Family Toy Making

  Picture: Mr Scog with his scarf, vest, and pack

 When I was a girl, my mom read us “The Island of the Skog” by Steven Kellogg. It was such a cute story; we all wanted a Skog of our own. So what did my mom do? She made us all scogs, out of some terry cloth fabric left over from making my dad’s bathrobe.  We played with them for years.  When my grand dad wanted to give me a really great present, he didn’t buy me something, he built me a doll house. Then my mom sewed little dolls to go into it. We made furniture out of old salt cartons, toothpicks and other things. We made food out of craft dough and painted them. The neat thing about these toys was that they were unique, and meaningful to us. They had numerous imaginative uses so we never got tired of them.  They also served as craft projects for us, that we could use instead of throwing away, or collecting dust.

Texas wearing some of  his knits

When I had kids, my mom made them some scogs too! She also made a neat little felt turtle that was kept in a felt box to go with the song, “I Had a Little Turtle”.  When I had the time, I also started to make some toys, although my crafting skill set is different from my mothers, so I used knitting to create my toys. I made my niece a house with mice and a little garden with carrots you could really pull. I made mice in gourd houses to hang from the shoulders of my little boys. We made food and clothes for everyone and enjoyed hours of crafting time, followed by hours of imaginative play time.

 The mouse house

Family toy making has really become a cultural activity in our household.  If you have never made a toy with your child, I would recommend trying it.  Remember that it doesn’t need to look store bought by any means, it is folk art; a creation of your very own, and to be used, stained, and loved until buttons fall off and fuzz wears away.  It can be sewn, knitted, carved, molded, built, quilted, embroidered, or anything else you can think of.  Have fun playing!