End of the Year...

So here's where we are: there are eight (8) days until Christmas, two (2) weeks until New Year's Eve and that means that you have seven (7) days left to get quality unique products from Maple Ridge Creations before having to wait until the new year. Fear not, gentle blog reader, fear not...there is yet hope...

The 2013 craft market has effectively ground to a halt. However, to give everyone a chance to do some last minute Christmas shopping, Maple Ridge Creations (that's me if you haven't been paying attention) and Amazing Coffee in Madoc are teaming up to bring you a great Christmas shopping experience. Imagine being in a comfortable little coffee shop, enjoying your favourite hot beverage while the snow gently falls outside, and casually perusing custom hand crafted wood toys, home decor items and novelties and chatting with friends and thinking of the wonderful days to come.

Now, you might have to bring your own friends, and Maple Ridge Creations does not in any way guarantee the degree of wonderful which your coming days may be, but, along with Amazing Coffee, we feel we can pretty much assure you of the delightful hot beverages and hand crafted wood part anyway. Also, we make no promises about the accuracy of the weatherman (weatherpeople?) but then, neither does he.

Regardless, this coming Saturday, December 21st, 2013, Maple Ridge Creations will be set up for the entire day (or until they kick me out) at Amazing Coffee. I expect to have my entire in stock inventory with me, including a few things which have not been for sale anywhere else before. It will also be a good time to chat with me about custom projects for the new year (January is already starting to back up).

After Saturday, I will still take orders for in stock items until December 24th. They can be shipped or picked up (by appointment only please) as per usual.

The shop will be closed until the new year concerning production, but I will ship in stock products after Christmas. I don't guarantee how quickly they will get shipped but they will get shipped.

I expect to reopen by January 6th, so any custom order made by then will begin to work their way through then.

Since I am about as busy at present as I would want to be, I doubt I will be making any further blog posts until Christmas, so:

On behalf of myself and my family, we would like to wish all of our followers, customers and Facebook and google+ friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

30 Market Tomorrow

To my friends in Peterborough and area: I'm coming to see you tomorrow!

I will at the 30 Market sale tomorrow in the public library building on Aylmer St. from noon until 7pm.

If you 're unfamiliar with 30 Market, everything is under $30, which if you're still doing Christmas shopping, is probably very helpful to your bank account.

In addition to great prices, there will be more than 20 vendors in attendance, drawings for prizes and more. So whether you're into "buy local", making final purchases for Christmas or just looking for some great deals on quality products, stop on by and see what's going on.

Saturday I may go to the new flea market in Belleville (at Bridge and Sidney in the Giant Tiger plaza) or i may just stay at home. Haven't decided yet, but there's a good case to be made for both. Since the beginning of June I've been spending the whole week making things in my shop and then selling them on Saturday. Since then I've had one (1) Saturday off. But the end (for this year) is nigh!

The reason being that I have only one show left after this weekend and it will be a great show. If you haven't read it elsewhere, I (Maple Ridge Creations) will be at Amazing Coffee in Madoc for the whole day on December 21st. Probably from open until close (or almost anyway). This is a special collaborative event: you can come to see me and try some truly great coffee (or tea or hot chocolate), or you can come in for the coffee and take a look through what I have left in stock.

In particular, this may be a good time for those of you who have ideas for projects for the new year to come in and talk those ideas out with me. I don't expect to be taking any pre-Christmas special orders (who knows...someone may get lucky) but a sit down consultation over coffee is a great way to work out details on those ideas for custom stuff and see what I can (or can't) do for you.

I could go on about plans for the new year, but then what would I talk about next week?

Custom Signs

Alright, it's late and this is my third consecutive post. All because I love my customers and those who follow the blog. Regardless..I'm getting tired and have a few more things to cut for the sale tomorrow so...

MAny of you have no doubt seen the "MAN CAVE" sign below. I think I included it in a blog some time ago, and it's typically a regular feature on my table at sales. BUT...did you know I can make you almost any sign in the same basic style? (betcha didn't!)

Now there's an irony here...I've actually made 3 custom signs this week and delivered all of them today...without remembering to take pictures of any of them. I have solicited a few recipients to take pics and graciously email them to me and when they do, I'll update, but since this is a popular Christmas gift idea, I thought I'd put it up anyway. 

Now first off, the sign can say just about anything you want it to (I won't do anything vulgar, but I'm pretty easy otherwise). One of those done this week said "SERENITY NOW". Last names are particularly popular, but feel free to be imaginative. 

Second, it can be any colour (that I can find stain for) that you want, or it can be left natural for you to finish yourself (or leave as is). 

Finally, they can have accessories. The one below was done for a couple (their second such sign with me). Sadly, I didn't have an appropriate place to hang the sign for taking pics, so it's hanging on a tool chest here, which is in turn showing off one of the most common features of my shop: sawdust. However, you'll notice the house number hanging below it (slightly off centred intentionally) and the chains for hanging it (linked together to make transportation easier. 

Since a common question is "How much?"

Basic custom signs start at $30. Larger signs may cost more. Stain, finishes, and accessories are all extras. 

If you're looking for something different, feel free to contact me with your idea and let me make it a reality. 

That's it for me for now. Good night, have a great weekend, hope to see you at the sale and if you have a custom order for Christmas, please get it in this week. Check out older posts for more ideas. 

Cooper Craft sale this weekend!

Alright, so now that I've finally gotten some new products up, here's where to find me this weekend.

 Cat and mouse standup figures

I like two day craft sales. I think it's because I get one day where I get to just show up and wait for people to come and see me. No packing the van, no setting up, just a bit of rearrangement of the table (if necessary) and on to business. At the same time, it's a nice opportunity to get to know some of the other vendors that you're sharing space with.

Regardless of my sentimentality, I will be at the Cooper Craft sale this weekend, both Saturday (today) and Sunday, from 10am to 4pm both days.

Horse and buggy welcome sign

For those not familiar with Cooper, it's a pretty small place. Nestled away about 10 minutes North of Madoc on Cooper Road, it's just a little hamlet (I've no idea how many people claim to live there).

The sale will be at the old schoolhouse. If you're not sure where that is, just follow the signs.

"Faith", "Hope", and "Love", ask about custom names and words

To get to Cooper from Hwy 7, turn North on Cooper Road (one road East of Hwy 62, the same road that the Madoc Fairgrounds, TimBEr Mart and Kingdom Hall are on) and drive North about 10 minutes. Follow the signs, I'm assured there will be many.
From Hwy 62, if you're feeling intrepid, you can also take Bannockburn road into Cooper, but beware, the road is unpaved (most of it anyway) and it's a bit less gentle than taking Hwy 7 and Cooper Road. If you're not a local, you should probably just take the first set of directions.

Triceratops rocking toy

I've heard only good reviews about this sale: excellent vendors, good turnout and even great food. There will be food served on the premises for those interested. Proceeds go to the Women's Institute and all the good casuses they support.

New Clocks

Well, it's definitely that time of year again, so I thought I would post some of the newer clocks to come out of the shop for your consideration. (see what I did there: "time", "clocks"? Guess I should probably stick to woodworking then...). 

I like doing clocks. They are a wonderful blend of form and function, art and practicality. You can display so much of your interests, hobbies, personality or favourite TV show or hockey team and pass it all off with the redeeming notion of keeping track of time. 

These are the latest out of the shop, but I hope to have some more coming next week as well (time permitting). 

Basic Guitar Clock $35 each (colour can be customized)

The guitar clock is made from 1/4" baltic birch ply and stained Minwax Early American with a light Varathane finish. I expect a lot more of these to be on their way in the future, probably not only in different colours, but possibly in different styles of guitar as well. Maybe even different instruments ( I know a French horn player who I just know wants a clock with her instrument of choice).

Walnut Flair Clock $55

The "Flair" clock I've done before, but not quite like this. The previous model was stained pine and 3/4" throughout, but this one is 100% walnut, 3/4" backer and 1/4" base. A light oil finish brings out teh colour and leaves the wood looking natural.

Snowflake Clock $40

The snowflake clock is another redo, but this time I've left the pine all natural. There was some beautiful grain colouration in this piece that made it feel like a very wintry clock, so I left it alone and just gave it a light shellac finish.

Mother and Child Clock $55

Unfortunately there's a bit of glare off the clock in this one. The back is solid 3/4" cherry while the front picture is 1/4" birch ply. The clock is a mini in this one, just a little 1 7/8" insert. Very classy piece in my estimation and a great gift for any mother.

Any of the above can be made with different colour schemes or wood species. Custom ideas are always welcome and appreciated.

I would like to give credit where credit is due: The above designs are all used with permission from Steve Good of scrollsawworkshop.com. Steve does a lot of excellent work and spends a lot of time on new designs so that guys like me can spend a bit less time playing with computers and drawing and a lot more time in the shop. Thanks Steve.

To make up for lost time this week, another post should be following after this one in just a few minutes.

International Orders

Alright, so this isn't a product post, but I've finished a handful of clocks this week along with some custom signs that I'll try to post tomorrow.

What I wanted to do, just quickly, was to discuss international orders and shipping.

At present I am not set up to accept credit cards (though that may change soon) but that doesn't mean you can't order something from me, including custom orders.

Payment:
If you are in Canada or the U.S.A., you can mail me a cheque or cash (cheques must clear fully before anything gets shipped and U.S. cash is taken at parity). However, anyone can set up an order through either etsy or ebay. Simply email me and tell me what you want and I can set up a custom order through etsy and you can pay through paypal.

Shipping:
It's really kind of cool that within a week or two I can have something from my shop make it's way to the other side of the world. I need three things from anyone making a distance order of any kind: 1. your address and 2. how fast you want to receive it and 3. do you want a tracking number (it's kind of fun to check up on your package online several times a day, but really, how much ever gets lost in the mail these days?). Once I have that I calculate shipping and bill you at cost. I don't make anything off shipping and try to reuse boxes and packing materials to keep costs down, because then you have more money to spend on more important things.

So, no matter where you're from (even Baker Lake) you can order stuff from Maple Ridge Creations. And hey, that's good, 'cause there's only 3 weeks to Christmas. So get those orders in now.

You can see our current etsy stock at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MapleRidgeCreations?ref=si_shop

Where I've been...

So apparently it's been around 2 weeks since I've had time to put up a new post. I would like to pass my thanks on to the folks at the Campbellford Community Resource Centre for their sale last weekend as well as the organizers of the Batawa Craft Fusion sale yesterday. Both were very decent sales and I hope to be invited back next year.

In the meantime, what else have I been up to?

Well, I've been working on some custom shelves for different folks, doing a lot of custom signs and in general just trying to keep stock up to keep up with the Christmas season demand.

I will try to get some pics up tomorrow of some of the custom work I've been doing as well as some of the newer Christmas decorations and ornaments I've done.

By the end of the week I should have some new clocks in stock. Currently I am waiting to receive my shipment of clock inserts and parts, so keep an eye open for those.

A quick reminder to those of you who have been thinking about special Christmas presents: There are 24 days left until Christmas and my plans right now are to close the shop sometime Christmas Eve day until probably just after New Year's. So get those custom orders in soon. By soon I mean pretty much right now. I will happily consult with you through email, over the phone or in person to make sure you get what you're looking for, but seriously, if you wait another 2 weeks to order, I can't promise I'll have time to make it for you in time for Christmas.

A brief recap of where to find me at shows until Christmas:
December 7-8: The Cooper Christmas Craft Show at the old schoolhouse in Cooper. If you don't know where Cooper is: From Hwy 7 turn North on Cooper Road (the 1st road to the East of Hwy 62 just outside of Madoc) and drive North around 10 minutes. Follow the signs and you'll find the sale.

December 13: The 30 Market Sale at the Peterborough Library. It's called a 30 sale because everything will be under $30.

December 14: Not booked yet, but hoping to be at the new flea market in Belleville at the corner of Bridge St. West and Sidney St.

December 21: Amazing Coffee in Madoc. The folks at Amazing Coffee and Maple Ridge Creations will be teaming up to bring you both amazing coffee and amazing wood products. I will be set up for at least most of the day so I should be easy to find. Please note that by the time I get to Amazing Coffee I will still be doing consultations, but it will almost certainly be too late to place custom orders for Christmas. Some exceptions may be possible, but pickup at my shop will certainly be necessary.

That said, don't wait too long. I want to make sure everyone has a chance to give exactly what they want for Christmas this year, so make everyone happy by getting your order in ASAP!

Hardwood Hanging Ornaments

This week has been busy with custom orders and trying to replenish stock after a few good sales the past couple of weeks. As a result, pictures are often not the top priority. The high cost of delivering quality wooden products to my customers is often long days followed by long nights; laying out, cutting, sanding, staining, finishing....it all adds up to be more time consuming than many recognize. 

This is the process for making things out of pine. Pine cuts well, sands well, stains fairly well and is of course, affordable. Comparing the cost of pine to any hardwood instantly reveals a wide price margin, so dealing with pine lets me keep my costs down. However, it tends to be a bit bland at times, so stain or paint is necessary to bring a bit of vibrancy to my work, but this takes time. 

Oddly enough, this makes tonight's items relatively simple to make...

I started making these 3D ornaments a few months ago and have had a difficult time keeping them in stock ever since. The comment I get the most is "Those must take a lot of time..." but actually they take less time than many other ornaments because they aren't stained. 

The ornaments pictured above are a small selection of the 3D or compound ornaments I have cut. Those pictured are cut from solid walnut, cherry and maple, but by the weekend I hope (not that important little word) to have a selection including beech, hickory and african mahogany. 

The reason these don't take a ton of time (can you measure time in tons? Figure of speech I guess...) is that they are cut from solid hardwoods and then given a quick touch up with a needle file and then hand rubbed with an oil finish. Just enough to bring out the colour of the wood. 

If you're wondering, these are designed as hanging ornaments but can be used as earrings, necklaces or other adornments as determined appropriate by the owner. 

Christmas Orders:

Custom orders continue to come in. Please be mindful that if you have an idea for a Christmas present now is the time to get it in. We are past halfway through November already and if you wait too long I cannot guarantee that orders can be completed before Christmas. Consultations through email, phone or in person are available. 

Craft Sale Update:

So it's been over a week since my last post. Something about well laid plans of mice and men comes to mind...but I really do have good intentions of posting more stuff. Hopefully I can catch up on that a bit later in the week. But for now...

First off: I would like to thank the staff and volunteers at Quinte Christian High School for throwing an excellent Marketplace Sale this past weekend. If you're in the Belleville area and missed it you have my apologies. I had intended to blog it last week but, well, last week got ahead of my a bit it seems.

One thing, among several, that really set this sale apart from a vendor's perspective was their attitude of helpfulness towards their vendors. One great example of this was their "hosts" and "hostesses" who were on hand throughout the sale to run minor errands or mind your booth while you "looked after business elsewhere" so to speak. Need a coffee? Flag down a host and ask them to get you one. Need a potty break? Flag down a host and ask them to watch your booth. They'll tell you that's what they're there for. As someone who typically mans a table by himself, this is a very appreciated service to openly offer.

Overall the sale was great. More than 50 vendors (not sure how many exactly) and an excellent turnout made this a great sale from the view of vendor and customer alike. I will be crazy busy this week in the shop trying to finish custom orders and replace my much-diminished stock for...

Two sales this weekend!
I will be in two places on Saturday; or rather, my stuff will be in two places on Saturday.

There will be a Mama Market at 301 MacDonald Ave. in Belleville running both Saturday and Sunday. A wide variety of vendors will be represented, but not in person. The idea of the Mama Market is that vendors leave their goods which are sold by the people running the market. I'm still not positive exactly what goods I'll have there for the weekend, but expect a full compliment of toys, since this was the reason I was invited to come. Hopefully I can have a good selection of cars, trucks, helicopters, trains (if I can get to them) stand up puzzles, tray puzzles, pull toys, toddler toys, marble machines and more available.

At the same time, I will be at the Community Resource Centre in Campbellford on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm. I can't give you any more details than that, other than it would seem to be a worthwhile cause to support. So come on out and support some local vendors who are supporting a local charity. As usual I will be accepting custom orders and providing consultations to potential clients as well as selling my usual (and unusual) wares.

Finally, a correction (or rather an update) on the previously announced schedule. I will not be at Crestwood Secondary School in Peterborough on the 30th of November as previously announced, but will instead be at the Batawa Community Development Centre for their annual Craft Fusion sale. I am told this is always a not-to-be-missed sale and that there is a healthy compliment of vendors to be on hand.

For Madoc/Marmora/Centre Hastings area readers, I will be making a special announcement later on this week regarding a sale in Madoc at a very convenient venue. Watch for that later this week.

Also, I have an opening on December 15th, so if anyone has a suggestion, please message me at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com. I would love to get into a cozy little venue somewhere fairly local if possible, but we'll see what comes.

Wooden Teether Toys

Any parent of small children knows the pain endured when that child begins to get teeth. No, no...not their pain. Yours. The sleepless nights, the considerations of what stronger medications are available, and of course the emotional anguish of hearing those poor, desperate wailings echo throughout the house. Most parents would do anything possible to ease the pain our children go through, but at the same time there are considerations of over medicating, side effects, what chemicals are used in teething rings, and so on.

More and more, parents are turning to natural remedies for teething children. Maple Ridge Creations is pleased to now provide one of those solutions: all natural wooden teether toys.

These toys are designed for small hands and small mouths. They are made from durable beech, which is both hard and durable. Each toy is given a thorough sanding to smooth the faces and gently round the edges to protect both baby's skin from hard, sharp corners and soft gums from being cut on those corners.

We have five designs which have already been made and several more on the way. Shown at top are the crown, football helmet, gingerbread man, soccer shoe and lady's shoe. Designs on the way include a puppy, kitten and ducky.

Options are available for both boys and girls. The lady's shoe and crown are perfect for the little princess, while the football helmet and soccer shoe are great for the little athlete to be. The other designs are neutral.

Custom orders and designs are available. Call or email and tell us what you'd like and we'll make it for you. Personalization is available as well, just ask for options.

A quick reminder of where I'll be this weekend: Saturday I'll be at the Parkdale Community Centre at 119 Birch Street, Belleville for the Nova Children's Centre Craft sale. It will be on from 9am to 3pm.
Sunday I'll be at the Omni Learning Centre from 10am to 4pm for their annual craft sale. The address is 350 Dundas West, Belleville.

That's all for now.

Rocking Triceratops Ride On Toy

Ride on toys have always been popular, and with the Christmas season fast approaching, they certainly make an excellent choice for toddlers and small children. I've been wanting to get around to some for a while now, but what to make? What style to follow? Maple Ridge Creations doesn't always go a different path from what's been done before, but as far as I know, this is perfectly unique. 

Based on the same design as our triceratops pull toy and puzzle, this is a very solid and sturdy ride on toy. Constructed from 1 1/2" spruce, the main body consists of a center section which includes the head and central horn, with additional body pieces and head pieces with side horns on each side. The legs are additional parts as well, with the tail being part of the main central piece. Trust me, this thing is solid and not coming apart any time soon.

The handle is designed to resemble reins and is constructed from 1" x 1 1/2" spruce with 3/4" dowel for the handle itself. The entire toy has been left unstained, unpainted and unfinished, but those are all available as options for extra fees.

Durable, attractive and child approved, my children have played with it a bit while it's been under construction and have enjoyed it tremendously. More designs are sure to follow. Email me with suggestions for new ride on toys or with ideas for names (no...we're not calling this one "Sarah").

I recommend this as a pick up order (and shudder at what the shipping would be). See my previous post to see where I'll be over the next month or email me to arrange a visit at the shop. 

Like this, +1 it, share it and keep sending in those custom orders!

Where to find me in November

Well, it's been a few days since my last post. Things are plenty busy around the shop now that Christmas and holiday craft and gift sales are in full swing. Of course, whatever time isn't spent in the shop or vendoring is happily spent with my beautiful bride and three children (my toy testers).

I'll try to link some new products later on in the week, but what i wanted to do tonight was just to give  a quick overview of where I'll be selling from now until Christmas (almost). Of course custom orders can always be made through the phone or email and pick up from the shop (my house) is always available.

November:
9th - Nova Children's Centre Craft Sale: Being held at the Parkdale Community Centre at 119 Birch St. Belleville from 9:00am to 3:30pm.

10th - Omni Holiday Gift and Craft Sale: being held at the Omni Learning Centre at 350 Dundas St. West, Belleville from 10am to 4pm.

15th - Quinte Christian High School Marketplace: Being held at Quinte Christian High School (QCHS) at 138 Wallbridge-Loyalist Road from 4pm to 9pm.

16th - QCHS Marketplace again: This time from 9am to 3pm.

23rd - Campbellford Community Resource Centre: To be held at the Community Resource Centre (as far as I know) at 65 Bridge St. East Campbellford from 10 am to 3pm.

23rd -24th - While I am in Campbellford, some of my items will be at the mama market in Belleville at Family Space Quinte at 301 MacDonald Ave. It will be running from 9am to 3pm both days.

28th - Prince Charles Public School Trenton: To be held at the school from 2pm to 6pm.

30th - Crestwood Secondary School Christmas Craft Sale: To be held at the school from 10am to 2pm.

December:

7th - Cooper Craft Sale: I actually have almost no details on this in front of me. I will have more up when we get a bit closer to the date, but if you can make this one, try to make it. This one will be showcasing local artisans and marketers from the Madoc area, and is run for the benefit of the Rimington Women's Institute.

15 - Nothing concrete yet, but I'd like to try to organize something special in the heart of Madoc if I can. Just need to talk to a certain business owner...

21 - No special events, but that doesn't mean I'm closed yet! Last minute gifts will still be available. Please call or email to make an appointment if you need to come and visit my shop and pick out something. If you're local (Madoc, Marmora, sometimes farther...) I can come to you.

I expect to be closing for a week or two starting Christmas Eve and running until at least January 2nd 2013. Presuming we're still here that is!

And there you have it. Not my most engaging post, I'm sure, but hopefully it will give some of my readers and followers a chance to meet up with me at a local event. Maybe you're someone who's followed the blog but never had a chance to see my stuff in real life, or you've seen me, got a card, and now you're looking for something for someone in particular. Meeting me at shows and sales can be a great opportunity not only to see my in stock products, but to chat about any custom projects you'd like to have made.

That's it for tonight.

Canadian Shape Puzzle

I will be away at a craft sale in Stirling, to be held at the Lions Club (above the arena) for the next couple of days, so I wanted to get this up tonight. 

We've been wanting to get something like this done for a while, but I often don't have time for completely new designs and my wife has three small children to take care of while I'm slaving away in the shop. That said, she got a chance to make this up the other day and I finally got it cut today. 

Our Canadian shape puzzle features six wilderness shapes that speak somewhat to the Canadian wilds. A Canada goose in flight, majestic beaver, moose, howling wolf, grizzly bear and maple leaf. The puzzle is constructed of two layers of 1/4" BB plywood. The top layer has the pieces cut out and the bottom layer has 3/4" holes behind each piece. Big enough to get a finger in, too big to get little fingers stuck.

Everything is sanded nice and smooth but no finishes have been used. No chemicals used except the wood glue (non-toxic) that holds the two layers together. A great art project would be to decorate the pieces and background in your own distinctive way.

As a bonus, all of the pieces can remain standing, so when a child outgrows the puzzle, the pieces could be used in other projects (or passed on to other children...hey it's your puzzle, you do what you like with it!)
The puzzle will be retailing for $15 CDN.

A quick reminder that the clock special is over at midnight tonight. To qualify for discounts make sure to email me before 12 am EST. Thanks to all who have participated in my first clock event.

Since no one has bothered to write a 411.ca review for me...I'll sweeten the pot a bit. Write a review for Maple Ridge Creations at 411.ca and email me telling me you've done it, and once it's verified I will give you $10 off your next purchase of $20 or more. This offer is likewise only good until midnight. That means that as of now you have about 2 hours, so you'd better hurry!

Toys, Toys, Toys...in time for Christmas!

 With less than two months until Christmas it's certainly not too early to start emphasizing Christmas gift ideas. Of course, I've been plugging Christmas orders for a couple months now anyway, so...

Tonight I'm going to spotlight just a few of the toys I have available. Let me state from the outset: this is not a comprehensive listing. Nor is it a full listing of toys in stock. It is a sample of what has already been made and is in stock right now. More stuff will be coming out soon and custom orders are always appreciated and welcome.

The helicopter was one of my first original designs. In fact my 3 & 2 year old boys still play with theirs and it's still in one piece! Solid spruce body with pine rotors and pontoons. The helicopter comes sanded but unstained and unfinished, ready to be coloured, stained, painted and finished exactly how you want it. Decorate it yourself or have me do it as an extra. The pontoons are held on using non-toxic wood glue but otherwise the helicopter is chemical free, so you know it's safe for your children to play with. The helicopter retails at $15 (no tax) and is available as an option for the set price listed below. Finishing and shipping are extra, although delivery to Madoc is free and pick up options (including from the shop) are available. All other shipping is done at cost.

Left to right: tractor, jeep, car, pick-up truck, delivery truck

Staying with the vehicle theme, my original set of wheeled vehicles is still available. An ongoing favourite, they bring a sense of nostalgia to parents and fun to kids. Sturdy 1 1'2" pine construction with Baltic birch plywood wheels (pine back wheels on the tractor) means that they won't break easily, and the wheels are secured using non-toxic wood glue so they won't come off easily. No small parts means that there's no choking hazard for small children (I personally have no minimum age recommendation on these toys, but parents/guardians are responsible for what they let their children play with. Just as with the helicopter and the motorcycle, they come unfinished (see helicopter description for more details). Each vehicle is $15 individually or purchase a set of 5 (mix and match) for $60 (a grandparent's favourite) or buy 4 get 1 free. This offer allows you to pick from the vehicles pictured above as well as the helicopter and motorcycle.

Similar to the vehicles above, the motorcycle is a favourite for children of almost any age. The wheels are inset into the body of the motorcycle and are 3/4" thick, allowing it to stand unsupported and letting it remain upright when rolled and released on a flat surface. The wheels will not come out without breaking the axles, which is no easy feat. The motorcycle sells for $15 and is available as an option with the set price listed above.

What child doesn't like dinosaurs? Even little girls stop and look at my dinosaur pull toys and puzzles. Parents think they're cool and boys know they're awesome!
Solid 1 1/2" spruce bodies with 3/4" pine wheels and 1" diameter pulls with stings approximately 24" long make these a great choice of pull toy for kids who are just learning to walk or for children a bit older who are coming to appreciate dinosaurs. Makes a great collectible for the dinosaur fan who has (almost) everything. As with the wooden toys above, these come unfinished, but finishing and staining are available as extras. Retail cost is $15 each or 5 for $60 (interchangeable with other pull toys, but not with the vehicles).

 

Pull toys are a great classic toy for small children, and my selection has been steadily growing. Pictured above is just a sample, and of course the dinosaurs in the previous section are included as well.
Currently we have in stock the following: Horse, duck, lamb, lion, gorilla, turtle, kitten, puppy, honeybee and dinosaurs, with plans for more soon. As mentioned with the dinosaurs, all pull toys are $15 each or 5 for $60.

Animal puzzles cover possibly the widest age range of all the toys listed tonight. I typically recommend them for ages 3 and up, but certainly some are appropriate for younger children. Older children will enjoy decorating their puzzles and displaying them. Puzzles can also be custom made according to almost any design or made from any picture. They can also be tailored to different ages by adjusting the number and size of the pieces . Current in stock puzzles include: lion, honeybee, triceratops, T-Rex, apatosaurus, gorilla, hippo, horse, kitten, puppy and more. All puzzles are made from 3/4" pine and sell for $10 + shipping (if applicable). Discounts are available when ordering 5 or more of one design. Ask for details when ordering.

More toys are on the way! More cars and trucks, classic style trains, more puzzles, games and more! Keep checking back regularly to see what's new. Like us on facebook or follow us via google+ or an RSS feed to keep up to date on the latest.

Clock sale and $5 discount opportunities end Thursday night at midnight.