Monday, January 31, 2011

Flower Building Toy

My daughter loves flowers. And around the same time I thought of the branch tree idea, I came up with this flower building toy. I used some scrap wood and cut out shapes, then painted them. Then I drilled holes into a bunch of thick dowel pieces to make stacking beads for the stems. The end result is a toy that allows the child to make their own various flower creations. My kids have been having a great time with it. When I showed it to my wife, she put a flower pedal piece lower down on the stem to make leaves! I didn't even think of that! One of the great things about simple, open-ended toys.







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62 comments:

  1. MarjoleinJanuary 31, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    Love it!

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  2. KristaJanuary 31, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    ingenius!

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  3. Tricia OrchardJanuary 31, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    Brilliant! Thanks for sharing your fantastic ideas!

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  4. Hande Ne Yapıyor?January 31, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    so cute:)

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  5. I Live in an AntbedJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    I love the absolute brilliance of the simplicity.

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  6. HeidiJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    I love flowers too! Lovely!

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  7. Erica @ Acire AdventuresJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    This is a fantastic toy! I could totally see this fitting in with the neat wooden toy sets you can buy now from brands like Melissa & Doug.

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  8. kristinJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    brilliant!! and i agree with erica [previous comment] - this would make such a great gift!

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  9. Beautifully RecreatedJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    Oh I love your toys. They are so very creative, but so wonderully simple.

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  10. MarisaJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    Mmhmm. So when is the Made By Joel toy line coming out? I have a two kids and three nephews that need these things. :)

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  11. Katie LewisJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    I LOVE this. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  12. Good CanaryJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    LOVE THIS!! I can not wait for my husband to put this on his project list.
    She's so satisfied in that last picture. :)
    I love flowers too...I think I want one for myself!

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  13. jooleeJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    i love this. FABULOUS!!

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  14. Joel HenriquesJanuary 31, 2011 at 3:06 PM

    Thanks everybody! Yes, I'd really like to get this toy produced. I'll be working on that soon!

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  15. Michelle EvansJanuary 31, 2011 at 3:34 PM

    Amazing! I just found your blog this week and am so impressed. What terrific ideas. My daughter loves flowers too. I might have to round up some wood scraps from the garage tonight and give this a go! Thanks for all the terrific ideas!

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  16. jojoebi-designsJanuary 31, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    what a great idea! great for fine muscle exercise too.

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  17. Steph at ModernParentsMessyKids.comJanuary 31, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Simple, beautiful, and fun - as always.

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  18. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    i love signs of spring: any way i can see it,
    enjoy it, imagine it!
    YES TO FLOWERS!

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  19. MothercristinaJanuary 31, 2011 at 5:18 PM

    That is such a simple awesome idea. Thanks for sharing. Wouldn't it be beautiful if the wood block was painted like grass? That would sell over $50 at most stores.

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  20. se7enJanuary 31, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    Totally cool - As usual, Love it!!!

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  21. artgirlJanuary 31, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    What a beautiful toy. Brilliant!

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  22. Amanda PedroJanuary 31, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    oh Joel! You've done it again! I can see this in so many children's spaces! Such a simple, pleasurable, open ended toy! I bet you can even make robots out of it!
    thanks for sharing your creativity so freely!

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  23. SheriJanuary 31, 2011 at 8:33 PM

    WOW--These are SUPER! Great idea, thanks for posting it!

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  24. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    crazy clever.

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  25. IrēnaJanuary 31, 2011 at 9:57 PM

    GREAT toy!

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  26. fraufertigJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    Your ideas are just amazing! I´m so glad I found your blog!

    greetings from germany
    fraufertig

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  27. ErinJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    These are so simple, but beautiful - love them!
    I might have to try something similar for my class.

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  28. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    its lovely! but just wondering how you cut out the shapes? great job!

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  29. GingkoFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Terribly beautiful idea...

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  30. Clementine-IllustrationFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:04 AM

    Super et très beau !

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  31. AmberFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    I am so in love with this project! I wan to play with this myself. Are all the shapes cut with a scroll saw?

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  32. UnknownFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:14 AM

    your daughter looks all happy and excited...which is completely normal seeing her cool new toy!

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  33. katka.gFebruary 1, 2011 at 1:54 AM

    You, sir, are a freakin genius...

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  34. juliekittyFebruary 1, 2011 at 2:30 AM

    Great idea

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  35. BelindaFebruary 1, 2011 at 3:10 AM

    Thank you so much for all your creativity! When ever I come here and see your projects I always thing how much fun it must be to live at your house =D

    ..Belinda

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  36. JennyFebruary 1, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    I want a set!

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  37. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2011 at 6:08 AM

    Your daughter is such a lucky little girl. Both the concept and the colors are great!

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  38. ShareandRememberFebruary 1, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    Really neat! Some of those pieces are chokers though so I couldn't take a chance in my day care.

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  39. Joel HenriquesFebruary 1, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Thanks everyone!

    amber - yes, I cut the wood pieces with my scroll saw. Also, I used the non-toxic paint that's listed in my "Favorite Tools" on the right side of the blog.

    Stacy@ - You're right, with dowel sticks and wooden beads, this is definitely a toy for 3 years and older.

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  40. jfidzFebruary 1, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    Yet another awesome creation! You could possibly also use those shaped popsicle sticks as leaves/petals.

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  41. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    This is really brilliant!
    Greetings from Germany...
    Friederike

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  42. minFebruary 1, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    OK now this could be packaged and SOLD at a store or any street fair and I would buy it for sure!!!

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  43. AmyFebruary 2, 2011 at 5:39 AM

    My daughter's would love this. You've got a great blog, very inspiring and so creative.

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  44. ElīnaFebruary 2, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    My husband made simple pyramids, but these are fantastic!!! My daughter would like them:)

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  45. Catherine PeartFebruary 2, 2011 at 10:34 PM

    Seriously, when is your line of toys coming out! I would love to make this but just don't have the tools right now.

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  46. Evelyn in CanadaFebruary 4, 2011 at 8:50 AM

    My immediate thought was that it's very like Ello, except yours is much bigger and uses wood (I love wood and bamboo for toys). That's a beautiful toy and has lots of potential for add-ons.

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  47. ljFebruary 4, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    What a wonderful toy!!!! Bravo! You are a genius! I was wondering if we could make the same thing with homemade clay. I haven't got wood scrap at home. What do you think about that? And thanks again for sharing all your ideas!!!! Sandrine, a French woman from baltimore

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  48. MarieHélèneFebruary 4, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Bonjour,
    J'adore ce que vous faites, et là, ma fille adorerai vos créations...
    Merci.

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  49. Joel HenriquesFebruary 4, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    Thanks everybody! Merci. Vous êtes très gentil!

    lj - Yes, you could definitely try it out of clay, or even painted cardboard.

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  50. PattiFebruary 4, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    I love this so much! I've been looking at pre cut little wood pieces similar to those, but had not figured out what to do with them. Just perfect.

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  51. BetsyFebruary 5, 2011 at 3:42 AM

    oh yes oh yes oh yes...we (I especially ;-) would just LOVE to get to play with this!

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  52. zzoeFebruary 5, 2011 at 6:12 AM

    you are great!
    sara

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  53. GuusjeFebruary 5, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    Lovely!

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  54. DarceyFebruary 6, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    What a great homemade toy. Simple and fun. I've included your post on my weekly favorites here http://play2grow.blogspot.com/2011/02/weekly-favorites-for-february-6-2011.html

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  55. kimFebruary 7, 2011 at 3:58 AM

    Love the simplicity!

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  56. RaiFebruary 7, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    This is absolutely fantastic. It looks fun, engaging and is also very beautiful. Well done!

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  57. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Very Interesting,love it! --JoJo

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  58. saraFebruary 17, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    This is adorable!

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  59. woolywomanFebruary 27, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    I don't wood work, but I am making one out of cardboard and paint!

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  60. HeatherMarch 1, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    Wow that is such a neat idea! A good idea too from the commenter above me to use cardboard if you don't know how to woodwork.

    What kind of paint did you paint some of the pieces with?

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  61. Joel HenriquesMarch 2, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Thanks everyone!

    Heather - If you look on the side of my blog, there is a "Favorite Tools" image hiding there. Click on that, and it will give all my info on paints etc.

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  62. HeatherMarch 2, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    Thank you!

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