Tired of your kids bugging you for something to do during the lockdown? Well we found 2 easy DIY TOY projects that should get your kids moving. It’s time for a Maker Break!
Our Projects
So… this week’s build. Just like a lot of you I have a couple kids who are getting stir crazy, and spending way too much time with their faces buried in screens. So for the next two weeks, I’m going to share a few ultra simple projects that any of you can do, with minimal tools and materials, and help keep your kids busy at the same time. This week, I aimed to get them moving.
I’m not going to say my kids are driving me nuts, but yeah… nuts. Fortunately, I got an idea. This week I looked for two simple projects that would get me in the shop, and the kids outside. First up, a simple set of stilts.
These were super easy to make. I started with two 2x2s, and a scrap piece of 2×4. I cut the 2x2s down to 60”, aiming to make them at least a foot taller than my kids. Then I cut the 2x4s into two 6” pieces, which we’ll use as the pegs.
To make sure they didn’t split, I predrilled 3 holes in each one, and then used 3” screws to hold them together.
That’s is. Seriously. After that I just had to teach Kaylee to use them. I was surprised by how much fun she had. For the next couple days she kept at it, and taught her little brother as well.
Ok project 2. My kids mentioned they missed these small sitting scooters they’d play with at school, so I figured I’d take a shot at making one. To do so, I simply cut a square piece off of a 2×12, sanded it down and then screwed on a set of casters and a pair of drawer handles.
The reality is these casters are not cheap. $16 in all. So I’m not sure this is a better option than a $17 plastic scooter, that’s much lighter and larger, that you can pick up on amazon. But if you have the material lying around, like me, it still might make sense.
Our Favorite Videos
To get us started today, we head over to visit the pneumatic addict, who needed a bit of support for her work
Going out of her way to use only a circular saw and a couple of drills, she designs and builds a pair of wooden sawhorses with enough stability to stand up to her patented kick test. If you need some portable workspace, and you’re working on a budget, this is a great solution!
David over at Make Something shared a great project for you to do with your kids.
Using a tree cookie, a handful of nails and some string, Davide builds a work of string art, outlining his hand to make it his own. This is an easy project you can do yourself, or better yet, get your kids involved. We have several downed trees on our property that I’ve been ignoring. Looks like it’s time to make some cookies.
This week while browsing for maker videos we stumbled upon Jakro Renovation, who has only been making videos for 2 months, and already has some really unique projects.
The one that caught our eye was this Desk lamp made from PVC pipe, some scrap wood, and a really cool Edison bulb. There’s not a lot of instruction here, but he shows you every step that should make it easy for you to pull off on your own. If you hurry, you can be one of his first 100 subs!
A lot of makers have been publishing unique content to help us make it through quarantine, and yesterday, some of our favorites got together to make the worlds first online Makerfest!
Arbortech is hosting a full schedule both yesterday and today, of live streaming makers doing awesome maker things. Some of the amazing makers you’ll see include Paul Jackman, Anne Briggs, that’s Anne of all trades, and even Jimmy Diresta. There are a TON more, you won’t want to miss it, and it’s going on RIGHT NOW! You can find it at Arbortech on youtube.
My wife has been hounding me to build some raised garden beds ever since we got out to our new property. And I think I’ve finally found my plans.
Erin from Maker Grey posted this build of a very simple, easy to build, but perfectly beautiful raised garden bed. She uses 6” cedar decking boards, so they’re already prepared for outdoor use. I have a lot of deer so I’ll probably need to build a fence, but other than that, these are perfect!