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, so part of the fun is just getting him into the seat.  It actually swings for quite awhile.  I was surprised.

24 Responses
  1. = lingonsmak

    Wonderful idea! I discovered your blog a few weeks ago and scrolled back all the way to the first post because I couldn't get enough seeing all this nice simple things :) Great! Kind regards, Katrin

  2. fridica

    The best thing about seeing the projects you put up here is watching how they come to life in Jack's and Tess's hands. : )

  3. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everyone!

    fridica – Yes! That's the fun part isn't it! I love seeing how they react to the different toys and how they choose to play with them.

  4. Flotsam Friends

    That is seriously incredible. I adore it. What lucky lucky kids. Is that band-aid because he was hammering something he shouldn't have been?! Divine. Pruxxx

  5. Joel Henriques

    Flotsam Friends – Ha, thanks. No, the band-aid is actually for a rock and roll guitar blister. He recently got out an old guitar that I made in college (I'll probably post it on the blog soon) and has been strumming it like crazy! Awesome.

  6. Carla

    This is so cool! All of the toys you design make my husband and I extra excited for when our baby becomes a kid. Thank you so much for sharing!

  7. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everybody!

    Mrs. LIAYF – Yes, I'm a huge Calder fan. That Seattle exhibit was awesome wasn't it! I took the train there and back all in one day just to go see it.

  8. Steph

    Where have you been all my life?! Just kidding (but only a little).

    I just discovered your blog today, and I love the creativity and simplicity. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us!

  9. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everyone!

    Matthew – I think this was a combo of 22-gauge wire (you can find at a craft store) and er 308L welding rod, which can be found at welding supply stores. Wire is really inexpensive, so just go to a craft store or home supply store and buy a few different gauges and try them out. It's really fun!

    1. Sorry. I didn’t make a how-to for this project. I just used welding rod for the wire and drilled holes in the wood. You should just start bending and go for it, while looking at my photos if that helps. Or just make up your own swing design. Wire bending is much more flexible and forgiving than people think. Very fun!