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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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 pin boards with things like my favorite toy...Continue Reading
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 encourage you...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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 make!Continue Reading
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: https://madebyjoel.com/madetoplay Thanks everyone! JoelContinue Reading
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 below:Continue Reading
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 underneath. We’ve been having...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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 and structures. For...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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 Holidays!Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
If anyone wants to see how the Martha Stewart show went, here’s a video. It was a blast making dollhouses together! If you’d like, here is a behind the scenes look at the Martha Stewart TV Show. Here are the dollhouses I brought to New York for the show.Continue Reading
