Ten plus years ago when my son was born, my cousin Kathy gifted us with a handmade stuffed bunny. A sweet little creature that I know she must have poured her heart and sweat into. I was shocked when years later she recalled the making of that precious little gift and remarked that she was sure I would have purged that toy long ago. Purged a handmade gift?! I count that amongst our heirlooms. Bunny is a treasured member of our stuffed toy family.
My children have also spent hours with the toys their Granny has had made for them. Granny lives in a rural midwestern farming community and is friends with carpenters and seamstresses whom have built and stitched many gifts for us over the years. The children have benefitted from these talents in the form of a bright red wooden barn that houses many of their farm and exotic animals as well as a car mat (cleverly backed with a spill mat) that comes out with the matchbox cars.
Often our children are moved to desire something they see when out and about, in a book or on television. Rachel is one mother who used a her ingenuity to satisfy her daughter's declaration that she wanted a tribble after seeing them on an episode of Star Trek. A trip to the fabric store and some creative designing resulted in a furry little delight that has brought joy to the children of the household and spared the family budget. (For the uninitiated, click here to learn about Trekkie Tribbles)
Fe was inspired to create these darling little flower fairies when she saw them in the lovely All Year Round. Being an Australian, Fe wanted a more familiar personality from her fairies, so she designed her own native doll, Boronia. What a unique and thoughtful present these little characters must have made.
At their ethereal new blog, Serendipity, Elizabeth and Katherine have learned the formula for math success: let the gnome teach the gnumbers. Using some of my favorite materials (plant-dyed wool felt, cotton embroidery floss, wooden bodies and smooth, dreamy-colored gemstones), these two ladies have created clans of math tutors for every operation. Best of all, they have provided us with a step-by-step illustrated tutorial on how to make these little math-magicians.
Sticks, whittling knives, shells, spare nails and lumber, paper, tape, glue, scissors, fabric, acorns, cardboard tubes, string...these are the favored materials of childhood. Despite the flashy array of toys available, most children gain greater satisfaction out of their own simple inventions. My own son spends hours each week hollowing out sticks and carefully shaping rudders to form miniature boats, sawing spare lumber and pounding it together to fashion a homemade catapult or sanding down a stick to form a bow with accompanying self-made arrows complete with hand-dyed chicken feathers. The girls, too, are busy with their creations. Most recently they have been designing and hand-sewing lovely little dresses for their dolls. Inspired by the miniatures they admired at the State Fair, they are busy crafting a paper replica of an ice cream parlor. And, of course, there are always the paper dolls, felt dolls, and nature dolls.
In this 1999 Mothering magazine article, author Jennifer Soalt describes her experience making kites with her fourth grade class. She observes the thoughtfulness that they put into the designs and the fervor with which they cared for their creations. She encourages parents not to "dismiss homemade toys as a thing of the past, a nostalgic endeavor ill-suited to busy modern lives." And she goes on to offer practical suggestions of encouraging our children to create both alone and with us.
Ms. Soalt finishes with these acute observations:
In short, the store-bought toys that work best with homemade toys don't come
in complete sets. A train without the accessories and a dollhouse without the
furniture are suggestive fragments that leave plenty of room for children's
imagination and constructive abilities. When we give children the chance to play
with homemade toys, we give them more than just toys. The boy who observes his
sister gradually constructing a treehouse comes to understand the meaning of
patience and careful workmanship. The friends who make a tent out of blankets
and chairs intuitively grasp the meaning of self-reliance; they know how to
construct their own amusements. The girl who creates an entire airport out of
shoe boxes, paper cups, and pipe cleaners learns to value her creativity. Her
planes take to the air and fly further than any adult would have foreseen,
propelled by her own vision and wisdom.
More inspiration:
Folk Toy instructions
Photos of knitted toys
Books
Photos of felt toys
Fabulous Tutorial Resource from my half of the brain
Next Beauty of Toymaking fair: The Genial Hearth, November 12. See you there!
