Bird Stacker Wooden Toy

I am so proud of H and for the way this toy has come out especially after colouring with the natural dyes. This design is of a stacker with a bit of a twist to it. The birds will only stack at the correct positions and since the wood is not very wide it is all about balancing the stacks on top of each other. E loved them even when they were just a drawing on a paper and once H had cut the wood out she picked up the pieces and began stacking them even before we could smooth out the edges. We had to paint them after E went to bed as she wouldn't let us touch her new toy. She loves the weight as they are very light weight and the fact that she can hold them in her tiny hands, E has hands the size of a one year old. My very tiny little girl has a big mind of her own, she stacked the pieces in different arrangements and began role play with the smallest baby bird sitting a nest in the tree!

I like the translucency of these natural dyes and how they enhance with the grain of the wood as well as the different textures in every piece. Just the idea of being able to not only provide but also make natural toys for your child is so satisfying. After spending hundreds of dollars on buying hand crafted toys for E these new additions have made me so happy and pleased on H's craftsmanship.

None of the pieces are perfect in shape or colour but they fit together so perfectly and I like what they do to a two year old's imagination, look at how she likes to play around with her toys and can do this again and again without getting bored. 

Making toys by hand appeals so much more to E than asking her to choose one at a toy shop where she usually picks up the toys but never really comes back home with them. At one point she actually cried and said "I want to help you" as we were not letting her near the sand paper or the paints, leading by example is a great idea after all.

Wooden Cave Puzzle

Finally H made one of the wooden puzzles I have been nagging him for months now. I am a happy girl and E said to H "you made it!" Ever since H has taken over woodworking seriously I have been making my lists of things needed to be made and something or the other happens and my list gets pushed back, but with long sunny summer days I have gently brought back my list. I drew this puzzle freehand for H and he cut it out from pine using his latest tool, the scroll saw, yes I have to buy him tools if I want something made!

E enjoys wooden toys, I think it has something to do with the time she spends with her dad in his workshop. Every time she goes in the workshop with dad she picks up blocks of wood and starts to make something of her own and tells her dad "Enna making something". She likes wooden puzzles and I have few for her but for the more basic ones I had given H the order which he delivered finally. This cave puzzle is simple but yet complexed as I made it a bit more curvy, which made finishing it a bit harder as well.

H cut the pieces out of wood and I helped him sand the edges and then we stained the wood together. We spent a nice warm sunny afternoon doing things we like doing, making stuff for E. I haven't been keep very well lately so this toy was a much needed mood lifter!

I couldn't keep myself from photographing it from all possible angles and as many as pictures as I could take without making it a very long post. The finish on these puzzle pieces is so smooth that I am very comfortable with E playing and handling it as she likes. I hope H continues making all the toys on my list, soon before E outgrows them!

Felt Christmas Tree Activity

E is really excited about Christmas this year, as she can see all the shops decorated and the excitement of Santa in the air! I am really happy with this new development as for the past two years we have been trying hard to make E feel festive during the holiday season and this year she is dictating her terms with a big list for Santa. I get to ask her to be nice or she will be off the list, well I should be able to benefit somehow. It's only mid November and a bit too early for the real tree so I have put up a felt activity for E on my kitchen wall. I must say that this activity only entertains her for a bit at one time but she does come back and put up another decoration after a while.

E loves candy canes and she even has a garden candy cane decoration which is bigger than her and she still loves to walk around with it. So I added some candy canes for her tree as well. Another fascination E has is with monsters, hence the blue monster teeth ornament on her tree. The presents just had to be there as that is what the holiday really means for her!

This tree allows E to keep experimenting with patterns and arrangements as she likes. There is never a set arrangement for the ornaments on the tree and I kind of like that. Quite a few mums have given the instructions to make this activity and I liked this blog  It really is as simple as it looks. Just cut out the shape of the tree from a felt fabric, I used half a metre fabric to get this size of tree. Then cut out simple ornament shapes from coloured felt and decorate by pasting contrast colour felt stripes or dots or a zig zag pattern. I used craft glue for the ornaments and a double sided tape to hang the tree on the wall. A star ornament on the top and presents at the base of the tree and it is all done. As felt sticks to another felt fabric without any glue, your child can take the ornaments out and the put them back on without any hassle. I kept a tray on the floor near this tree so that E can pack them away after she is done and then start over next time she visits her tree! Simple yet engaging.

Table Top Christmas Tree (Paper Craft)

Another year and another Christmas is just six weeks away! Where does time fly, it feels like just yesterday I was posting some christmas crafts and now here I am with more fresh ideas! I always like to start with paper crafts as they are so simple and you can see the end result almost instantly. there are so many beautiful printed card stock papers available that it just makes life so much more easier if you have a good collection of them or better still buy what you need and save the leftover bits, there are great for birthday cards. This style of making table top is probably something I remember from my school days, I saw them recently at a kids christmas crafts workshop and I just had to make some with E. I must say that it was a "It's my glue stick mum" and "can I can I" well I wouldn't expect anything more than this from a two year old with a glue stick in her hand. 

What you need

Some card stock paper plain and printed

Glue stick

Paper cutter

Ruler

Magnetic strips, 

(I used the fridge magnet from advertising material I get in mail)

How to 

These paper pyramids or trees are really simple to make but a bit hard to explain in words so I hope the pictures below will be helpful in understanding.

Cut three squares from plain card stock paper of same size. I used 10 cm squares for the small tree. Now cut three printed paper squares of same size and cut then diagonally through the centre. Fold the plain paper squares in half diagonally and paste the printed papers on one side as shown in the pictures below. 

Now paste the printed paper overlapping the plain side of another square paper as shown in picture below. all three squares will be overlapping such that the printed side is over the plain side. now paste the magnetic strip on the plain side of the last square and under the printed side of the first square as shown below. Make the tree stand by closing the magnetic strip opening and making the tree stand upright.

  You can add some paper flag or a message to the front of the tree. These can be gifted instead of cards and you can write your message on the inside. Use any printed or plain combination of papers ad create something special.