Do you remember those folded paper fortune-tellers from back in the old school yard? This romantic version of the origami toy is at Colloco Homeware & Gifts (UK). It’s both a toy and an art object — and maybe an imaginative 3-d greeting card for Valentine’s Day?

There was always one kid in the crowd who knew how to fold one. At our school, it was Judy (who grew up to make her living from an interesting balance of crafts and computers). She wouldn’t tell anyone else how to do it, and drove us all nuts — you know how 10-year-old girls can be! — but I picked up a fortune teller that she’d dropped, took it home, and dissected it carefully to figure out how it all worked.

You want to know how to make one? No secrets here!
Here’s a video I found that gives particularly clear instructions for how to fold an origami fortune-teller:

At recess or lunch break, or sometimes in a slow-moving math class, Judy would pull out a neat square of folded-up notebook paper from her back pocket and open its corners to slip in her index fingers and thumbs. The other girls in our group would gather around…

First one, then another of us would “pick a number” — the number of letters in the name of the boy we liked best, most often — and Judy would open and close the paper fortune teller, one direction and then the other, while counting down the numbers.

Well, here’s how Wikipedia explains the rules:

The player first asks a question to the person holding the fortune teller. This question will be answered by the device. The holder then asks for a number and/or color. Once the number and/or color has been chosen, the holder uses his/her fingers to switch between the two groups of colors/numbers that occupy the inside area of the device. The holder switches these positions a specific number of times, which can be given by the amount of letters in the color selected, the number originally chosen, or the sum of both. Once the holder has finished switching the positions of the fortune teller, the player chooses one of the flaps that has been revealed. These flaps often have colors and/or numbers on them, and the chosen flap often is the same as the color/number originally chosen. The holder then lifts the flap and reads the fortune that is underneath. Any one of these steps may be repeated to suit the user.

Remember it now?
I’ve been thinking a lot about fun grown-up crafty versions of old schoolyard games and toys lately, so we can expect to take a few more little trips down memory lane in the next few weeks. What other cool homemade toys and impromptu games do you remember, from when you were a kid?

Who says that dogs don’t appreciate art?

Bodhi’s homage to the art of Matisse — the elegant Henri dog toy — is crafted in toothsome polyester canvas-backed suede, a dog-pleasing texture for hours of playful pleasure.

A durable noise-making squeaker inside will amuse the dog, while your more sophisticated friends can admire the elegant (and yet, oddly bone-shaped) form inspired by one of Matisse’s most famous paintings, Danse II.

The Henri dog toy is double-seamed, non-toxic and machine washable, in three colors and sizes: 16” (turquoise), 12” (celery), and 9” (olive) as shown here.

Affordable art for your pampered pup, starting at $14.00.

BabyMoonBoutique‘s Sheila Sherman knows that handmade gifts are best… and that you have better things to do with your hard-earned moola than to give it to the post office…

So, instead of ordering up a BabyMoon-made hobby horse by mail, now you can go for the DIY pony pattern at Etsy.

The hobby horse sewing pattern is 20 pages with 36 color photos; $8 brings it to you by email as a printable PDF.

Sheila says the materials cost for making a hobby horse should run about fifteen bucks, with the bonus opportunity to use up those bits-and-pieces of sewing and craft supplies you’ve got lying around.

Sounds like a deal to me… and about the only thing you’ll miss out on is the mild amusement of watching your postal carrier trying to stuff a horse-shaped package into your mailbox!

Wilbur Woodpecker is so simple, and yet somehow just fascinating for children and adults alike.

How does it work? Truly, it is simple — just slide the wooden bird up to the top of the 18″ pole, and watch him peck his way back down.

Slide up, watch the bird…
Slide up, watch the bird…
Repeat as needed, until the magic of childhood steals back into the jaded adult soul…

My oldest uncle used to make these traditional children’s toys in his spare time (to work off the stress of his job as an air traffic controller, I suspect, looking back at it now), and didn’t we kids love to see what he’d bring out of his workshop next! It was just like having Santa Claus in the extended family!

This version of the old-fashioned woodpecker toy, lovingly handcrafted of cherry and birch hardwoods in Rhode Island, USA, is the work of Etsy vendor stumppondtoy — “86 years old and still kicking”!


Technorati Tags: Etsy, woodworking, toys

A new toy product recall is enough to make the recent lead-paint scares look mild in comparison –

One of this season’s hottest arts-and-crafts toys, Aqua Dots is being pulled off North American store shelves and parents are warned to take the toy away from children immediately.

The popular children’s toy is being recalled for containing a chemical that effectively turns into the “date rape drug” if swallowed.

In Australia, where the toy is called Bindeez, at least three children have already been hospitalized after ingesting the small coloured beads.

A Chinese factory that was manufacturing the toy sets appears to have substituted a toxic chemical for the safe adhesive that was specified for use in the product. It is not yet known if product outside of Australia are affected, but no one is taking any chances –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2007
Release #08-074

Spin Master Recalls Aqua Dots –- Children Became Unconscious After Swallowing Beads

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

More than 4.2 million units have been recalled, and major retailers including Wal-Mart, which had named the toy on its “Top 12 Toys of Christmas” list, have pulled the toy from their shelves. The recall applies to all varieties and versions of the Aqua Dots sets.

Hazard: The coating on the beads that causes the beads to stick to each other when water is added contains a chemical that can turn toxic when many are ingested. Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC has received two reports over the past several days of children swallowing Aqua Dots. A 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time, was hospitalized, and has since fully recovered. A second child also vomited and slipped into a comatose state and was hospitalized for five days.

For more information, visit www.aquadotsrecall.com.

It’s enough to terrify a parent — and to send a major shock through the pre-Christmas toy market, on the heels of a flurry of popular brand-name toys recalled for excessive levels of lead in the paint.

Illicit substitutions are proving to be a significant problem in China, as under-regulated and under-inspected factories look for ways to cut costs to meet the price demands of bargain-hunting consumers around the world. Time to re-think our shopping priorities, perhaps?

Technorati Tags: China, toys, product recalls, Aqua Dots

Just peeking around Dwell Kids to see what’s new in junior bedding… and doesn’t that lovely long-eared rabbit look familiar?

The green rabbit, there on the bedside night table?

I’m sure it’s got to be “Bunny” by Merav Flam (Manuella Design), the floppy lovable stuffed toy that is always making me think of that classic children’s book, The Velveteen Rabbit…

I really loved the Bunny in grey; and it’s even better in that fashionable soft friendly green colour.

A cuddly fleece bedtime friend — what’s not to love?

Sometimes simple is best.

Case in point, this friendly elephant crib pillow.

It’s designed to coordinate with dwellbaby‘s sheet sets, but the simple silhouetted shape is just as appealing in any nursery.

No skimpy small pillow, this elephant is a generous 13” x 20” of softly rounded, poly-filled fun. The shell is cotton but it is machine washable — as you’d want any baby bedding to be — so the comforting pillow can last for years, no doubt becoming a playful toy companion as the baby grows to a toddler…

It reminds me of some silhouette animal-shaped toys I used to sew up for craft sales, paying my way through college. Lions, dogs, cats, giraffes, all in simple stylized shapes and bright fun fabrics — a quick sewing project and a good way to use up all those fairly small fabric remnants.

I used to embroider eyes, nose, and something of a mouth on the pillow toys that I made, but I do think I prefer the simple silhouette. What do you think? An embroidered face on your elephant, or a face that the child imagines?

Designed to be decorated, this sturdy white cardboard playhouse is easy to assemble and folds flat to store away between play dates. It’s 100% recycled material, 100% biodegradable, and a portion of the proceeds go to UNICEF.

$49 at Modernseed.

In the third major toy recall this summer, Mattel is calling in about 675,000 Barbie Accessory Sets — “excessive levels of lead” is the problem, yet again — as well as some 90,000 Geo Trac and 8,900 Bongo Band toys sold under the Fisher-Price name.

Some of these made-in-China toys have been out on store shelves (and in the hands of children) in the United States and Canada since September 2006 — one year! And an ordinary consumer does have to wonder, given the recent massive product recalls of contaminated toys, why this latest recall took so long to happen.

Mattel is telling parents to “immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact the company for instructions on how to receive a free replacement toy of equal value.” I’m guessing they might find the demand is rather limited for those “replacement toys”…

We grew up with Mattel toys, and it’s almost heart-breaking to read news of this latest expanded recall of Mattel toys — millions upon millions of toys that turn out to be potentially dangerous to children, due to strong magnets that could come loose and be swallowed, and to the use of paint that contains excessive amounts of lead…

And this comes right on the heels of a similar recall by Mattel’s Fisher Price division, where lead paint was the health issue.

Play time is learning time for our young ones, and a good toy can help to stimulate a child’s growing mind, imagination, manual dexterity, physical balance, and observation and problem-solving skills —

So, instead of feeling helpless and angry, let’s look at what we can do to help protect our kids.

• Avoid products made in countries with lax environmental laws and standards.

  No country’s manufacturing sector is perfect, of course, but it helps to start out with fairly strict health and safety standards at the national level. In the case of the recent Mattel product recalls, there are reports that the Chinese authorities knew about the safety problem with magnets on toys as long as a few months ago!

• Don’t take the label at its word when it comes to small parts that could be swallowed.

  Most toys come with labels giving a suggested minimum age or age range — “not suitable for children under the age of 3,” for example — but we all know 4-year-olds with great energy who may not yet have developed the common sense and judgment of consequences to match the level of their curiosity! If your child is the type to take a toy apart to see what it’s made of, or to taste everything that comes into his hands, do take that into consideration when you’re choosing a toy for him.

• Check it yourself.

  Button eyes on a stuffed animal are easy enough to spot, but what about that lead paint? Neena uses a non-toxic home testing kit, LeadCheck Swabs, to check for lead paint on toys and costume jewelry before her children get hold of them.

• Check for product recalls.

  A good start is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which maintains a website where you can look up information on over 4,000 product recalls and recall alerts from sports equipment to household goods, to toys and other products designed for children.

  As well as current recalls, take a few extra minutes to check on the company’s history. An unusual number of product recalls for safety reasons should be a bit of a red flag.

And maybe it’s time to take a whole different tack on children’s toys…

Instead of buying the latest “licensed character” mass-market toy imported from an off-shore factory, why not look into locally-crafted toys? Many of the traditional toys and games that have been entertaining children perfectly well for generations are available once more at craft shows and farmers’ markets — spinning tops, wooden blocks, rocking horses, and homemade stuffed animals and dolls.

Can you remember making a Wendy house or play castle from a cardboard box, or a secret fort from your mother’s sofa cushions? Musical instruments from the contents of the kitchen drawers? Paper airplanes? Kites from garbage bags and newspaper?

The possibilities for delightful homemade toys are endless…
and so is a child’s imagination!

Photo courtesy of Steve Rainer

This is Richard.
Richard is a horse.
Richard is a soft toy horse.

Richard the soft toy horse is so incredibly funky that I wouldn’t dream for a single minute of wasting him on a child.

I would, however, play about with scraps of fleece and cotton wool, trying cheerfully to create a softie of my own that might be halfway as whimsical and fun.

By Esthex, $36 at Spunky Sprout.
(Can you say “Horse- ee”?)

I’d probably do the bubble bath thing with James Dean… you know, if he weren’t dead.

And I’d definitely share my scented soap with sexy-evil pirate Captain Hook… you know, if he weren’t just a character from fiction.

Gene Simmons or Bill Clinton in my tub?
Not so much.

This whole question comes up because I’ve just stumbled across Celebrity Ducks, where everyone from the Blues Brothers to Pope John Paul II turns up as a rubber ducky — even the divine Betty Boop!

If your bath time is less entertaining than it once was, $11.99 will get your favourite celebrity or storybook character to bob about in the bubbles. A bargain! Just add candles and an appropriate soundtrack.

Do I need to get out more?