Natural Wooden Toys: 75 Projects You Can Make in a Day that Will Last Forever
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About this ebook
Making fun toys on the scroll saw! Learn how to make 75 simple and charming wooden toys using just a scroll saw and a few simple tools. These toys are so easy to make, your children can help to create and decorate them too! Rounded corners, food-coloring finishes, and natural materials make the toys both safe and eco-friendly.
Erin Freuchtel-Dearing
As a stay-at-home mom with two young children, Erin Freuchtel-Dearing’s concerns about the low level of play and imagination in many commercial toys led her to purchase a scroll saw and start making wooden toys from scratch. Her previous experience with a sewing machine made the transition to the scroll saw effortless! Erin began selling her creative, colorful, and child-safe toys on Etsy.com. Chosen from over 2000 applicants to become a part of Etsy's 25-member Second Community Council, she represents the areas of toys and woodworking. As Erin put it, “I am evidence that your typical mom with very little familiarity with power tools can learn to make simple, safe, creative, open-ended wooden toys for their children.” Her work has been featured prominently in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Parents magazine, and Lucky Kids magazine.
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Book preview
Natural Wooden Toys - Erin Freuchtel-Dearing
introduction
This book is filled with an array of toys that are sure to delight your little ones. Creatures from the forest, the ocean, the farm, and elsewhere dwell in these pages, merely awaiting your decision to create them—they are quick to cut and can be painted simply or with lots of detail, depending on your style.
With the use of some simple tools—a scroll saw, band saw, or coping saw, and some sandpaper—you’ll be able to create these straightforward toys in a snap. You’ll find here all the knowledge required to create simple but handsome toys that will encourage your child’s imagination, with the added plus of knowing the toys are safe and will not be recalled by the manufacturer!
Creating your own natural and safe wooden toys is as easy as following these steps:
1. Attach or trace the patterns onto the wood.
2. Cut along the pattern lines using a scroll saw, coping saw, or band saw.
3. Sand all edges and faces of the toy using a palm sander or sandpaper.
4. Add color, using non-toxic paints or natural dyes.
5. Add details with a woodburner or non-toxic paint.
6. When the pieces have dried, gently sand to smooth any raised grain.
7. Apply wood polish. Wipe away any excess.
A WORD ABOUT TOY SAFETY
Please use your best parental wisdom when deciding which toys are safe for your child. If you have concerns about your child choking on a small toy, remember that all the toys in this book can be enlarged to whatever size you like. Also keep in mind that toys with parts such as wheels and axles could come apart if not constructed properly and attached with plenty of glue. If you are worried about this, remember that any wheels and axles can be omitted as you create the toys. Use your best judgment and knowledge of your child’s behaviors to make the safest choices for your family.
illustrationCreating these toys is really that easy! And there is a staggering array of projects to choose from:
animals
Foxes
Rabbits
Squirrels
Bears
Hedgehogs
Chickens
Horses
Cows
Pigs
Seahorse
Whales
Crabs
Fish
Dolphins
Turtles
people
Fairytale royalty
fantasy creatures
Dragons
Unicorn
Mermaids
stackers
Cave
Hill
Nature
Haystack
Volcano
Sand dune
Wave
Fountain
vehicles
Tractor
Truck
Sailboat
Car
Helicopter
Airplane
Train
buildings
Castle
Treehouse
Barn
City skyline
plants
Season tree
Mushrooms
Seaweed
Hay bales
Cornstalks
Trees
wands
illustrationthe advantages of open-ended toys
When a toy has no set purpose, children can use it over and over throughout childhood; this type of toy is called an open-ended toy. To illustrate the point, consider the difference between a traditional board game and a wooden animal, such as those found in this book. The board game has certain rules that must be followed in order for the game play to function properly—there is no room for children to make their own rules or exercise their imagination. However, the wooden animal creates endless play opportunity—the animal could be traipsing through the woods, or be the pet of the princess of some far-away land, or be a game piece in an original game the children create themselves, etc. Open-ended toys inspire children to think and play creatively. Encouraging the development of imagination is one of the best gifts you can give your child.
Simple open-ended toys can be used in countless ways during play. Because a child’s imagination is the only limit, an open-ended toy can be an engaging companion throughout a child’s early years.
For example, take simple wooden blocks. Babies can enjoy blocks by using them to mouth and chew. Unfinished, well-sanded wood makes for a great natural teething toy. As babies grow, stacking and knocking down blocks can help them to learn about cause and effect. Those same blocks can be used to build castles, cities, or anything else your child’s imagination can conjure up as childhood progresses.
Stackers (such as the one featured on page 88) are another wonderful example of an open-ended toy that will grow with your child. At its most basic, a stacker can be used as a simple puzzle that lays flat on the ground. As the child grows, it can become a standing puzzle that helps develop fine motor skills. Finally, as the child’s imagination starts to bloom, the stacker will take on a variety of uses—tunnels, caves, hills, haystacks, and more—the possibilities are endless!
By choosing to give your children open-ended toys, you are choosing to allow their creativity to flourish through play.
PLAYSILKS
Another popular Waldorf open-ended toy is the playsilk. These are simply colorful cloths that could be used for endless purposes. Whereas a fairy costume will only ever really be a fairy costume, green playsilks could be the wings of a fairy one day, and the next become a colorful field for wooden toys to romp on, or a handful of flowers, or even a plateful of yummy vegetables! To provide playsilks for your child, simply cut and hem large squares (about 2’ [610mm] square is a good size) of solid-colored fabrics, or try searching www.Etsy.com for the keyword Playsilk.
the benefits of homemade vs. store-bought toys
We have all heard the news stories about unsafe toys finding their way into children’s hands. From bisphenol A to PVC phthalates to cadmium, plastic and store-bought toys have increasingly been found to contain toxic components.
Phthalates are added to plastic products to make them pliable and soft—items such as teething rings, bath toys, and other flexible plastic toys could contain this chemical. Because phthalates are added to plastic but are not chemically bound there, it is easy for them to leach out of the object, and they may be absorbed when children chew, suck, or play with the object. Some studies have linked phthalates to damaged sexual development.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical used during production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Examples of some items that could contain BPA include baby bottles and other harder plastic toys. The National Toxicology Program categorizes BPA as an endocrine-disrupting chemical