Author Archive
Cynthia Lewman shows how to cook up a non-toxic, child-safe wood toy finish in your home kitchen with common materials and supplies.
In this video Cynthia makes a time-tested miracle paste wax finish for wood toys. It brings out the beauty of any wood and the finish makes the toy feel like velvet. The finished toy can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.
Susan Burkhart is a prolific and talented artist dedicated to creating high quality craft products including Toymaker Press designs. And she also creates trendy plush toys and fashion jewelry!
Susan creates many of her toys using plans and patterns from Toymaker Press. She created the little train in the center photo from a free Toymaker Press pattern. Susan says: It was a bit of a challenge to me because I am not used to cutting wood that thick and my saw needs a tune up. [...]
George J. Pfister modifies Toymaker Press plans to create unique toys to improve motor skills for kids in special schools.
George says: My toys are sent to a special school, The Chicago Educational Project (CEP), located in a suburb of Chicago. The head of the school, Amanda Parker, asked me to make puzzles that would appeal to small children with limited small motor skills. How did I connect? My grandaughter is a student with the CEP school [...]
Keith Bauer of Eagle Woodcraft Shop creates a successful new Easter Toy Bunny for his Crafts Show display.
Keith is an avid fan of Steve Good’s famous Scrollsaw Workshop where he downloaded the free-share plans for this great Easter toy that was designed by John Lewman of Toymaker Press. Great work Keith, and thanks for sharing! (To download free plan click here-scroll down to middle of blog page.) Keith says: I started woodcrafting about 15-20 [...]
Sherman Francisco of the Gwinnett Woodworker’s Association creates high quality creations for the Toys for Tots Program. The toys are crafted using full size plans from Toymaker Press.
Sherman is a master at creating high quality toys that are beautiful and timeless while at the same time being safe and durable for toddlers. His dedication to children and to the Toys for Tots program is providing hundreds of priceless keepsakes to needy kids each Christmas. Sherman writes: Cynthia, Thank you for the blog. Actually I [...]
Clarence Buchholz of Black Hawk, Colorado crafts a great Freaky Ford from the Rock n’ Rollers plans book.
Clarence says: Hi John and Cynthia, I recently purchased your “Freaky Ford Coaster” plan and thought you may like a few pictures of the completed project. As you can see in the pictures I did use alterative wheels and they are stained with Dark Walnut. The rest of the car was finished with a clear lacquer. [...]
Orange County California Woodworkers Association handcrafts and delivers thousands of sophisticated wooden toys.
I talked on the phone with Victor Cohn of the Orange County Woodworkers Association this afternoon to learn more about their incredible program for making high quality toys for charity. The program is 30 years old and growing. This video shows the distribution center for their 2010 Christmas donations to charity. See how the OCWA [...]
“I can’t sit in the house,” says Clark. “I’m always making toys of some sort.”
Dressed in blue work pants and a plaid, flannel shirt, 67-year-old Bill Clark doesn’t look elfin, yet he has tendencies that suggest he could fit in with a group of toy making little people. Clark is a full-grown man, of course, but he’s sans a long white beard and he doesn’t have a red suit. [...]
Wood Toymaker DoodleTown crafts successful new wholesale sales strategy.
The change to wholesale appears to be working well, with many retailers reordering the Little Toys. DoodleTown Toys should be in 150 stores by the end of 2010, surpassing its goal of 100 and making progress toward next year’s projected 400 to 500 stores, according to Linda Poisson, Michael Poisson’s wife and the Chief of [...]
Wooden Toy Designer talks about what makes Tegu’s kids toys special.
John W. Lewman Toy Designer www.toymakerpress.com Publishers of fun to make wood toy projects and Plans Andoni at http://www.tegu.com shows you what’s possible with one Mahogany Original Set of Tegu’s classic and educational wooden toys. The beauty of these building blocks is that once you create something, you can move it and take it with [...]
