5 Wooden toys you can make yourself

by Alexey | For Kids Crafts Gifts Decor Workshop Cheap Accessories | Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Handmade gifts for children are beautiful, cheap and pleasant. Every child needs original and educational toys, but it is not always possible to purchase them. Today we will show you 5 examples of toys that you can make yourself. They can be made of cardboard, paper or wood... In general, get inspired and make your children happy more often.

Night light made of transparent parts

If there are a lot of transparent parts, you can make a portable night light with your child for his room.

The parts are folded into a box, and an LED lighting source is placed inside. This night light has a wonderful ability - you can reassemble it every day, changing patterns, sizes and colors.

You can make a night light with a regular cartridge. In this case, be sure to ensure that the light bulb does not heat the homemade night light body.

Making toys with your own hands

The process of making wood crafts is divided into several stages. It is important to know that a high-quality result can only be achieved by putting a lot of effort into cutting out the shape and processing the surface.

Tools

Behind the simple and uncomplicated form of toys for girls and boys lies quite labor-intensive work and a considerable supply of tools. The number and variety of devices directly depend on the type of toy.

There is a standard set of tools, without which reliable crafts cannot be made:

• saw;
• jigsaw for processing thin sheets of plywood and boards (it is better to take an electric one);
• grinding machine and set of attachments;
• drill with a large selection of drills;
• cutters, chisels, knives;
• hammer;
• pliers.

You can't do without a tape measure, ruler, compass and brushes.

Material

To make a wooden toy with your own hands, you will need to purchase the main material – high-quality wood.

Important! The selected type of wood should not form long splinters or sharp edges.

The most affordable pine will have to be abandoned, since the material is easily divided into separate layers. The best options would be the following types of wood:

1. Birch.
2. Linden.
3. Poplar.

You can also use cherry, but the material requires some knowledge of proper processing.

The wood must be dry and free of knots. It is not recommended to use wood that has already begun to rot.

Fasteners will be required at various stages. Depending on the size and purpose of the toy, you may need:

• self-tapping screws;
• furniture screws;
• nails of various lengths;
• metal rods;
• wire.

This is especially true for educational toys made of wood and mechanical structures.

Specialized adhesives will help securely fix the parts. Even simple PVA wood glue will be enough.

Completion of the process is accompanied by surface treatment with stain, paint and varnishes.

Lego as a decor for liquid soap

Your favorite construction set will help persuade your child to wash their hands regularly. In a transparent container with liquid soap, the design parts look fascinating. To some, they even resemble fish in an aquarium.

All you need to do is buy a colorless transparent container and remove the stickers from it. Put the details inside, giving preference to bright ones.

It is better to hold the Lego parts in hot water for a while beforehand, this will remove dirt from them.

Flash drive update

You can make a unique and inimitable flash drive from several construction bricks. To do this you need:

• disassemble the flash drive and remove it from the old case;
• cut a hole in the Lego piece for the connector;
• insert a flash drive into it and fill it with glue;
• close with the second piece.

The flash drive cover is glued using the same principle. On the main body (optional) you can add airplane wings, a house roof, and more.

Wooden toy weapons

If your child likes to play knights or heroes, you can make weapons for him from wood. It can be a hatchet, sword, shield and much more. It is better to cut them out of a single piece of wood according to a design that can be transferred from paper. After cutting, the workpiece must be sharpened, polished and coated with suitable paint. Such toy weapons are also suitable for various children's parties for the New Year and other holidays.

Kinds

Wood is most widespread among crafts for young children. The products are practically unbreakable, unlike plastic samples.

There is a wide variety of toys. In children's goods stores you can mainly find the following samples:

1. Rocking chairs.
2. Cubes.
3. Weapon.
4. Educational (constructors and puzzles).
5. Mechanical types of products.
6. Pyramids.

Each type is made using high-quality materials, going through a multi-level processing process.

Rocking chairs

First on the list is a type of rocking toy. The designs may be different, but the principle is always identical. The idea is to evenly distribute the mass of the structure relative to the center of gravity. Models on which a child can sit are in great demand.

The most common option is a rocking chair in the shape of a small horse. Making crafts yourself will not be a big problem.

All you need to do is cut out the parts using a jigsaw, clean the surface and connect the elements with glue and special pins. In the end, you only need to draw the horse's face.

Cubes

Samples are considered a classic type of wood toys that can be found in any store. According to the recommendations placed by manufacturers on the packaging, the elements can be used from 6 months. The shapes do not have to be strictly cube-shaped. Most gift packaging contains balls, triangles, rectangles and other types of cubes.

Do-it-yourself wooden toys for children will bring no less benefit. Crafts will develop children's coordination, motor skills and sensory skills.

The peculiarity of the blanks is that the surface of the wood does not need to be treated with varnish. It will be enough to carefully and as accurately as possible polish all sides of the cubes.

Weapon

Crafts for playing knights and valiant warriors are of particular importance. To do this, you can purchase wooden weapons in stores. However, parents will experience more joy if they give their child a handmade craft.

Types of weapons:

• axes;
• swords;
• armor made of light sheets of wood.

For production you will need a solid beam. It is from this material that toy weapons should be cut. After this, it is important to polish the workpiece along its entire length and cover it with high-quality paint.

Interesting! Weapons are of particular value during New Year's performances and other matinees. Boys often transform into pirates.

Decor elements

Often this type involves New Year's toys. This is a completely unique type of craft where you can unleash your imagination 100%. Many supermarkets and online resources sell a large variety of New Year's decorations made of wood. But Christmas tree decorations made with your own hands will be of great value.

The simplest blanks are snowflakes, twigs, various animals, cartoon characters, birds and stars. All crafts can be cut from simple plywood or fiberboard. Classic wooden balls are considered more complex. To make them you will need a machine and bars.

Developmental

This type includes a huge number of structures and individual elements. Lacing is very popular among educational games. The technique is to thread the lace through several holes. The recommended age on finished products is 2.5 years.

At its core, the activity helps develop fine motor skills. Over time, the game will help develop speaking and writing skills. The child learns to tie a bow, which will help him put on his own shoes.

Homemade lacing will cost much less. All you need is a sheet of wood, a jigsaw, a drill, quality paints and a cord. The toy can be made in the form of a shoe, a hand with fingers, or a fairy-tale hero.

Mechanical

The type of crafts is the most extensive, since there is no limit to creating new designs. Mechanical robots, fairy-tale characters and small cars are often presented on the market. Crafts can move both individual parts and the entire body.

To make it you will need one of the drawings of DIY wooden toys. The main thing is to follow the correct procedure and check the accuracy of the dimensions, since mismatched parts can lead to the fact that the product will not function.

They often make cars with wheels that spin on pins, as well as cranes.

Wooden snowflakes for the New Year tree

For all children, one of the most memorable holidays is the New Year. You can involve your child in the exciting process of creating wooden Christmas tree decorations. For example, you can make New Year's snowflakes using old unnecessary clothespins:

1. Separate the two halves of the clothespin, turn them backwards towards each other and glue eight pairs in this way.
2. Fold the four glued halves into a cross and secure them in the center with glue.
3. Place four more inverted clothespins and secure them with glue at the base.
4. To make wooden snowflakes for the Christmas tree more attractive, glue circles of colored cardboard or paper to them on both sides, and sprinkle tinsel on top.
5. Tie a thread to the snowflake on which you can hang the New Year's toy.

Educational games

It has long been known that modern children learn fractions well using Lego cubes as an example. You just need to select a suitable part to represent the whole number, two smaller parts to demonstrate one second, one fourth.

It is convenient to teach children to put letters into syllables, and syllables into words. To do this, cubes of the same size but different colors are selected. You need to write letters on them with a marker - and the didactic material is ready. It is advisable to make several of the most popular letters.

Unusual Christmas wreath

This wreath can be used to decorate the door to a children's room before Christmas. On the one hand, it will perfectly complement the atmosphere of the upcoming holiday, on the other hand, it will bring spontaneity to the child’s room.

How to make a Lego craft is described below:

1. Cut a wide ring out of cardboard and cover it with foam rubber or other soft insulation.
2. Drape it with fluffy green fabric to imitate pine needles.
3. Attach red (or orange) and white Lego pieces using a glue gun.
4. On the back side of the wreath, consider securely mounting it on the wall.

The wreath is ready.

Watch

Having a working clock mechanism, you can decorate it with Lego. A dial with a hole in the middle is assembled from flat parts, and the mechanism is glued into it. The numbers on the dial are also laid out from the designer.

The hands are decorated only if this does not make the mechanism too heavy and the watch will function accurately.

We hope that the prepared material was interesting and useful to you. All the best!

Vase made from designer parts

By finding many different types of parts, you can create an original and quite functional vase.

For the base you will need an old PET bottle with a wide neck or a regular glass. The sequence of actions is as follows:

• sort Lego elements by color and size;
• create a base-stand for a glass from flat parts;
• along the side parts of the stand, build up the walls of the vase, using parts of different colors;
• you can lay them out in rainbow order or put them together in a name/pattern.