Here’s an easy little fish toy that I made today for the baby. I used fabric scraps, including part of an old neck tie. So far she likes to watch me wiggle the fish tail in front of her. It’s pretty cute. If you want to try making one, there are photos and directions below....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

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 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 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 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

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

We were at the park over the weekend and I spotted some very nice tree branches on the ground and decided it was time to make some fishing poles! The kids each picked out a stick and we carried them home.  I took my knife and whittled down the bumps, found some string, a couple...Continue Reading