Do It Yourself TOYS! Make Inexpensive Toys From Household Goods!

MESSAGE FOR THE PARENTS!

How many parents out there are sick and tired of buying expensive toys your children will never play with?  I may have your answer…

I noticed that while my children had the toys for an adventure, they did not have the surroundings to make the adventure more realistic and fun.  They would start to play with their new toys, and after a few days, they never pick it up again.  That gave me the idea to start designing and building custom toys and scenery.  I happen to be an Art Director and my 20+ years of design experience has helped me to make these custom toys for my children. 

Why Is This Important?

When parents bring their kids over for play dates, they are amazed at what I build the kids.  After my kids proudly show off what I build, I find the fathers sitting down on the floor to try some of them out with their kids.  Every time we have friends come over, they see my ideas and they are amazed and want me to build ones for their kids.  When they see how my ideas are dual purpose toys, they are really impressed and they say, “How come some toy company hasn’t come up with something like this?”  I’ve seen first-hand that parents would love to see these useful toys in their homes.

Parts List

To make my creations, I use common household elements as well as left over scrap materials from previous jobs.  For example:

- I put new lights on my truck, so all the old components (brackets, housings, attachments, etc.) go in my “future projects box”.  I also keep all the un-used pieces from my projects (extra brackets, bolts, stickers, etc.).

- When some product fails (ex. a toaster oven), I strip it down and keep any useful parts like hinges, glass doors, handles, etc.

- Any time I have to make something out of wood, I keep all the cut off pieces and put them in “the box” as well. 

- I save old plastic bottles, containers, tupperware, lids from jars and diaper wipe boxes.

- I also save interesting packaging (like cardboard corners, Styrofoam, etc.).

- I keep nuts and bolts, pop-rivets and pop-rivet gun, glue gun, bondo, epoxy, and Loc-Tite Superglue on hand.

Tool List

- exacto knife

- heavy duty shears

- regular scissors

- drill and drill bit assortment

- hack saw

- Dremmel power tool

Ideas

My ideas come from watching the kids play.  As an example, my kids have a carpet that has an image of a town on it.  There are roads and houses and such, but it is flat.  Nothing to interact with, just roads to drive on.  While watching the kids play with their matchbox cars on this carpet, I saw them pretending to drive to houses.  After a while, my one son says, “Dad, wouldn’t it be neat if the town had real houses on it to match the cool roads?  With that, my mind starts thinking about shapes and sizes until I come up with a solution.  From there, I sketch out what it is I am planning on building

Building Procedures

With that sketch in hand, I go into the “future projects box” and look through my supplies until I find the right parts.  Once I have found them, I grab the tools and start the project with the kids.  Their input is vital so they not only get what they want, but they can feel the pride of bringing their ideas to life.

Originality and Function

I like to build toys that are one of a kind and are original, but I also like to design toys that are dual purpose.  As an example, I’ve made toys that also serve as a stool and some that are used as storage. 

Positive Elements

Making these toys with my children has many good points:

1)      It helps to form bonds with your children as you spend precious time with them.

2)      It teaches your children how to use their hands and be creative.

3)      It helps to recycle some of the old containers that we use and throw away every day.

4)      It gives your children pride in knowing they built something with their own hands.

5)      It gives the children pride in their parents for the interaction.

6)      Teach your children how to use their hands and be creative thinkers will actually help them in their future jobplace.

7)      It saves money!!!

The Results

After building the new toy, it gets tested my 8 and 5 year old boys and my 3 year old daughter.  If it works as designed, then it is an instant win for our family and it is played with all the time.  If I see a certain idea does not hold up, it’s back to the drawing board.  I can quickly get an idea of how to improve the toy within hours if it needs it.  They totally love and abuse what I make for them on a daily basis. 

Conclusion

Whether it is a mountain for their matchbox sized cars, a customized vehicle for their 4” action figures or a play set for their figures, the children love the toys I make for them.  Your children will not be little forever, but they will remember these moments for a lifetime!  

Samples

I decided to put together a youtube channel for all my toy creations.  I have 10 videos up so far and about 15 more to edit. There are some real good ones coming!  Check out the videos and let me know what you think!  Please subscribe and share these fun videos!  God bless!

Here is the new channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlQ8gYedDrdY1O_ZHOUf8Q

Here is a sample video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AREcVi3DZP8