A couple of weeks ago I finished some circus paintings for a pediatric dentist’s office here in Portland. After they were done, I thought the designs would translate well to a circus themed Paper City. So here it is – Paper City Circus! My kids liked the idea too. Especially our almost two year old who loves roaring like a lion. Nice! All …
I just finished a new music video for my sister’s upcoming kids album. The song is “When I Look Into The Night Sky.” It was a really fun video to make! I painted some paper and made abstract space objects, tied them to some thread, and basically did a puppet show. Our almost two year old seems to approve of the video. She keeps saying, …
We’re having a beautiful October so far here in Portland, and the kids are very excited about Halloween! Most of the excitement is about making decorations for the house. My son and I were going to make some paper bats for the window, and I decided to turn one of mine into a puppet. Flying it around is quite fun – like a combination of a …
Little E is always fascinated to watch her big brother and sister ride on all of their bikes and scooters. She often tries to sit on them and scoot around. I always wanted to try making a ride-on toy when the twins were little, but never had the time. So I finally got my chance! I’ll probably make more, but for this first design, I wanted to keep …
Baby E has officially mastered the Toy Slot Box, so we decided to try making a variation that would provide a bit more action. I used a cereal Box for this one, and it actually works quite well. Sometimes the coins will roll 10 feet across the floor! There are simple directions below if you want to try it out. Round lids from around the house should …
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 fish making! Instructions: First cut out two pieces of fabric …
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 – very similar to my yo-yo ball from awhile back. This …
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 don’t have to just throw them away. And if you made …
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 design layout by our friend Paul Johnson turned out so fun that …
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, then just cut out different sizes of squares. When the squares …
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. It’s pretty clever, and really fun to watch. It works best …
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 could create more colorful shapes, and even a bigger board, …
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 slightly different weight, so you have to adjust your technique …
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 to make one there are directions and more photos in the …
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 that her niece and nephew could play with; maybe using fabric. …
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 walk and given it dance lessons.
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 with.
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 LMNOP issue, and their layout and photos look awesome too. …
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 background, then color a dark layer (black is best) over the top. …
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 playing.