Northern Adventure: Woodworking

The one thing that really inspired me about the Waldorf school I toured was the truly handmade-ness of it all.  The toys that I saw at the school were handmade by the teachers and parents out of materials they have in abundance around them. Some little wooden animals and people I saw were very rustic, not painted or "finished" beyond very little sanding. The nature tables were often built on a big stump of a wood. A beautiful circle and canopy outside was made from stumps for chairs and fallen branches. Play structures inside made of plywood and branches. Decorations were created from strung leaves. The decor was truly bringing the outside in! That was very inspiring to me. I want my kids to play with toys that foster creativity but I can't break the bank to make that happen so, I went to work...

 (In progress & some of these are still in progress.The rabbit is being saved for Easter.)

There is something so beautiful about the unfinished look but I just had to paint and finish them.

I was so lucky to have access to my Dad-in-law's saw and sander in NY.  Wow, would I be in trouble if I always had access to these tools!  He was also kind enough to give me some wood scraps he had laying around.

Owen's favorite song for awhile now has been "Old McDonald", so I just had to make him a farm animal set for Christmas.  There was originally a cow in here too, but he didn't make the cut. It was quite a challenge to draw them and chisel them just so. 

I freehand drew them from the Nova Natural catalog. They definitely look similar to their wooden toys but I think they have their own style about them as well.  I also love mamaroots on etsy, and here at her lovely blog. Her work inspired a few other ones I have in the works.

For Michael I made a woodland animal set, again using Nova Natural as a reference.  I couldn't get mine quite as sculpted as theirs.  For finishing I used hand chisels and rasps, so that's why I'm sure. 

When I saw this knot in the wood, I knew I had to incorporate it into a tree.  I love the way it came out. I painted them all using watercolor and finished them with a homemade beeswax finish.  Here's the recipe I used at Wee Folk Art. 

 

 Play silks from BeneathTheRowanTree

Then my Mom happened to have these little unfinished "building" blocks that she had been saving in the craft cupboard for a "someday" project. We pulled them out and loved using them for storytelling.  She had 2 houses, a barn, and church.  I started duplicating them before she said we could have them.  So, I made a couple more houses, and the castle and sanded and finished them all.  

We're having fun developing a world for these little creatures in our imaginations.  Each story they are apart of gives us a little more inspiration about who they are.  They are starting to take on their own little personalities. 

I have a bagful of cut and in progress animals, trees, mushrooms, etc. in the works.  I can't wait to see my boy's faces as they appear on the nature table throughout the year.