Synopses & Reviews
Think making safe, colorful, and irresistible imagination-building wooden toys is impossible? Think again! Erin Freutchel-Dearing, a stay-at-home mom who taught herself how to make toys without any prior woodworking experience, show with step-by-step instructions how to make cute and creative wooden toys for children using just a scroll saw, a palm sander, and a drill. Explore more than 75 charming designs in Fairytale, Forest, Farm, Ocean, and City themes:
*Ocean wave stacker
*Fairytale princess
*4-piece bunny family
*15 parent and baby animal pairs, including seahorses, cows, and squirrels
*Vehicles, including a tractor, boat, and airplane Instructions on creating natural and non-toxic colorful finishes are included. Sidebars throughout the book explain how to incorporate open-ended Waldorf-style elements into your child's play. These captivating wooden toys will encourage a child's creativity by helping them set a scene with a backdrop, characters, and accessories—the rest is up to them!
Review
Concerned with the safety of commercially produced toys, Freuchtel-Dearing purchased a secondhand scroll saw and began making?and then selling?her own natural wood toys. In this guide, she shares techniques, tips, and patterns for making a variety of safe, eco-friendly toys well suited for creative play. The projects are organized thematically (farm, fairy tale, ocean, cityscape, and forest), and the author provides a useful introduction to woodworking techniques. Most of the toys are simple and require little to no woodworking experience. An enjoyable guide to making toys to please children under eight.
Review
In a time of rushing about, many parents are looking toward natural wooden toys for their children, free of toxic chemicals, flashing lights, and obnoxious sounds. Studies have shown that simple toys encourage more creative play from children, making simple wooden toys or handmade cloth desirable. For many, the cost of lovely wooden toys is prohibitive and making the toys is a daunting idea for individuals without any wood working experience. In her book Natural Wooden Toys: 75 Easy-to-Make and Kid-Safe Designs to Inspire Imaginations and Creative Play, Erin Freuchtel-Dearing has broken down the process of making your own wooden toys, from tool selection to natural dyes and sealing. With full color illustrations and numerous patterns which can be copied and used, the book is a great resource for non-wood workers who would like to make simple wooden toys for children. Waldorf education and philosophy are mentioned briefly toward the beginning of the book but the designs and information are applicable to anyone with a desire to make natural toys.
Review
includes plans for over 75 toys in themes ranging from fairytale to forest and farm to city. Developed by author Erin Freutchel-Dearing for her own children, the toys are constructed with basic tools like a scroll saw, palm sander and drill. Finishing advice is also included.
Review
This is a really fun book that you will love. Seventy-five great toys ready to be made for you or for someone else's kids. The toys are real simple to make with a scroll saw or even a fret saw and are finished with natural colors. Paprika will provide a beautiful orange shade, blueberries a flavorful purple. Specialty artist shops can provide you with brilliant non-toxic finishes as well. The toys are very basic but just as enjoyable for toddlers as those high tech toys to play with. And, full patterns are provided by the author; she provides recipes for the colors as well.
Synopsis
Think making safe, colorful, and irresistible imagination-building wooden toys is impossible? Think again! Erin Freutchel-Dearing, a stay-at-home mom who taught herself how to make toys without any prior woodworking experience, show with step-by-step instructions how to make cute and creative wooden toys for children using just a scroll saw, a palm sander, and a drill.
Synopsis
Finding toys that are made from natural products and promote fun and imaginative play can be difficult to find and often carry a hefty price tag. That's why stay-at-home mom, Erin Freutchel decided to teach herself how to use a scroll saw and begin making safe, colorful, and irresistible imagination-building toys for her children. Using just a scroll saw, a palm sander, a drill, and with no prior experience, Erin shows through step-by-step instructions, how to make more than 75 charming wooden toy designs with themes like fairytale, farm, and ocean. Also included are instructions on creating natural and non-toxic colorful finishes. Sidebars throughout the book explain how to incorporate open-ended Waldorf-style elements into your child's play. These captivating wooden toys will encourage a child's creativity by helping them set a scene with a backdrop, characters, and accessories - the rest is up to them!
About the Author
Erin Freutchel is a stay-at-home mom with two young children. Concerns about the safety of her children's toys, as well as the low level of play and imagination they were promoting, led her to purchase a scroll saw on Craigslist and learn to make wooden toys from scratch. Her previous experience with a sewing machine made the transition to the scroll saw effortless. She began selling her creative, colorful, and child-safe toys on Etsy.com. She was chosen from over 2000 applicants to become a part of Etsy's 25-member Second Community Council and 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."
Table of Contents
About Us Getting Started Fairytale Section Castle Dragon with a Cave Stacker People - Princess, Prince with Horse, Knight, Jester, King, Queen, Witch Wands Forest Section Hill Stacker Animal Sets - Hedgehogs, Bunny Family, Bears, Squirrel, Fox Tree House Interchangeable Trees Nature Stacker Farm Toys Barn Haystack Stacker Farm Animals - Cows, Chickens, Pigs, Horses, Horses Tractor and Farm Truck Wands Ocean Toys Sand Dune Stacker Wave Stacker Volcano Stacker Sea Animals - Seahorses, Whales, Dolphins, Crabs, Turtles, Fish Boat City Toys Cityscape Stacker Vehicles Fountain Stacker