Creativity in Overdrive!

I have learned over time that when I find myself in a very stressful time in life, I tend to bury myself in my work and various creative endeavors.  It has become obvious that trying to get our house sold with two little kids, two dogs, and a traveling husband has unleashed the obsessive creative monster in me.  So, I have decided to channel this energy into something positive...making Christmas gifts!

 I just finished making this serving tray out of an old Scrabble game for my Scrabble-loving Grandma.  I think it turned out pretty cool. My favorite parts are the handles, replaced with pieces of the little trays you set the letters on.  You can check out the whole project step-by-step on my Junk Mail Gems blog, here!

I've also tried making some soldered glass pendants that I hope to attach to some sort of charm bracelet down the road...

...have been turning old records into bowls...

...and have recently taken up needle felting.  I've always wanted to try it, and when my husband gave me the opportunity to leave the house kid-free and go wherever I wanted, I went to a local yarn store.

I picked up some colorful wool roving (loose wool fibers...before they've been spun into yarn), and some felting needles.  (needles with little barbs on them)
 

I've been wanting to make some felt beads, which I did do (above), but once I got into it I realized how fun it is to make pretty much anything you can imagine. Just do a Google Image Search on "needle felted" to see what I mean!

....like this jack-o-lantern pin above, or this little robin below (the first thing I made!)...

There is just something so therapeutic about repeatedly stabbing the fibers into submission with a barbed needle until they become the shape you want! It's also the type of project that requires all of your focus to avoid turning your hands into a finger-ka-bob with those Medieval torture devices they call "felting needles."  So, it's a great way to take your mind and eyes off of everything else. I am already trying to figure out which yarn store to hit up next for some more colors.  I will try to post more about how to do this in the future if anyone is interested!

Of course I can only work on this stuff when the kids are sleeping or playing, my freelance work is caught up, and I'm not preparing the house for another showing, which leaves not a lot of time.  But, I have really enjoyed making stuff over these past couple weeks and hope to emerge on the other side of fall with a sold house and a pile of great Christmas gifts to give! In the meantime, if you don't hear from me much, I'm probably off brutally stabbing my aggressions out on a ball of wool until it turns into another cuddly wittle birdie...

ID Mommy's Favorite Toy List for 2010

A couple years ago I posted my list of favorite toys on my Junk Mail Gems blog, and now that I look back on it, I realize my 2 year old has most of the items on the list!  I have a few more new finds this year to share. With one child's birthday the day after Christmas and the other's in January, I tend to start my shopping very early to spread out the expense!  It's not often that I buy expensive toys for my boys, because we do so much garage saleing and thrifting throughout the year. But, when Christmas and birthdays come around, that's where I prefer to splurge and buy good, quality toys that I know are going to be around for years to come.

Here are a few toys on my list so far for this year! I'm using a lot of Amazon linked images here so hopefully they work...if not I've tried to include links to the original manufacturer's websites as well.

The constraints of gravity go out the window for your little architect with these little blocks from Tegu which have magnets hidden inside.

HaPe International has some really neat vehicles, made out of bamboo.  I just love how the shape of the bamboo is still present, yet they look like really cool, modern designs.  I already bought a couple of these for my youngest and am stashing them away for a few months until his birthday!

 

HaPe also has some really cool doll houses with adorable furniture sets:



Their other brand, WoodyClick, has more really cute construction sets and other wooden vehicles:

I'm such a sucker for wooden toys!! I snatch them up whenever I see them at garage sales.

I've mentioned Sprig toys in my previous list.  They have a really cute dolphin adventure playset now with a little boat.



These "Scanimation" books by Rufus Butler Seder are very cool.  We have the "Gallop" one and there are many more out there now.  The animals move when you turn the pages.  Here is a YouTube video, since it really can't be described without a visual.


If plush toys are your thing, these Ze Super Zeros toys are super adorable, quirky, and creative!




MiYim also makes some really sweet little organic soft toys, teethers, and blankies perfect for babies on your shopping list.



Puzzles are a hit in our house.  I like the idea behind these layered puzzles, where you actually stack the pieces on top of each other.  Learn what's inside your body, how a tadpole grows to be a frog, or even how a baby grows in it's mother's tummy!


Mindware is one of my favorite toy sites/catalogs to browse. There are a ton of cool toys there that will be more appropriate for my boys when they are a little older.  But, these puzzles caught my eye too, as being another twist on your average puzzle, in that they can be assembled in multiple ways, leaving some room for your child's own creativity.  There is a bug and a robot, which is convenient for me, being that we have a kid with a bug themed bedroom and a kid with a space/robot bedroom!

Can you tell I have a thing for wood toys? I think it may be the industrial designer in me who just can't get enough of toys that embrace raw materials.  I just find them refreshing in today's sea of roto-molded plastic toys that seem to get bigger and of of less quality as time passes! That's it so far for my list, but I'm sure I'll come across more fun toys between now and Christmas that I'll be sure to share.   In the meantime, let me know if you have any of these, if you like them, or if you have any other cool favorites!