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...Continue Reading

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 Paul Smith...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

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...Continue Reading

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 be fun!  If you haven’t read LMNOP, you can...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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.  And look how cute...Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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.  It’s so fun...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

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 my son is loving....Continue Reading

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...Continue Reading

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 to make, using only cardboard, paper and...Continue Reading

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

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 the images...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

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...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