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....Continue Reading

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.Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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 my wooden...Continue Reading

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 peeping through the eye hole.Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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.Continue Reading

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 much fun a bunch of...Continue Reading

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 they thought...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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 chaos of...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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 video. Thanks Lisa!         This last...Continue Reading

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 that space....Continue Reading

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.  Nice.Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading