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Above is a very old set of durable, glass dishes shaped like the flowers of a petal. I bought the set above, four bowl and four plates, in a local tag sale.        You can easily customize small sets of desert dishes for a child size, play kitchen. You will only need a few basic tools plus Mod Podge. I chose to decoupage my bowls with a red acanthus design printed on tissue paper; I thought the colors were not only striking but versatile. I will hand-paint the plates to match, in a different post.        Wash any dishes that you wish to use in this craft thoroughly, with warm water and dish soup. Many crafters use a sponge brush to apply Mod Podge because they think is works better. I just use either my finger tips or a regular bristle brush. There will be creases in the tissue, but the end result will be lovely. If you must remove a layer that you don't like, simple soak the dishes in a pan of hot water and remove the layer of tissue before start...

 One of the first references to Alphabet Nursery Blocks was made by English philosopher John Locke, in 1693, made the statement that "dice and playthings, with letters on them to teach children the alphabet by playing" would make learning to read a more enjoyable experience.        Toy blocks (also building bricks, building blocks, or simply blocks) are wooden, plastic, or foam pieces of various shapes (square, cylinder, arch, triangle, etc.) and colors that are used as construction toys. Sometimes toy blocks depict letters of the alphabet like the standardized from our family collections shown above and below. Alphabet Blocks Inducted in 2003 Witold Rybczynski has found that the earliest mention of building bricks for children appears in Maria and R.L. Edgeworth's Practical Education (1798). Called "rational toys", blocks were intended to teach children about gravity and physics, as well as spatial relationships that allow them to see how many diff...

        Above is one of many wooden pull toys in our family collection. This alligator was made by hand. The wooden balls spin as the comical reptile is being pulled across the floor. Below is a bouncing, wooden frog by Melissa and Doug and a dancing alligator by Plantoys Planwood. What kinds of skills can a baby or toddler learn with the use of push or pull toys? learning to balance his or her body weight on two feet or one foot coordinating two skills at once, walking and pushing something selecting a direction to move and successfully accomplishing it listening and acting according to sounds that the object makes while moving large motor skills are practiced over and over developing the sense of one's own body and how that relates to another object  New games with old toys.  More About Pull Toys: Pushing and pulling: toddler development Physical play and development Educational Benefits of Providing Toys to Children  Playing with pul...

Left, I've even added a few unique pieces to this collection like this wooden castle craft that originated from  a Home Depot kit. It was marked up but a bit of new primer and fresh paint makes it a charming addition  to our family block collection. Right, you can see that I used many different shapes and sizes of blocks to include in this DIY toy block project. Preparation of surfaces.        All woodwork must be sanded and thoroughly dried before any paint is applied. Care should be taken to see that all sharp surfaces and edges are smoothed to the touch so that a baby or small child does not get cut or poked with a splinter while playing with the blocks. You may wish to apply a primer first to your block surfaces prior to painting them depending upon the wear of their surface areas.        After the priming coat of paint is dry, putty up all knot holes, dents and cracks, and other defects on the surface of your blo...

This little Berenquer Doll came dressed from the local Goodwill! He is the  perfect companion to my other little boy, baby dolls. I think he needs a hat.     It seems as though you can make just about anything from a nice pair of socks these days. If you don't feel your up to knitting little beanie caps from scratch, cut up a some of those socks that you can't find a match for! Suddenly, knit baby bonnets will become fashionable in your doll nursery.     Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut across a sock just above the heal. Turn the sock piece inside out and sew a tough seam across the end cut side. Repeat this seam several times to eliminate the prospect of the sock unraveling. Turn it back to the front sides facing out and fit it over a bald doll's head. Now tuck in the peaks until you've got the beanie looking fit and trim. Thread an embroidery needle with contrasting floss and sew the nips and tuck down securely to the shape of your doll's head. So...

Another doll from our family nursery by Berenquer Doll Designs. This doll has hazel eyes and an open mouth for a bottle.    I found these little Carter shorts in a resale shop not far from my home and I paid only a dollar for them. It is so much easier and cheaper to resize baby clothes for your dolls than it is to sew them from scratch. When altering shorts or pants, remove the elastic and cuffs with a seam ripper. If you take the time to do remove these, your end product will look clean and custom made.  Always trim pants from the outside seam, so that the detailing on the front zipper will remain intact.      Many vinyl baby dolls can be dressed in diapers intended for real preemie infants (premature) so don't cut the shorts or pants down too much; leave some wiggle room. Also, you don't want the clothing to be so tight fitting that little ones can't dress and undress their dolls. Repeating this process over and over helps them to develop small motor ski...

A Berenquer Doll, these were very popular with my girls, when they were little. Consequently, there are many in the Grimm family toy collections.     Many a mother or grandmother may consider sewing nightshirts for their child or grandchild's massive baby doll collection to be a daunting task. Given the size of that collection in our own pretend nursery, this would be a considerable effort that might take, at the very least, a week to finish! However, we are far more practical in the production of doll clothes than you might anticipate. Especially when one must consider the small people who will be dressing and undressing these bulky vinyl infants to begin with.      First and foremost, learn where to find the most economically priced baby clothes in your area, that may be a baby resale, Goodwill outlet, or perhaps even a garage sale at the end of your neighborhood street. Look for clean, like new onesies in the smallest sizes that you can find. (0 to...