The other day, I decided to try making some car seat and stroller toys for our new baby girl to look at. I used high contrast scraps of felt, so they’re soft to touch, and fun for babies eyes to focus on. They were very fast and easy to make, and so far she loves...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
First off, I’m very excited to to announce that we will be having a new baby girl in six weeks! Our four year old twins have been having a great time helping us get ready. We’ve been wanting to make some baby booties for weeks now, but haven’t gotten around to it. Then today, I...Continue Reading
We were getting out the Valentine’s Day decorations with the kids yesterday, and my wife was wishing we had a garland. She asked me if I wanted to make one for her present this year. I’ve never made a garland before, but I had to try! It was quite fun to make, although I have...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
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...Continue Reading
My nephew Leo is turning four. Last year I made him a trumpet. This year he has developed a fascination for catfish, so a few days ago I decided to try and make him one. We just gave it to him today at the party. He liked it!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
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
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
I’ve been getting a lot of people saying that they will save my projects for when their babies get a little older. But what about the babies? They need to have some fun too! When my twins were little, I didn’t have much time to make toys, but I was always thinking about what I...Continue Reading
I just discovered a fantastic vintage fabric and craft supply store here in Portland, and made these simple pillow dolls with some of the fabric I found. I embroidered the faces with my regular sewing machine, but it worked pretty well. The twins love to pretend they are putting the dolls to bed.Continue Reading
I’ve never made anything with a zipper, so I thought I’d give it a try. I just did a very simple pouch and then drew a cat on it with a fabric pen. I like zippers!Continue Reading
For the last few months I’ve been latch hooking this rug in my spare time. I don’t think I’ll finish it anytime soon though, as I don’t really have spare time these days. It was fun to design, and I like the brown and cream colors. Hopefully someday it can be a foot rug next...Continue Reading
My kids each have a yo-yo but they’re not able to work them yet. So I tried to think of something that could provide a more toddler friendly yo-yo experience. I used some Paul Smith sock material scraps and some cotton canvas to sew a ball. Then attached a length of elastic string. So far,...Continue Reading
There was one corner in my art studio that didn’t have enough light, so I thought it would be interesting to try and make a lamp. I found an old socket in the garage, bent some wire, and sewed a shade from some fabric. It definitely looks homemade, which may or may not be good....Continue Reading
This morning we were drawing together and I thought it would be fun to get some material scraps and cut them into clothes so we could dress-up the drawings. Similar to the vintage buttons game we did before.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
