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
Yet another request for an addition to the Paper City. A helicopter! And what a great idea, too. I poked a hole and strung some thread through the top to fly it around with. Then I made a landing pad, so you can fly on missions and then return for a smooth landing on the...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
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
I’ve had a lot of requests (including from my son) for some cars and trucks for the paper city. So here they are! There’s a template below if you want to try them out. Just cut on the black outlines and fold. Cool! Template: Click on the image below, then print.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
Last weekend we got a large tin of Tinker Toys at a yard sale. The kids really enjoyed talking into the empty can, which gave me the idea that we should make tin can telephones. Yet another thing I remember doing as a kid. It’s so fast and easy too. Just open a can of...Continue Reading
As a child, one of my favorite memories at my Grandma’s house was when all of the cousins would get together and she would rip off big sheets of butcher paper, fold them in half, and with ease and grace, she would cut out these fantastic cowboys for us to color. I recently found a...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
When I was a boy, I remember making walnut boats like this with my Grandma. My sisters and I would play with them in the bathtub. They were so simple and fun. This morning we had some walnuts in the kitchen, so I made some boats with the kids! Just melt some candle wax into...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
I was drawing these little people on the train to Seattle last Saturday (to see the Alexander Calder Exhibit), and thought it would be amusing to turn them into little paper dolls. So I sketched some buildings for them and made a happy little paper city. Yes, you can join in on the fun. There...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 brother-in-law showed me some photographs of Picasso doing light drawings, and I had to give it a whirl myself. I had so much fun, I kept going until my camera battery ran out. All you do is put your camera on a tripod in a dark or dimly lit room and take a long...Continue Reading
Last month, on the day of my birthday, an editor at Shambhala Publications / Trumpeter Books (Now Roost Books) asked me if I would be interested in writing a toy&craft-making book for them. Over the past few weeks we’ve been working on the details for the project, and I just found out it’s a go!...Continue Reading
