Posted on November 23, 2014

Mali and I are always on the lookout for all natural toys (ok, maybe it’s just me, but she is my sidekick). Learning how to build toys was definitely on my list, but the warm weather had been dictating larger scale, outdoor pieces for our home.

Now that the temperature has dropped significantly, I’ve started to do all of my work inside, which means it is time to scale down the projects that I work on – a perfect opportunity to try my hand at wooden toys.

The goal for this new adventure is to create toys that are simple in design and full of imaginative play. The first piece in the collection was a no brainer. Mali is always wanting to get her little hands on our SLR digital camera. Playing with this piece of equipment is not an option; so I began sketching what Mali’s camera would look like.

Before I started sketching, the first words I jotted down on the page were:

simple
durable
eco-friendly
imaginative
child friendly

After tinkering with some scrap wood pieces, I came up with a final product.

This concept camera is powered by imagination instead of batteries.

The natural tone of the wood really looked beautiful, but I thought it would be fun to add some color. Mali loves to paint and be involved in whatever I am doing, so she helped me dye one set of camera pieces with all natural ingredients. Here she is mixing a block in a homemade kale concoction. (Image of green camera to follow; the process is a bit slower and messier with a two year old.)

All of the wooden pieces are finished with a natural bees wax sealant. That sealant really is coming in handy these days!

Right now we are having fun venturing around with our cameras, snapping photos.

This is just the beginning…

Thanks for reading.