The Beauty of Toymaking Fair

There are so many amazing possibilities when it comes to homemade toymaking!  The wonderful ideas you see below are just the beginning! 

Ouiz over at Chez Ouiz has a beautiful post reminiscing about growing up making and enjoying handmade toys, and now carrying on the same tradition with her own kids. I absolutely love the point she makes about one-of-a-kind toys being made for one-of-a-kind kids.

Rachel shares this terrific link about knitted toys in the comments. These are so cute!  I may just have to take another stab at learning to knit just so I can try these out.  Rachel also shares her toymaking thoughts in this post on her lovely blog.  She mentions that she too is fed up with the whole China toy thing, and I have to say that I completely agree with her when she says that "One or two toys, of GOOD quality, is more than sufficient...".  And check out her amazing doorway puppet theater!! Absolutely inspiring.

Speaking of avoiding poor quality toys, Amy over at angry chicken has a great post on the topic with lots of great links to some super handmade toymaking ideas.  She also links to Wee Wonderfuls, where among the many really cool toy patterns that she designs and sells, you can download a few free patterns...

          

...like the adorable Wee Bunnies that we made last year.  These were so easy and so huggable!

Beth from Simply Sewn, shares a lovely post showing us her wonderful little Winnie the Pooh crowd.  I must confess, I just snapped up the Kanga and Roo for the perfect quality, handmade toy birthday gift for a soon to be three year old. :-)  I can't wait to see it in "person"! 

If you think making little felt and fabric creatures might be for you, check out the book Sewing Tiny Toys by Carolyn Vosburg Hall.  These are super easy and can be made by older kids as great gifts for younger ones.  You can also try out your felt toymaking skills here with this free tutorial for making the cutest little felt mouse and his bed!

I have to say though, when I asked my kids what their favorite toymaking type book was, they all agreed on Gizmos & Gadgets by Jill Frankel Hauser.  Now this is supposed to be an educational / science type book, (Shhh!  Don't tell!) but they think it is just plain fun.  It's filled with simple kid-friendly instructions for things like a "Flow-and-Go Boat", "Boomerangs", "Mini Yo-Yo Magic" a "Marshmallow Catapult" and many, many more.

For a beautiful book which is filled to the absolute brim with lovely toymaking ideas, check out The Children's Year.  It has a gentle Waldorf flavor to it and the simple projects are all made with lovely, natural materials.  I cannot wait to try more of the ideas in here!  The purpose of this book is to give us ideas for celebrating the seasons with our children, but I have to say, it is my (current) favorite for toymaking ideas.

Wow.  There are so many great ideas and books out there!  I just may have to re-visit this topic closer to Christmas once again.  Speaking of Christmas plans, Colleen already has hers made!  Here is a snip of the amazing list she left in the comments:

"Okay--So here's my plan...homemade gifts for Christmas...for Granny and Pops painted "rock critters" for their gardens. For Aunt Marcie, a potted herb garden in painted terra cotta pots. For Cousin Addie, wooden spoon puppets and theater. From Quinn to his brothers, shadow puppets on sticks..."

Good for you, Colleen! 

The last post I want to link to is from Louise, at A Time to Keep. In her Handmade Toys post, Louise speaks of a "desire to surround my children with beautiful toys made with natural material". That so exactly sums up my goal!  I told her, that sometimes I feel nearly hopeless in the fight against the tide of ugly plastic that keeps finding its way into my home, but her post gave me renewed hope!

And finally, here are a few of our own version of halfpenny dolls.  This is a little acorn-cap family that my Mom made for Amelia. (I am determined to try my hand at making some of these this autumn!)

           

These sweet little, pocket-sized, creations have taken up residence in Amelia's newly built popsicle stick cabin...

         

... but little Marie likes to take them on frequent outings and adventures. :-)

Happy hand & home made toymaking!

PS ~   This just in!!  I just received a link to another amazing post!  This one is from Kimberlee at Pondering My Heart.  You simply have to go and see this beautiful and totally inspiring post! So many brilliant ideas here.  (Lot's of especially cool boy's stuff! :-)