We are headed on the road today! And although there are certainly things in life I like more than road trips I do love getting creative with how my kiddos will be entertained in the car. Of course there are lots of books packed, toys and dolls but the thing I am most excited about is this GREAT new toy that I MADE! Got the idea from this amazing site!
A lacing log! I had this great piece of wood from my dad's private wood stash (don't ask!). Once I pulled off and sanded off all the bark the colors and grains in the wood were just gorgeous! I got really excited.
No splinters, sanded perfectly smooth and then I started drilling the holes. I did them totally random, with no real plan of where they would go or how. Then I sanded it again (could still use a bit more sanding around the holes). We picked up an outdoor boot shoelace (the longest one the store had, I think it was 60cm) and tied it on one end.
I quickly showed it to Sam this afternoon and she jumped right in with little instruction. She got the first boot lace all laced in and said she needed more. So I handed her the other one. This is what I discovered about 15 minutes later.
Then she sat perfectly content pulling all the laces back out, which was quite a task! I was thrilled to see how much she enjoyed the toy. And even more thrilled that I made a lasting toy with just a little bit of my own sweat, skills and a few dollars (okay, yes it took a cool log, some sand paper and a power drill but you get the point!).
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The Nitty Gritty!
Have you ever made a toy for your child? The idea of making the things that my kids will play with is SO intriguing to me. I would love to get some more ideas for simple wood toys and check out what other parents are making, so please share if you have posted about a toy you have made, have seen a great tutorial or just have an idea!
Oh, I love this! I saw this at Mini Eco too, and just shared it on fb yesterday. Yours turned out so nicely! Well done!
Posted by: Mama Pea Pod | 05/13/2011 at 03:49 PM
This is great!
And it may well end up being a treasured keepsake1
Brenda
Posted by: Brenda | 05/14/2011 at 09:33 PM
Love this! What a fun and awesome toy.
Posted by: Janet | 05/15/2011 at 01:19 PM
this would be a fantastic church toy--for quiet times.
Posted by: Sunny | 05/26/2011 at 01:39 PM