I thought it would be fun to make a Paper City Dinosaur set using the designs from the music video I just made for my sister Lori. You can print all of the templates out below. And feel free to encourage your kids to draw their own favorite dinosaurs to add to the set! If...Continue Reading

I just finished shooting this music video for my sister Lori’s new Dinosaur song. Feel free to watch it with your kids! It was really fun to make! And I’m also finishing up a Dinosaur Paper City set to go with it. Should be done in a day or two! You can see my wild...Continue Reading

I recently made a new oscillating bird design for a magazine, so I thought I’d share it here too. After finding this toy idea on the brilliant Science Toy Maker site a couple of years ago, I made this woodpecker. It’s based off of an old folk toy, and is a great way to teach...Continue Reading

I just finished a new music video for my sister’s upcoming kids album. The song is “When I Look Into The Night Sky.” It was a really fun video to make! I painted some paper and made abstract space objects, tied them to some thread, and basically did a puppet show. Our almost two year...Continue Reading

I’ve made a couple of match games in the past, but now that my kids are getting a little older, I’m having to come up with slightly more difficult versions. Here is a doctor’s office theme, where you have to draw a line to connect the medical tools on the top row to their related...Continue Reading

I’ve wanted to try making a thaumatrope spinner for awhile, and when I recently saw these on the Made in Me blog, I had to give it a try. I just finished a bird painting for a commission, so I used it for the design. When spinning, it almost looks like the bird is flapping...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

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

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

I used to do this all the time when I was a kid, but forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago when drawing with Jack and Tess.  It’s a great trick, and you can do all kinds of animations.  We did a chicken first.  If you want to try something like this, here...Continue Reading