at the edges and vast enough to get lost in. A meeting point of world continents and cultures, such seas invite the possibility of adventure, travel and...

Here’s an easy little fish toy that I made today for the baby. I used fabric scraps, including part of an old neck tie. So far she likes to watch me wiggle the fish tail in front of her. It’s pretty cute. If you want to try making one, there are photos and directions below. Happy...

By Claire Ward-Dutton My name is Claire Ward-Dutton, and I am a British web designer and mum of two young children. I am also the founder of Little Parachutes, a new website which aims to help young children with situations and issues they may encounter as they grow up. The idea for Little...

Disney FamilyFun Magazine asked me to create a design for their Badges of Fun summer activity game. I did the road trip badge, which just came out in their August issue. Below is a printout for the interactive version of the badge. You can also add it to the rest of Paper City Road Trip...

I came up with some simple modern dollhouse designs for my book, Made to Play. This is one design that didn’t make it in the book, so I thought I’d share it here. It’s very fast and easy to make. All you need is a board, (any length is fine) and two small strips of wood for...

By Wendi Gratz Embroidery is a really terrific craft. The tools are inexpensive and readily available, the projects are portable, and you can embroider ANY drawing. Today I want to introduce you to the basic tools, teach you how to transfer an embroidery pattern, and give you specific details...

I’ve made a couple of match games in the past, but now that my kids are getting a little older, I’m having to come up with slightly more difficult versions. Here is a doctor’s office theme, where you have to draw a line to connect the medical tools on the top row to their...

Here is a simple poetry river craft that I made for the newest Issue of LMNOP Magazine, which is all about books. We’ve been enjoying the book, A River of Words, which is a brilliant introduction to the poet William Carlos Williams. This book contains many of his wonderful poems and...

I made a fireworks coloring sheet last night, in case you want to get in the mood for 4th of July! I haven’t had a chance to color it in yet, but it looks like it could be a tricky one. Click on the image below, then...

Many people have been asking me about crafts and activities for the beach, so I thought I’d do a little beach roundup post. Below are three crafts, as well as a couple of beach inspired coloring sheets. And we would love to hear about your favorite beach activities too, so feel free to...

I had the great pleasure of doing a fun interview with Yolanda Edwards at momfilter, a unique and well done blog by the founding editors of Cookie magazine.  Momfilter features great ideas under headings such as food, gifts we love, at home, travel and style. Click here to read the...

The other day, I decided to try making some car seat and stroller toys for our new baby girl to look at. I used high contrast scraps of felt, so they’re soft to touch, and fun for babies eyes to focus on. They were very fast and easy to make, and so far she loves looking at them!...

I love finding new food and snack ideas that are fun for my kids. I recently asked our Facebook community to share their ideas for favorite kid’s snacks, and was amazed by the volume and creativity in the responses. Today we’re excited to have Pamela Salzman, author of the blog...

We’re having a wonderful display of kid’s art over at the Made by Joel Facebook Page. I thought is was so much fun, I didn’t want anyone to miss out. If you like children’s art as much as I do, then come on over and join in on the fun. And feel free to upload more...

Here are the Duck and Goat coloring sheets that go along with the chicken! Also, many of you have have been turning Made by Joel coloring sheets into wonderful embroidery stitchings. I’d love to do a post to display them.  So if you’d like to contribute, send me a photo of your...

I have to give the credit to my son for this craft. The other day, we were out in the yard and the kids were picking flowers off the azalea bush. My son, who loves building things, took the flowers and poked them all onto a short stick. When he showed it to me, I said, “wow, that looks...

We’ve been enjoying our first week of summer break, and spending a lot of time playing in the backyard. Planting sticks, I mean trees, playing in the playhouse I made two years ago, and drawing a lot of chalk art. A couple of weeks ago on the Made by Joel Facebook Page, I asked for ideas...

I’m making some coloring sheets for a new urban homesteading store here in Portland. They wanted a chicken, duck, and a goat. I’m still working on the duck and goat, but here’s the chicken. Happy coloring! Click on the image below, then...

We’ve had a great week of family time with our new baby. I’ll be posting some more crafts and coloring sheets very soon! Until then, some of you requested to see the DIY baby socks in action. So here you...

Hi, Everybody. It’s Joel’s sister, Lori. Some of you know about my musical projects featuring Joel’s art since he has so kindly mentioned them here. Joel, Darius, and I have been talking a lot about the connection between music, art, creativity, and the mind. As a teacher,...

Here she is! Born this morning, and everything is...

Our baby is coming very soon! The suitcase for the hospital is packed, and we’re really excited to meet...

Disney asked me to make a road trip illustration for a project of theirs. (More on that in a few weeks.) So I thought I’d turn some of the illustrations into a Paper City “Road Trip Pack.” I made road pieces, like train tracks, so you can build your own road. My son was very...

In preparation for Father’s Day this month, here are some crafts that fathers can easily make with their kids, for some good family bonding fun. Click on the links or the photos below, and have a great Father’s Day! Toddler Stilts – Easy to make stilts for toddlers. Great outdoor...

Underwater life has been a very popular theme in our house lately. So yesterday morning, while we were all drawing, I made this coloring sheet. I haven’t yet colored it in, so if you want to upload your colored versions to the Made by Joel Facebook Page, please do! I’d love to see...

My kids have been practicing throwing and catching a lot lately, but the rubber balls we have are a little difficult for them to catch. So last night when I cleaning out my closet, I found some old jeans, and thought I’d make a ball with some of the fabric. It was really easy to make...

The votes are in ~ Paper City Paris won! If any of you have ideas about what you’d love to see in the design, please let me know! Feel free to leave comments and even upload your favorite photos of Paris (to the Made by Joel Facebook Page) that capture what you love about this enchanting...

Thank you Naif Magazine for the Made by Joel feature! I just received the spring/summer issue in the mail, and the entire magazine beautiful –  filled with amazing ideas, and designs for kids. You can read the Made by Joel article below, if you’d like. Gracias revista Naif por...

With the beautiful weather we’ve been having, I thought it might be fun to do an “outdoor” roundup of some popular previous posts. So here they are! Click on the links or photos below! Driftwood Fish – At the beach? Create some fun toys with driftwood and a paint...

Here is another fantastic album that I got to design the cover for. Becky Billock is a classical pianist who has recorded Muses Nine, where she performs a wonderful selection of classical pieces by female composers. The cd is available on Becky’s site, or you can get it here on...

I was struggling to decide which city to select as our next Paper City and thought, “Why not put it to a vote?” As soon as I did, I was amazed at how quickly the votes started coming in. In fact, over the past several days, we received nearly 300 votes on over 35 cities around the...

Here’s another sock project. I got the idea from the very cool book, Sock and Glove. I love sock projects because there is so little sewing involved, which makes them super fast! This fish took only 10 minutes to make. Also, sock crafts are a great way to repurpose my stripy socks so I...

Etsy just posted their How-Tuesday video recently filmed in my studio! We made a Paper Bird Mobile that works nicely as a Mother’s Day present. I’ll attach the template below, but you can view the entire Etsy post and more info here. Thanks, Etsy! “This week’s Etsy...

Thank you to The Oregonian newspaper here in Portland, OR USA for the nice write-up on my work and my blog! Photo credit: Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian “It’s hard not to touch things in Joel Henriques’ studio. The tiny wire chaise lounge in a simple dollhouse. The colorful...

Someone asked me if I could please make a fairy doll craft, so here is my attempt! I also had some requests for ways to repurpose plastic cups and containers, so this is really efficient! My daughter really enjoyed taking these outside and playing with them in the yard, too. So if you have any...

My sister Lori has a new album of original songs entitled “Outside My Door – Songs For Children Of all Ages.” I did the artwork for it, which some of you might recognize since I used the Paper City and added some color and a few extra details relating to her lyrics. The...

As you know, we are all about fun, handmade and recyclable activities. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve created this quick coloring sheet. You can print it out on both front and back of the page or why not print it on the backside of existing paper bound for recycling? Show us you...

First off, I’m very excited to to announce that we will be having a new baby girl in six weeks! Our four year old twins have been having a great time helping us get ready. We’ve been wanting to make some baby booties for weeks now, but haven’t gotten around to it. Then today,...

Here is a project I did for Junior Magazine, and I thought it would make a fun craft or gift for Mother’s Day. They are standing paper flowers. The idea was inspired by a paper ornament from Ann Wiseman’s book, Making Things (One of my favorite kids craft books.) The paper pedal...

This was a very exciting week for me. Etsy sent their video crew from New York to my studio on Monday to shoot a video craft tutorial for their “How-Tuesday” series. The video will be posted on May 3, but here’s a behind the scenes teaser image. Also, below are a couple of...

Here is a simple toy that I just made for LMNOP Magazine. It’s a no-sew, fleece version of my Play Squares for Babies. Making them takes only minutes, and an older child could even make them as a gift for a baby. All you need is some fleece (felt would also work) and some scissors,...

I recently got to collaborate with 20 kids to create this toy bench for a school auction. I painted designs on the bench with black outline, then they got to paint on it like a big coloring book. The kids were 3-6 years old, so I did a little touching up at the end, but they really did a great...

I made an Easter version of an old tumbling toy for Disney FamilyFun Magazine. The toy uses marbles to propel itself. Usually, it’s a tumbling acrobat. It used to be popular in China, then in the nineteenth century it made it’s way to Europe and became a popular folk toy....

I’ve been busy during spring break, working on some new big projects for the blog. I think it will be worth the wait! Meanwhile, there is a lot of fun going on over at the Made by Joel Facebook Page. So many people are sharing photos and great ideas for kids crafts. Here are a few (used...

Here is the music video for Mnemonic Sounds! I decided to go with an abstract art theme for the video. It ended up working quite well I think. The band came to my studio last week, and we had a great time shooting it. Everyone got to be involved, which made for a lovely variety of...

I made a sketch for this idea awhile ago, and just came across it in my drawer this morning, so I thought we should give it a try. All you do is make the fish (using the template and the directions on the sketch below), thread the string through the straw that’s inside the fish, then...

Nido Magazine featured my box pull toys in their March issue. I just received my copy in the mail yesterday. I love the lead photo they got of the toys! So great. Even though I can’t read German, I love looking through this stylish magazine. Lots of great design. Thanks...

I’ve been given the exciting honor of creating a music video for the amazing Portland band, Mnemonic Sounds. It’s going to be a ballet of puppets and toys, which I think will go perfectly with the band’s enchanting electronic pop sound. We’re going to shoot the...

My paintings are in the Daily Cafe through March if any of you in the Portland area want to swing by! Bring the kids too, they still have my coloring sheets at the cafe. I’ll post them again below if anyone’s in the mood for coloring now. (More info on the paintings at my art site...

I was asked to create a Paper City addition for Art Month Sydney. To launch the festival this year, Sydney’s National Art School hosted an ‘Art Month Art Adventure’ event for kids. The project (named Itty Bitty City) was driven by LMNOP magazine, and was based on my Paper...

Design*Sponge just posted a photo-journal of our house in their “Sneak Peek” series. Head over to check it out if you’d...

My book is now available. I’m really excited!  ”Made to Play” has 35 craft and toy projects, using wood, fabric, and paper, that promote imaginative and creative play. Here are just a few links for ordering. It’s available world-wide, so if your country is not listed...

I loved felt boards when I was a kid, and when looking at some felt the other day, I thought it would be fun to make a simple felt board designed for babies. Infants, with their developing eyes, love to focus on high contrast shapes, so I used black and light cream for my felt colors. But you...

After only three weeks, the Made by Joel Facebook Page is off to a booming start. It’s rapidly turning into a fantastic resource for all kinds of art, crafts, and kids activities. Here are a few of the photos that people have shared (used here with permission). A ring toss toy with...

I’ve been painting this week for an art show I have next month. Here’s one I just finished this morning. Stripes were inspired by my Paul Smith socks. Update: Some people have asked about prints for this painting, so I’ve just added it to the Zazzle store. You can buy prints...

Here is a simple ring toss game that I made with buttons, pipe cleaners, and thick paper. It takes only a few minutes to put together, and it works surprisingly well. The buttons add weight to the rings, so they fly through the air nicely. If you want to make your own, just get out some thick...

My daughter loves flowers. And around the same time I thought of the branch tree idea, I came up with this flower building toy. I used some scrap wood and cut out shapes, then painted them. Then I drilled holes into a bunch of thick dowel pieces to make stacking beads for the stems. The end...

I’ve been busy with a lot of art commissions lately. If you’d like a look, here are some images of a wire sculpture I’ve been working on this week. I designed a logo for a restaurant here in Portland, and am also making them this 5 foot long metal wire sculpture to hang from...

Today I made a memory game using images from some of my paintings. My kids were watching over my shoulder as I was working with the images on my computer, and they kept saying, “there’s a match!” every few seconds. Once it was all printed and cut out, they had a great time...

I’ve created a brand new Made by Joel Facebook Page. The idea is for it to be a community space where we can all share art, crafts, design, toys, and projects for kids. I love seeing all of the photos and links to many of your crafts, or Made by Joel crafts. Now, if you’d like, you...

We were getting out the Valentine’s Day decorations with the kids yesterday, and my wife was wishing we had a garland. She asked me if I wanted to make one for her present this year. I’ve never made a garland before, but I had to try! It was quite fun to make, although I have no...

I’ve wanted to try making a thaumatrope spinner for awhile, and when I recently saw these on the Made in Me blog, I had to give it a try. I just finished a bird painting for a commission, so I used it for the design. When spinning, it almost looks like the bird is flapping its wings. The...

We’ve been having some more windy days with small sticks falling into our yard. So I took a piece of scrap board and drilled some holes into it and made a little forest building toy. It was fun sticking the branches in to build the forest, but it was even more exciting when my son turned...

Just for fun, my friend Lisa shot this footage of some of my art that they own. I edited it and made some music for...

Last week I made this wooden catapult toy. I was originally going to have it toss paper balls but thought it would be cool to sew some instead. (Similar to the yo-yo balls I made awhile back.) It worked really well. The kids both had a real kick trying to make a basket. I made each ball have...

I’m very excited to show you the cover of my book that will be published by Shambhala Publications / Trumpeter Books next fall (2011). I’ll let you all know when it’s available for pre-order. I’ve seen some of the layout for inside the book, too. The design team at...

Tiffany from Simply Modern Mom asked me to join her “Wrap it Up” party. I chose to do some more magazine wrap. I love digging through old magazines and finding fun pages to use. (Here are a couple more I posted awhile back.) You’ll find some great inspiration for more gift...

Here’s another dollhouse! Duck Duck Green asked me to create a craft for their packaging. The box looked so much like a house already, I couldn’t resist. My daughter has been playing with it a lot, making up hilarious scenes and dialogs. If you’d like, Duck Duck Green has...

LMNOP Magazine just released their new 2010 Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide issue. For my column this time, I made some little photo albums to display the kid’s favorite activity. I think the books will be a nice keepsake and they also gave the kids a nice sense of pride. If you’d like...

And the winner according to random.org is comment number 398! So it looks like the dolls will be going to Denmark. Congratulations! This was really fun! I also made another quick coloring sheet from one of my paintings so everyone can get a little something. Hope you are all enjoying the...

My last giveaway was so fun I thought I’d do one more for the holidays. The prize this time is two of my wooden dolls, complete with vintage fabric doll clothes that I just sewed yesterday. The dolls are solid maple and finished with food grade beeswax. My kids, nieces and nephews have...

Liz over at Say Yes to Hoboken invited me to do a craft for her BlogNog Holiday Series. She did a great job organizing a fantastic collection of holiday crafts, so keep your eye out over there for more BlogNog posts. For mine, I decided to make these reindeer cards! My kids love it when we...

Here is the last of the 3 videos I made for Cheerios. A portable dollhouse! It was a fun one. Hope you enjoyed the...

I’ve been a fan of the Kireei blog from Spain for a long time, so when they invited me to make a craft for the first issue of their new online magazine I was very excited. The magazine is beautiful even if you don’t read Spanish. It’s free, and you can check it out here if...

I’ve seen people make trees of thanks and thought it would be fun to make a mobile of thanks. It was a fast and simple project, similar to the nature mobile I made a few months ago. We just cut out pieces of paper, drew or wrote things that we were happy for and taped them onto long...

Every year I make a calendar for friends and family with photos of my paintings. This year I used photos of my toys. It’s for sale in the Zazzle Store here if anyone is interested. Happy...

I was very honored when Etsy recently asked if I’d be interested in making a new craft to post on their blog. I decided to make these fabric nesting dolls. The idea for them came after I painted a set of nesting dolls for a friend of mine. She said I should try making some nesting dolls...

Cheerios just posted the second video I made for them. Here it is. A rubber band box guitar! Very fast and easy to make, and also quite entertaining to play. Could be fun to decorate it with paint or stickers...

Made by Joel toys are currently on display in a fun design exhibition in Krakow, Poland. It’s part of the Design Attack Festival and will run through the month of November. The exhibition is about socially engaged design, aesthetic education of children and 3R rules (reduce, reuse,...

Harper’s Bazaar Magazine asked me if I could make a craft for their bi-annual Bazaar Junior supplement in Singapore. Cool! I just got it in the mail. The magazine is beautiful and filled with amazing things for kids. I wish they sold it in the US. If you don’t live in Singapore...

There were some warm, windy days last week and many sticks were blowing off the trees into the yard.  We had the spur of the moment idea to try making a kite.  So we gathered a few sticks, cut some thick paper, got out the tape and string and in ten minutes we had a kite!  I was really...

Cool news!  Cheerios has sponsored me to make some crafts!  They asked me if I could create some “how to” videos for their FaceBook page.  Check out my first ever craft tutorial video: How to Make a Snack Box.  Hope you’re hungry! My kids really loved it.  Always...

I was asked to take part in the 2011 Play! Design for Kids calendar.  My copy just arrived from Hamburg yesterday!  It is a project initiated by EIGA and it’s filled with amazing contemporary children’s design – on the theme of play.  I’ve looked through it a dozen...

Recently we were going through our hats for cold weather.  I decided it was time to get rid of an old fleece hat that I’ve had for many years.  I was about to trash it, when all of a sudden a black sheep flashed into my head.  I had to try it.  My daughter has already taken it for a...

The beautiful alex and alexa store from London recently asked me to design a Halloween craft to repurpose their great packaging boxes.  I decided to create a Paper City style trick-or-treat scene for them.  They were really fun to make! If you want to make one yourself, you can use any box...

After six months of creating, writing, and not sleeping much, I’m very happy to say that I’ve finished the final edit of my book!  The whole process has been exciting, and I love working with everyone at Shambhala Publications / Trumpeter Books. The title is: MADE TO PLAY...

The very kind and crafty people at HowDoesShe recently invited me to do a craft for them.  I had just picked up a box of brads (the paper fasteners) and was excited to try making a toy with them.  So here is the result.  A funny little dancing deer.  If you’ve never used brads or...

And the winner according to random.org is comment number 34!  So it looks like the puzzle will be going to France.  Congratulations!  This was so much fun and such a success, I’ll definitely do another one before the winter holidays.  Thanks for playing everybody! I also decided I...

I recently received a great gift of some beautiful vintage birch plywood from my wife’s grandfather.  So to test the wood, I cut a smaller version of my elephant puzzle just for fun.  It turned out being so cute that I decided to make two of them so I could try doing a small giveaway....

A few months ago Parents Magazine asked me to design the Thanksgiving craft for their November issue.  I just picked it up at the grocery store last night!  If you want to try making one then you can see the craft and instructions here on the Parents website. And I also have instructions for...

It was a surprise to me when a very kind reader from Italy told me that Italian Vanity Fair did a small feature on Made by Joel in their September issue.  And she even mailed me a copy!  I’m on the “Style Tecno” page as an alternative entertainment to video games and...

Last October my son was 2 1/2 years old and loved asking me to draw “scary cats.” See below. (I tried to make them as friendly as possible while still satisfying his requests for more claws and teeth.)  So this year I thought it would be fun to use the drawings for another match...

Artist Hazel Terry recently told me about Science Toy Maker, which is a site run by a brilliant technology educator and filled with great toy projects including this oscillating woodpecker.  It’s such a fun toy!  Easy enough for my 3 year old kids to use.  Yet, there are some...

I recently scored a free box of wood scraps and in it was this fabulous old cedar block.  I decided to paint it and turn it into a “city block”.  I think it might be a good block for the Vintage Wood Figures to hang out...

The idea for this came into my head a couple of weeks ago.  I’m probably not the first one to do it, but it’s quite fun to play with.  Similar to a marble labyrinth, only much easier, which makes it great for younger kids.  Just set the marble on the small start hole, then get...

I’ve been wanting to try a paper cut-out mobile and ended up making this owl.  It was an interesting design challenge, trying to make it look good no matter how the pieces spun, and the mobility gives the owl a lot of character.  I think I’ll put it in the kid’s...

I’m excited to say that I’ve just shipped my first set of The Land of Me toy prototypes off to London.  I’m having such a great time working with the people at Made in Me, and I can’t wait to see how this first set turns out.  Production is going to start in just a...

My first craft column appeared in the new issue of LMNOP magazine today.  Pull toys have been making a come-back in our house, so I decided to make some box pull toys that slide across the floor.  They turned out to be really fun and very easy to make.  There are full instructions in the...

Jack and Tess have always loved swings.  One of their favorite activities in my art room is swinging the climbing gorilla toy that I made over a year ago.  So now I’ve added another swing to the mix.  A very simple one using bent wire and wood scrap.  I made it so the guy comes off,...

This puzzle is over a year old, but we just got it out again.  My son has been a big puzzle fan since age two.  This was a wooden one that I had, but the design on it was all green leaves, which made it very difficult to solve, even for me.  So I painted a little safari painting on the wood...

La Petite Magazine released their new online issue today that features some paper dollhouses I made.  I had a lot of fun designing different houses and little pieces of furniture.  Then I put them all in a mint tin so they can be played with on the go.  If you want to try it out, you can...

The kids love collecting things while playing outside, so we made a little mobile with some of their treasures.  It was very easy to make.  I just used thread to tie the items onto the stick, then tied fishing line to each end of the stick to hang the mobile from.  We had fun pressing...

By popular request, I’ve made a small list of favorite tools I use for toy making, photography, and crafts. NON-TOXIC PAINT: To paint my kids toys I use Acrylic paints by A2 Chroma. They’re nice paints, non-toxic, and very affordable. CAMERA: I used to have a Nikon D70, but...

Ohdeedoh recently asked me to participate in a short interview to celebrate Learning at Home month.  They asked a few people about their favorite children’s book, illustrator and more.  If you want to check it out, click...

A few days ago I made these little puppets with paper clips and cardboard.  The kids were really coming up with some entertaining stories for them.  If you want to try it out, they’re very simple to make.  First, bend the middle of a paper clip so it stands up.  Then cut out the...

A couple of years ago we bought some Stockmar Beeswax Crayons, and they came with a little plastic tool for doing Sgraffito.  Sgraffito comes from the Italian word sgraffiare (“to scratch”), and the technique works great with crayons.  All you do is make a light color...

My nephew Leo is turning four.  Last year I made him a trumpet.  This year he has developed a fascination for catfish, so a few days ago I decided to try and make him one.  We just gave it to him today at the party.  He liked...

The London based company, Made in Me, has invited me to design some toys with them.  They are a fantastic group of people who focus on creating “interactive experiences that inspire kids to play and learn.”   I’ve already begun working on some wooden toys for them. Below...

We’ve got a lot of birthdays coming up, so I thought I’d share my favorite way for wrapping presents, using pages out of my old art magazines.  I’m sure a lot of you do this sort of thing too.  I also like cutting little pieces of painted paper for decorations. p.s. The...

Here are a few things we’ve been enjoying in the great weather we’ve had this month: The kids really love riding their bicycles on our driveway.  Last week we spiced things up by drawing a track with some sidewalk chalk.  They love practicing their turns while trying to stay in...

While we were drawing today, I decided to make one of those match games where you draw a line to match the silhouettes to the correct figure.  The kids really enjoyed the idea of a drawing game.  It took a little concentration too, and they were very proud when they finished.  Tess wanted...

The other day, while I had the paper clips out, I thought it would be fun to make a barrel of monkeys type game by bending them into hook shapes.  Jack had a good time figuring out how to get them all linked together, and also how to get them...

I’ve always loved zip lines.  As a boy I even made a real zip line from my treehouse.  Jack and Tess aren’t quite ready for that though, so I thought of this idea for a little zip line toy.  I bent some paper clips and taped them to the wall, then tied a long string between...

I’m excited that Junior Magazine from the UK included me in their August issue!  It arrived in the mail today.  I wasn’t sure what photos they were going to use and it turned out looking great.  Also, I had a thrill to notice that just a few pages away is a great article on...

I was digging around in my box of vintage wood scraps, and decided to make some little figures with a few of the small colorful pieces.  We used paint pens to draw on them, so it was an easy way to make a fun set of dolls to play with. And look at this great set that Jack made.  He...

I was talking about stilts with a friend the other day, and remembered the old coffee can stilts that were popular when I was a kid.  For Jack and Tess, I thought the tall coffee cans would make me a little too nervous, so I used some pieces of 2×4 wood instead.  They were a huge hit....

LMNOP Magazine recently invited me to be their regular craft contributor, and of course I accepted.  I love the magazine.  Their new issue was just released yesterday, in which they mentioned that I’ll be working with them.  My new column will commence in their next issue.  Should...

This idea popped into my head the other day when trying to think of something fun to do with cereal boxes.  I always loved marble runs when I was a kid, and this one was very easy to make.  Jack and Tess really loved it too.  We had to go finish off some more cereal so I could make one for...

I just came across these photos the other day and thought it would be fun to post them.  Before the twins were born I wanted to make them special receiving blankets.  So this is what I came up with.  They turned out to be more playmats than blankets, but they were enjoyable nonetheless....

I was very excited when Anorak Magazine from the UK asked if they could feature my Paper City in one of their issues.  I just got it in the mail and it looks great!  Each issue is so well crafted.  I’m a big fan.  They even have a cool iPhone app.  Fun stuff! They also ship to...

One of my favorite vintage vinyl bags ripped, so I decided to take it apart and make an iPad case out of it.  I have enough scraps left over to make a little handle bag too. Glad I didn’t throw it away! I’ve actually designed quite a few toys by sketching on the iPad....

Yesterday I made some more wooden animals so there would be a complete set.  The parts are interchangeable, so it’s possible to make many different creatures.  I had a lot of fun trying them out before the kids got up from their nap. Also, a lot of people have asked what I finish...

Yesterday we were drawing and decided to cut out some of the people and glue them onto cardboard.  Cutouts are always fun to make.  This time I taped on some little “kickstands” onto the backs so they stand up.  One of my characters was inspired by a certain movie character that...

Some friends of mine have a great pop rock band and they asked me to do the cover for their debut album.  I ended up doing a 36X36 inch painting on canvas.  They did a great job of incorporating the painting into the design of the cd packaging too.  Very fun!  If you’re curious and...

When the twins were one month old I made them a mobile like this and hung it over their crib.  Looking at it was my daughter’s favorite activity for almost 6 months.  The contrasting black and white shapes are perfect for infants’ undeveloped vision.  It’s also very simple...

I love drawing with my kids. This morning while we were doing some art, I made this family portrait. Their artistic style is very...

I just designed some coloring sheets for a cool little restaurant, Blackfish Cafe, at the beach in Lincoln City.  So here are some more fish!  If you want to try them out, click on the images below.  After coloring, you could even cut them out and use them in your Box Aquarium. Click on...

I’ve always liked the simplicity of things that fit together with slots. Yesterday I made this little wooden toy. I think I should make more animals with interchangeable pieces so people could make their own creations. My son had fun playing with this one though. He especially liked...

I really like using boxes we get in the mail for other things before recycling them, so I made this small aquarium toy.  Instead of taping the fish to the top of the box, I decided to make it more interactive by cutting slits in the top and tying buttons to the threads.  This way the fish...

The kids and I just made some pop-up puppets this morning.  We had a great time picking out the fabrics and drilling holes for the dowel sticks.  When we were done, the kids were pretty surprised at how they came to life.  Below you can see a quick video.  (Including another one of my old...

We just got back from the beach today, and had a great time.  Before leaving, I quickly made a couple of sand combs for the kids to play with.  They added a nice and relaxing element to our sand...

We’re headed to the beach again this weekend, so I was in the mood to get out the driftwood pieces from our last trip and paint them.  I ended up using non-toxic paint pens (Painters Opaque Paint Markers by Elmer’s), which made it really fast and easy.  It’s amazing how...

Yet another request for an addition to the Paper City. A helicopter! And what a great idea, too. I poked a hole and strung some thread through the top so you can fly it around. Then I made a landing pad, so you can fly on missions and then return for a smooth landing on the circle. We had a...

I’ve been getting a lot of people saying that they will save my projects for when their babies get a little older.  But what about the babies?  They need to have some fun too!  When my twins were little, I didn’t have much time to make toys, but I was always thinking about what...

A couple of days ago we took another short trip out to the countryside to visit my wife’s grandparents.  The kids love visiting their great-grandparents, and so do I, because they always seem to have some vintage gifts for me.  This time it was an old box of wooden odds and ends that...

I’ve had a lot of requests (including from my son) for some cars and trucks for the paper city.  So here they are!  There’s a template below if you want to try them out.  Just cut on the black outlines and fold.  Cool! Template: Click on the image below, then...

We went to the beach last weekend, and I picked up a bunch of smooth flat rocks with the idea of painting them.  Then I thought it would be interesting to come up with a way of using the rocks in a game.  The kids have been starting to show interest in recognizing letters in the alphabet, so...

Last weekend we got a large tin of Tinker Toys at a yard sale.  The kids really enjoyed talking into the empty can, which gave me the idea that we should make tin can telephones.  Yet another thing I remember doing as a kid.  It’s so fast and easy too.  Just open a can of food. (I...

As a child, one of my favorite memories at my Grandma’s house was when all of the cousins would get together and she would rip off big sheets of butcher paper, fold them in half, and with ease and grace, she would cut out these fantastic cowboys for us to color.  I recently found a few...

I had vague memories of weaving paper baskets for May Day as a kid, but when I started making these, the memories came flooding back. I love it when that happens. Making them is easy. Take a square piece of paper (I used some old magazine covers), and fold it into 9 equal parts (just draw a...

I just discovered a fantastic vintage fabric and craft supply store here in Portland, and made these simple pillow dolls with some of the fabric I found.  I embroidered the faces with my regular sewing machine, but it worked pretty well.  The twins love to pretend they are putting the dolls...

I’ve never made anything with a zipper, so I thought I’d give it a try.  I just did a very simple pouch and then drew a cat on it with a fabric pen.  I like...

When I was a boy, I remember making walnut boats like this with my Grandma.  My sisters and I would play with them in the bathtub.  They were so simple and fun.  This morning we had some walnuts in the kitchen, so I made some boats with the kids! Just melt some candle wax into a walnut...

I just ran across some photos of the toy bench I made for the kids awhile back out of poplar wood.  I tried to design something simple with an open front.  I didn’t want a lid that could be closed on fingers.  It’s worked really well; just the right balance for the organized...

I was drawing these little people on the train to Seattle last Saturday (to see the Alexander Calder Exhibit), and thought it would be amusing to turn them into little paper dolls. So I sketched some buildings for them and made a happy little paper city. Yes, you can join in on the fun. ...

For the last few months I’ve been latch hooking this rug in my spare time.  I don’t think I’ll finish it anytime soon though, as I don’t really have spare time these days.  It was fun to design, and I like the brown and cream colors.  Hopefully someday it...

Here is a quick snake I made for my son. Very simple, but it seems to be well received! He’s been hissing all...

My brother-in-law showed me some photographs of Picasso doing light drawings, and I had to give it a whirl myself.  I had so much fun, I kept going until my camera battery ran out. All you do is put your camera on a tripod in a dark or dimly lit room and take a long exposure (10 seconds or...

Last month, on the day of my birthday, an editor at Shambhala Publications / Trumpeter Books (Now Roost Books) asked me if I would be interested in writing a toy&craft-making book for them.  Over the past few weeks we’ve been working on the details for the project, and I just found...

This post is a shout out to my sister. She recorded this classical piano album after becoming a mom. I think it’s brilliant, but of course I’m partial. I also did the artwork. It is available on iTunes Music Store, or at...

My kids each have a yo-yo but they’re not able to work them yet.  So I tried to think of something that could provide a more toddler friendly yo-yo experience.  I used some Paul Smith sock material scraps and some cotton canvas to sew a ball.  Then attached a length of elastic string....

I made a little sheep this morning out of wire and scrap material.  It’s simple, but it feels good, and it seems to like standing on my Olle Eksell book.  I’ll let the kids play with it when they get up from their...

We were at the park over the weekend and I spotted some very nice tree branches on the ground and decided it was time to make some fishing poles! The kids each picked out a stick and we carried them home.  I took my knife and whittled down the bumps, found some string, a couple of old wooden...

There was one corner in my art studio that didn’t have enough light, so I thought it would be interesting to try and make a lamp. I found an old socket in the garage, bent some wire, and sewed a shade from some fabric. It definitely looks homemade, which may or may not be good. But at...

I just had an opening reception for my art show at the Daily Cafe in Portland.  It was a great dinner party.  In addition to the art, I designed coloring sheets for kids.  If you want to try them out, download below.  If you’d like a better look at the paintings you can see them on...

I’ve been getting a lot of emails from teachers and parents who are trying out some of my crafts.  It’s so great to see what everybody is doing.  I just got an email from Marta, who is a teacher in Spain.  She told me her students just made design trees!  This was probably the...

While reading the December issue of Art Forum Magazine, I came across a brilliant Damián Ortega sculpture made of tortillas.  Of course I immediately wished I could play with them.  So I scanned some recent collage circles I’d made, printed them out, and made these building discs....

Today I made a little cowboy scene out of paper.  Similar to the paper animals I made before.  These are made from painted paper that I use for my collages, but any paper will do.  I also used a black and silver pen to draw on them.  I like toys like these because they flatten and you can...

A few days ago I got to spend some time at the Portland Art Museum on my birthday.  I hadn’t been there in awhile and was really inspired by the Native American exhibits.  Dance wands, totem poles, jewelry. So I came home and dreamt up the idea for this toy.  A kind of interactive art...

I just finished an interesting art commission: painting a blank set of nesting dolls. It was quite different than anything I’ve done before, but surprisingly enjoyable. Another big bonus is that the recipient of the gift is an amazing photographer, and she put together this really great...

I used to do this all the time when I was a kid, but forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago when drawing with Jack and Tess.  It’s a great trick, and you can do all kinds of animations.  We did a chicken first.  If you want to try something like this, here are a couple of...

This morning we were drawing together and I thought it would be fun to get some material scraps and cut them into clothes so we could dress-up the drawings.  Similar to the vintage buttons game we did...

We’ve been spending time outside in our playhouse lately, and I realized I’ve never posted pictures of it on this blog.  Some of you might have seen it in my Daddy Story on Bloesem Kids.  Last fall I decided to utilize the strip of cement behind our garage and fit a playhouse to...

I finished the dollhouse!  At least for now.  I’m sure I’ll never stop making furniture for it.  It’s too much fun.  My son especially loves organizing and arranging the furniture.  The guys in the family are playing with dollhouses and the girls are out riding bicycles....

While finding branches in my yard for the doll house, it got me thinking about what else I could do with them. I just finished making some new bird collages for an upcoming art show, so I scanned them and printed out smaller versions. Then cut them out, and wired them to the branch. Kind of...

I’ve started to make some doll house furniture.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a few months now.  My kids love playing with doll houses.  I bent a little chair out of wire, and finally found a use for the awesome hand printed fabric scraps I got from Umbrella Prints.  Got...

The kids got some new construction paper for a Christmas gift last night, so we made finger puppets this morning. You can see on their faces the excitement and wonder they had for the tiny puppets. They had a great time acting out really funny scenes and stories. A super fast craft with fun...

8 cousins = 8 hand embroidered holiday shirts! I asked all the parents what they thought their kids would like, and then went to work. I might have to make an R2-D2 for myself! I put them in my bird boxes and made little circle collages for...

My nephew and niece had a joint birthday party last week. Pablo loves trucks and Milly loves our climbing gorilla when she comes over. She also loves princesses, so I made her a climbing princess. Good old fashion...

Now that I’m on an embroidery roll, I decided to make some owl shirts. I think it might be part therapy too, since all three of my owl paintings sold at my last art show. (You can see a video below of me painting them, if you’d...

A friend of mine has been wanting me to make a bird shirt for her, so she finally came to my house with a blank shirt and made me make her one. Here is a little video that she took of the process. You can see my other shirts here and here if you’d...

The twins just got some cute Japanese toys from a friend. They called them froggy-bears and thought they needed a nap, so I did a 20 second sewing project and made them some fleece sleeping bags. Then we made lego beds. It’s pretty fun. I’ve been so busy painting for my October art...

I’ve been tackling some larger projects, so I haven’t posted in awhile. One of them is this zoo blanket. Jack and Tess love to get out all of their animals and arrange them on the floor to “make a zoo”. I thought it would be fun to design a blanket or play mat that had some fun shapes...

My nephew Leo just turned 3 on Sunday. He loves music, so I made him this trumpet, which gave me a great excuse to use some of my “new” vintage buttons. As usual I just made this up as I went, and the whole thing was a big experiment. I think it turned out well though. Kind of has a Dr....

My wife’s grandma just gave me her Tiffany Cigar box full of buttons during our visit last weekend. She said she was never going to use them, so I gratefully accepted the gift. The kids already love playing with them just in the box. Then I drew up some animals and pictures that they...

My wife’s Birthday is coming up, and I just finished making her a wool felt embroidered brooch. I got this great idea from Tiny Happy, a really cool craft blog. I pretty much copied her design, which wasn’t too creative of me, but I really thought my wife would love it. Also, I’m really...

Here’s a sewing experiment I just did, using up a lot of scraps and some felt. I learned a lot as I went, so the next one should be better and easier. But it’s still a fun little...

I’ve seen little books like this all around, but now that I have a sewing machine I finally got to make some. I made the covers from thick art magazine covers, and then used a paper cutter to cut the pages. Then just fold the papers in half, and sew a line down the middle. Simple and very...

I’ve just made my first article of clothing with the sewing machine! A skirt for my daughter. I found this cool (and easy) skirt pattern on the bolt fabric blog. I even ended up with a pretty straight top seam! How’s that for some sewing...

I just made some more stuffed animals for the kids. Simple natural canvas fabric, and the I drew on them with some non-toxic fabric pens. They’re really liking them so...

Yesterday my son and I had fun cutting out some scrap paper and turning them into little animals. It was really a fun way to use old paper. We kept making more and more animals until we had a full zoo. Here are a few of...

I’ve been wanting to make some wire animal sculptures for awhile, and finally got around to it. I thought it would be fun to make the heads out of wood and paint them. They’re definitely Alexander Calder and Joan Miró inspired. Also below is a quick video of me making one, if you want to...

Here’s a little climbing toy I made. I used to have one when I was a kid and loved playing with it. I just hung it in the art room. We’ll have to see if the kids can make it climb when they get up from...

This is a post of some of my older toys that I thought would be fun to put on the blog. Elephant Puzzle Wood Dolls An embroidered pillow doll I made for Tess Little wood toys for kid’s Easter...

My mom just got her old Pfaff sewing machine all tuned up so I could have it. It’s going to be fun making stuff for the kids. I made the lion this morning, and also an outfit for one of my wooden dolls from a holey Paul Smith sock that I never had the heart to throw away....