Happy Holidays!

We sat down a few nights ago and made a wooden Christmas tree together.  I cut out 2 trees from some off cut plywood and bought a package of coloured thumb tacks.  Each kid got a hammer and away they went.  (Half way through my husband came up with the brilliant idea of predrilling the holes which made things go a lot faster.)  It was a fun family activity.  Happy holidays to all!

Happy Birthday to my babies!

So this post is a month late but I wanted to share with you an idea.  The kid's birthdays were coming up (5 and 3yrs) and I wanted to do something simple, no gifts, no lootbags filled with candy and crappy toys made by underpaid workers in China. (Did I just write that?  Yes, STUFF is bothering me lately.  We have too much of it and it is stressing me out.)  Anyway, I thought that if the party goers could do a craft that they could then take home and use then it would be like a loot bag without candy, without the bag and with a toy they made themself.  So this is what I came up with.  The kids had fun doing it and it was easy for me to put together.

 

For these do-it-yourself tops, I cut a piece of dowl into 1.5" pieces, drilled holes into a stack of wooden circles I had left over from another project and then had the kids sharpen one end of the dowl.  They then put the dowl through the hole and decorated with markers.  Watercolours would look lovely too.  My son figured out to to decorate his so that when the top was spinning, his artwork would make stripes of colour.  Fun, easy and hopefully a fun toy for the kids to keep.

Yippee for Wooden Toys Sellers in Edmonton

Check this out!  Here is a new online store selling some lovely wooden toys (especially lovely are the vehicles of mine! wink, wink).  The best thing for most of my readers is that the mamas behind it are from Edmonton and are willing to ship locally for free!
Here it is...
Tiny Footprint Toys

Missing You

Dear Blog,
Please forgive me. I have been crazy busy since the last time I wrote. My husband and I took our little ones with the help of my SIL and BIL into the backcountry for a 5 day canoe trip. We have a great time! Since we came back mid August, I have had custom orders piled high. I made and sold 20 cars, 12 puzzles, 18 teethers and a few other interesting items. I am hoping to be a better blogger now but 2 days a go, I got 7 more orders for name puzzles! Yikes.
Hope to talk soon,
Mama

The best way to fish is to wait until all 3 kids fall asleep.  Did I say best?  I meant only!

I love custom orders!  Thanks for these requests, they were fun!

Help The Gulf Coast Etsy Shop

Check out this etsy shop that is made up of donated items from etsy sellers.  What a good idea.  100% of proceeds go to charity.  Check it out:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HelpTheGulfCoast
You might also recognize a little something from me...

 

Wooden crafts on etsy

If you like wood, here are two fun little treasuries that I have been featured in on etsy.  There are some really great hand made pieces.  Have a peek...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c3ba50c08386d91040a0417/in-the-woods

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c376e2424ec8eefadf1877f/wood-you-be-mine

Wooden Baby Teethers

I made some new teethers yesterday.  This little owl was inspired by two lovely ladies from Birth Source. http://www.birthsource.ca/shop/  Birth Source is a store in Edmonton that (amoung other things) carries all kinds of goodies for your earthy baby and tiny tot.  (Shameless plug alert:  I should also add that if you are looking to purchase one of my wooden teethers you can find a selection there.)
The bird in a tree teether is a modification of one I posted a while back.  I like the softer lines of this one better.  Have a good week everyone:)

Handmade in Canada Giveaway!

I am part of the Handmade in Canada Giveaway!  Over 60 etsy shops accross Canada are celebrating Canada Day by having a sale and giveaway.  (Including me! http://www.mamaswoodshop.etsy.com/)
Check it out the giveaway and  sale details here:
http://etsyalberta.blogspot.com/
My pocket buddies are part of gift basket number one.  There are so many nice items, so I encourage you to enter!  Free stuff!  Free Stuff!

Mine!

Here are some wooden cars.  As I was trying to take a picture of them for you someone kept trying to steal one! hmmmmmm. Do you think he likes that one?

Wooden Teethers

I made up a whole whack of new teethers... and then sold most of them before I could get them up on the blog:)  ...and yes that is meant to be a peanut in the elephant.  hmmmm.  I need to work on that one.
Have a nice weekend everyone!

Pocket Animals

Whooooweeeee!  These are a big hit.  I have noticed Sally lately likes to fill her pocket with things.  If she has a pocket on her outfit, then something will be in it.  (She currently has a purple candy wrapper from the only hard candy she has ever had in her coat pocket and won't let me put it in the garbage.  She won't let her siblings touch it either!)
I whipped up 3 little pocket buddies last night and gave them out this morning.  Here is a picture of Sally delighted with her new friends.
I will be selling these soon.  Can you help me with a name?  Pocket Buddies?  Pocket Pets? Pocket Pals?

A little birdie

My little birdie is featured in this blog.  http://handmadetherapy.blogspot.com/2010/05/etsy-finds.html  Check it out.
Ah... sunny today and lots of birds.  What could feel more like spring?

 

Three Cute Teethers and One Cute Boy!

Oh so fun to make!  Ok.  Way too late to post anything but pics.  Maybe tomorrow?

Pretty In Pink Loves Canada

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=126587

I have been featured in a treasury on etsy!  Check it out.  It is called Pretty In Pink Loves Canada.  There are many other beautiful items.  Link expires on Tuesday so go now!

I finally finished the teethers I started.  I will upload them to the shop some time today!  Happy Earth Day everyone!

Cute Give Aways For Earth Day

Check out Natural Kids for a give away for babe's who love green handmade lovliness.
http://natural-kids.blogspot.com/2010/04/happy-earth-day.html
Another one...
http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/2010/04/natural-kids-earth-day-giveaway.html

I cut 5 teethers.  Just need to finish up.  Jessica said I could put some in her dance studio!  Yippee.  I am thinking in a wooden bowl or little basket - not sure yet.  For anyone who hasn't heard, J'adore dance is just a few blocks away from me and having free trial classes all week for their grand opening celebration!  Check out - http://jadoredance.com/

Ice Cream, Ice Cream!

When I made this on Saturday it was "no jackets outside" weather.  Today it is snowing.  It is not too cold for ice cream though.  We had a blast this morning taking turns selling ice cream and picking our flavours to buy.  Thank goodness for the cash register we got for birthdays!

HAPPY EASTER!

I hope you all had a nice Easter holiday!

Hello little man!

My son and I made this car. He wanted a car that he could put a person in and out of so we drilled a big hole in the top the size of the little man. We also painted the flames using glow in the dark paint! It would have been a good idea if I had read the instructions where it said to use over a light surface. Ooops. I guess when he goes to bed I will have to paint the flames with white or yellow and then reapply the glow paint.

New baby in the club

Congratulations J and K on your new, itty, bitty baby! I have been making these teethers and testing them on a friend (thanks T), so here is one for you baby Guthrie! - no finish just 100% maple and lots of love.

Toys

I am not just a puzzle maker. Check these out.

The doll house came from a craft blog. I will edit and link to it later.

The cars were whipped up when I got my box of wheels in the mail!

The memory game was a gift for a friend's son. I had to make one for my daughters too while I was at it. Why not?

The little buildings for the Thomas the train set were a joint project by my 4yr old son and I.