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
Last week I made this wooden catapult toy. I was originally going to have it toss paper balls but thought it would be cool to sew some instead. (Similar to the yo-yo balls I made awhile back.) It worked really well. The kids both had a real kick trying to make a basket. I made...Continue Reading
My last giveaway was so fun I thought I’d do one more for the holidays. The prize this time is two of my wooden dolls, complete with vintage fabric doll clothes that I just sewed yesterday. The dolls are solid maple and finished with food grade beeswax. My kids, nieces and nephews have been playing...Continue Reading
The idea for this came into my head a couple of weeks ago. I’m probably not the first one to do it, but it’s quite fun to play with. Similar to a marble labyrinth, only much easier, which makes it great for younger kids. Just set the marble on the small start hole, then get...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 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
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
I made a little sheep this morning out of wire and scrap material. It’s simple, but it feels good, and it seems to like standing on my Olle Eksell book. I’ll let the kids play with it when they get up from their naps.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
I’ve started to make some doll house furniture. I’ve been wanting to do this for a few months now. My kids love playing with doll houses. I bent a little chair out of wire, and finally found a use for the awesome hand printed fabric scraps I got from Umbrella Prints. Got out the hot...Continue Reading
The twins just got some cute Japanese toys from a friend. They called them froggy-bears and thought they needed a nap, so I did a 20 second sewing project and made them some fleece sleeping bags. Then we made lego beds. It’s pretty fun. I’ve been so busy painting for my October art show that...Continue Reading
My nephew Leo just turned 3 on Sunday. He loves music, so I made him this trumpet, which gave me a great excuse to use some of my “new” vintage buttons. As usual I just made this up as I went, and the whole thing was a big experiment. I think it turned out well...Continue Reading
Here’s a sewing experiment I just did, using up a lot of scraps and some felt. I learned a lot as I went, so the next one should be better and easier. But it’s still a fun little friend.Continue Reading
This is a post of some of my older toys that I thought would be fun to put on the blog. Elephant Puzzle Wood Dolls An embroidered pillow doll I made for Tess Little wood toys for kid’s Easter eggsContinue Reading
