I’m making some coloring sheets for a new urban homesteading store here in Portland. They wanted a chicken, duck, and a goat. I’m still working on the duck and goat, but here’s the chicken. Happy coloring! Click here or on the image below to print.Continue Reading
Underwater life has been a very popular theme in our house lately. So yesterday morning, while we were all drawing, I made this coloring sheet. I haven’t yet colored it in, so if you want to upload your colored versions to the Made by Joel Facebook Page, please do! I’d love to see them. Later...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
Etsy just posted their How-Tuesday video recently filmed in my studio! We made a Paper Bird Mobile that works nicely as a Mother’s Day present. I’ll attach the template below, but you can view the entire Etsy post and more info here. Thanks, Etsy! [vimeo 23216545 640 360] “This week’s Etsy how-to unfolds in the...Continue Reading
As you know, I love handmade and recyclable activities. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve created this quick coloring sheet. You can print it out on both front and back of the page or why not print it on the backside of existing paper bound for recycling? Show us you creations and other great ideas for Earth Day...Continue Reading
I recently got to collaborate with 20 kids to create this toy bench for a school auction. I painted designs on the bench with black outline, then they got to paint on it like a big coloring book. The kids were 3-6 years old, so I did a little touching up at the end, but...Continue Reading
I made a sketch for this idea awhile ago, and just came across it in my drawer this morning, so I thought we should give it a try. All you do is make the fish (using the template and the directions on the sketch below), thread the string through the straw that’s inside the fish,...Continue Reading
My paintings are in the Daily Cafe through March if any of you in the Portland area want to swing by! Bring the kids too, they still have my coloring sheets at the cafe. I’ll post them again below if anyone’s in the mood for coloring now. (More info on the paintings at my art...Continue Reading
Liz over at Say Yes to Hoboken invited me to do a craft for her BlogNog Holiday Series. She did a great job organizing a fantastic collection of holiday crafts, so keep your eye out over there for more BlogNog posts. For mine, I decided to make these reindeer cards! My kids love it when...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
The very kind and crafty people at HowDoesShe recently invited me to do a craft for them. I had just picked up a box of brads (the paper fasteners) and was excited to try making a toy with them. So here is the result. A funny little dancing deer. If you’ve never used brads or...Continue Reading
And the winner according to random.org is comment number 34! So it looks like the puzzle will be going to France. Congratulations! This was so much fun and such a success, I’ll definitely do another one before the winter holidays. Thanks for playing everybody! I also decided I better make a couple of new coloring...Continue Reading
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
A few months ago Parents Magazine asked me to design the Thanksgiving craft for their November issue. I just picked it up at the grocery store last night! If you want to try making one then you can see the craft and instructions here on the Parents website. And I also have instructions for wooden...Continue Reading
Last October my son was 2 1/2 years old and loved asking me to draw “scary cats.” See below. (I tried to make them as friendly as possible while still satisfying his requests for more claws and teeth.) So this year I thought it would be fun to use the drawings for another match game. Just draw...Continue Reading
Artist Hazel Terry recently told me about Science Toy Maker, which is a site run by a brilliant technology educator and filled with great toy projects including this oscillating woodpecker. It’s such a fun toy! Easy enough for my 3 year old kids to use. Yet, there are some adjustments that can be made, such as how tight or...Continue Reading
I’ve been wanting to try a paper cut-out mobile and ended up making this owl. It was an interesting design challenge, trying to make it look good no matter how the pieces spun, and the mobility gives the owl a lot of character. I think I’ll put it in the kid’s room. I only used...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
My first craft column appeared in the new issue of LMNOP magazine today. Pull toys have been making a come-back in our house, so I decided to make some box pull toys that slide across the floor. They turned out to be really fun and very easy to make. There are full instructions in the...Continue Reading
