Toy Iron

Here's a simple toy iron that I made with some wood scraps and an old spool:

If you make one, be sure that the handle lines up with the back of the iron so that it can stand up like this:

And countersink the hardware and sand the bottom, as it may be rubbed vigorously all over your house!

I liked how it looked with one spool and no hardware showing on the top, so I had to reinforce the handle in order to keep it securely attached.  I drilled small holes into the base, handle and spool, pegged it with four little pieces of toothpicks and then glued it all together.  It is very sturdy.

Is this unnecessarily complicated?  Yes.  It could have been avoided if the iron was a little bigger and had two spools holding the handle (with enough room between them for a small hand), but I loved the simple look of this little toy, and wanted to hide the connections.  Here's an "x-ray" of my handle attachment:

We keep it in our play kitchen, and it keeps the capes smooth and stylish and ready for action.

I made this a couple of years ago, and Diego helped me with the sawing and sanding.  These little toys we've made together hold so many sweet memories for me.

Clock

Here's a clock that Diego and I made a few years ago, when he first started asking me about time:

I made the dots and attached the popsicle sticks for him, and then we did the rest together.  I did make a tiny pilot hole before installing the popsicle sticks, and the screw is fairly tight so that the hands can be spun around easily, but still hold their positions. Our clock is mostly used in imaginative ways, with occasional counting and time-learning play. 

Made from scrap wood, popsicle sticks, tiny wood screw, felt-tipped pens.

Park Bench

When Joe and I first came to Los Angeles, we moved from a tiny Manhattan apartment, so we had a lot of furnishing to do.  One of the first additions to our house was this park bench, which is now one of our favorite places to sit in the house.

I found an old bench with broken slats that someone was throwing away.  Saving the beautiful curvy cast iron pieces, we replaced the broken wood with new red oak.  It was too pretty to put in the garden, so it has been sitting by our front door ever since.

It really is a comfortable place to sit, and people have even been known to take cat naps there (although whenever I see that, I want to blanket them in a newspaper to keep them warm Central Park-style.)  We used new brass bolts with round button tops to attach the wood.

The whole project cost us about $40, but it could be done for a lot less if you used pine or recycled wood.  One of the fun parts was deciding how long we wanted the bench to be.  I almost made it into a chair, and someday I'll probably make another one as a matching chair, which I think would make excellent living room furniture.

The combination of velvet, wood and cast iron makes me very happy!

All Sorts of Horrible Things About My Mother

I'll have to confess, Mom was not very enthusiastic when I first told her about my blog.  She cautioned me about sharing private information, told me not to "spill my guts," and said in no uncertain terms not to write anything about her.  My response was, "But MA, my blog is called, 'All Sorts of Horrible Things About My Mother!'"

 

                                                              My mom holding me, 1970

Fortunately, she's now an avid fan of these posts.  As with most of my endeavors, she's cautious and protective at first, and generous and supportive until the end.  She's got a great sense of humor (even though the punchline is usually in the first sentence of her jokes), she is a natural teacher, and she somehow made it look like having four kids in under 6 years in your forties was just fun and easy.

If you have a mother that you love anywhere near as much as I love mine, lucky you, give her a call!

Happy Birthday, Ma!  I love you so much!

Here's another picture of Julio sitting on the toy bed, 'cause I know you'll probably like that better than the adorable picture of you that I posted above:

I wish I was there to celebrate with you!

Buy Now, Pay Later

Danger Cat

A couple of years ago, I took this picture of my friend's cat:

My friend's sister surprised her by having the photo turned into a painting:

The photo was taken to Nepal, where three different versions of it were painted on metal by Nepalese artists.  My friend's sister then got to choose her favorite one.  The commissions were arranged by Danger Dogs from Nepal, an American art dealer who practices fair trade and "micro-finance through art patronage."  How cool is that?

No Afterglow?

Poor Halloween... so quickly cast aside!