Posted on

Make Your Own Toys

Stick it to the man this year and make some toys yourself.  I went through a stack of toy catalogs and found some toys that you could make.

Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit from FAO Schwarz ($249).

Embroidered Growth Chart from Chasing Fireflies ($98).

Fairy Tale Handbags from Chasing Fireflies ($64).

Try this tutorial from UK Lass in US.

Customized Superhero Cape, from Chasing Fireflies ($48).

Try my tutorial here.

Hopscotch Play Mat from HearthSong ($39.98).

Under the Sea Hideaway from Magic Cabin ($64.98).

Doorway Puppet Theater from Magic Cabin ($39.98).

I am doing some recycling as well.  I raided my parents’ attic and found an old puppet theater and some doll beds that will be getting makeovers.  I’m also planning to find a nice large coffee table at a thrift store, rehabilitate it, and make it into a craft table for the kids with lots of new art supplies.  Vintage finds from e-bay and Etsy can also help you save money and  feel better about not adding to the clutter of the world.

Not feeling crafty?  No time?  Check out my Handmade Toys page for sites where you can buy handmade toys.

Posted on

A Better Black Friday

Who wants to spend a day at the mall?  Not me.  Here are a few ways that you can shop handmade today.  Etsy’s Gift Guide has some great ideas for handmade gifts.  You can also check my Resources page for other handmade sites.  Or of course, you can buy handmade goods locally.  Here are a few Etsy finds for today:

Golden Flower Frame Clutch Wallet from Kailo Chic, $32.

Tea Bowl with Angelica, $25 from Leaves of Clay.

Natural Toy Bus with Peg People, $40 from Wood Toy Shop.

Posted on

Handmade Toy of the Week

Four Little Girls, $26 from Too Cute.  She has some really sweet dollhouse stuff in her shop as well.  Feeling crafty?  Make your own little dolls.  I’m going to try to make each of the girls a doll that looks like them.  We’ll see how that goes! With both girls having birthdays in December, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by my long list of craftiness.

Posted on

Thrifted Holiday Trees

There are a million felted sweater projects out there, but I think it’s a great idea to save money and recycle wool sweaters.  I found some more sweaters on a thrifting excursion the other day, so I made these plump holiday trees.  They are about 7″ tall and each has 32 felted sweater circles.

Supplies:

  • felted wool sweaters (washed and dried 100% wool sweaters)
  • scissors
  • pins
  • wire
  • wire cutters
  • bead or star for the tree top

Instructions (for one tree):

Step 1: Print out the templates below and cut out paper circles.

thrifted-trees-page-1

thrifted-trees-page-2

thrifted-trees-page3

Step 2: Pin paper circles to the sweaters and cut two of each size.  It helps to cut out a square from the sweater and work with that, rather than trying to cut from the whole sweater.

Step 3: Bend the wire at the bottom and begin slipping sweater circles onto the wire, beginning with the largest first.  It helps to find the center by folding the circle in half, then half again.

Step 4:  Wrap a bead or star at the top and bend the wire around.  Snip.

If you make one of these, I’d love to see a photo in the Make it Monday Flickr group.  Thanks!