Thursday, February 17, 2011

Handmade Happiness



I have a hard time keeping plastic toys out of the house. Around gift giving holidays, I stress to family members why it is so important for us to support handmade, yet we still get a slew of plastic gifts.



I get that they feel at a crossroads when there is a plastic Dora toy on a clearance endcap. It's big, bright, loud and cheap! Most people think that the kids will love a toy with licensed characters and bells and whistles over a boring wooden toy with not even a speck of paint. Not true! I think toys like these encourage children to just use their imagination more, allowing them to have much more fun!


Maybe if I used a wooden iron I'd be more excited about it?

So, here is my point being made!



I came across this fabulous company the Wooden Toy Junction. Such great toys and many options for girls and boys, very well made and affordable!



A couple of weeks ago our package arrived with a large ironing board as well as a table top one that will be perfect for my neice who's still a bit wobbly on her two feet. The unfinished tops were nice as is, but I had to add some fabric. Of course, I did...



I made an ironing board cover for each ironing board board in a total of 30mins. Super simple. I laid each board down on a roll of trace (you could just tape together a bunch of bond paper) and drew around it. I added enough to cover the thickness of the board and seam allowance for the drawstring, a total of 1.75" since I was using my serger.



After cutting out the fabric, I serged around the perimeter, then folded it over 1/4". I sewed around the edge with a narrow seam, leaving room to add a drawstring. Simple and cute.



You can visit Wooden Toy Junction at their website or Etsy shop. Make sure to check out the wooden sewing machine!


6 comments:

  1. Amen to the limited plastic toys! :) My husband and I both know and are okay with the character toys when the kids go to school and have toy evny...but for as long as we can keep it simple we hope to. When we have kids I know my inlaws are going to have a really hard time with this concept! :) Good luck to you all too!

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  2. I love the little iron and ironing board. Your little creative seamstress is so adorable!

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  3. I really like the idea of home made gifts. It is something I am trying to impliment with my neices and nephews.

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  4. I feel the same way about licensed toys! Love the iron and ironing board and these great pictures of your daughter!

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  5. Oh my goodness, she is *adorable*! I've always had a soft spot for ginger kids, I used to be really ginger when I was a kid so I think it's my now-dormant ginger gene speaking. My boyfriend has black hair so if we ever get to the having-children stage, I'm keeping my fingers crossed he's a heterozygote recessive for ginger, to be a bit of a biology-geek there :-)

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  6. I remember spotting an adorable toy iron & ironing board, very similar to yours, in an antique shop when my daughter was little. I pointed it out to her and said, "Isn't that cute?!" Then she said, "What is it?"
    Apparently I did so little ironing at that time that she didn't even recognize the equipment!

    The character toys are also annoying because your child will get tired of the character long before he or she would otherwise tire of the toy, in my experience. Good luck explaining that to the family, though!

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