When making something for your unique, amazing, pretty little 2year old niece, you make it with excitement, energy and precision! The idea was not mine! I was looking online last week to find something to make for her, instead of buying something that would last for 3 days and I found this blog post. I copied the idea with some differences though.
And, since I am certain that you too want to make this amazing toy for your child/niece/nephew/godson etc, I’ll write it down for you with all the details.
You’ll need:
- 2 beams, 3 meters long with a 4,5 cm side
- Food coloring
- Vinegar
- Saw
- Sander
- Sanding paper (120)
The logic of the game is that it follows the shape of a pyramid. We begin with the highest blocks in the center and while moving outwards, we make the blocks shorter. The following sketch might help you a lot better.
So, you cut the wood according to the sketch. The height lowers accordingly to the beam’s side size. What you want is for the smallest ones to be cubes. So from row to row the difference is 4,5 cm. I had the wood cut at the hardware store where I bought it, but they could only cut it up to 18cm, and no less. So, all the rest I had to cut myself. That took me around 45 minutes.
Here are the 18cm ones.
And here are the rest.
After I cut everything, I HAD to sand the corners in order for the blocks not to be dangerous. That’s one of the differences of my edition of the blocks. And that was the hardest part that took me 2,5 hours and gave me a temporary Parkinsons disease and a two hour loss of hearing!
Wood, ready!
And then, before the paint, I made this gif! 🙂
Finally, since the blocks are meant for little kids, they need to be as safe as possible. That’s why I painted it with food coloring that is non-toxic. Mix 2-3 drops of the food coloring with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar and start painting. You can experiment with the quantities and due to the wood that is very absorbing you can get many different shades. I experimented with the blue a lot.
This took me around 1 hour, and the result is very rewarding. And now I give you a lot of pictures of the final result because I am super happy and excited!
Oh, I almost forgot, you need to also make a tray to put them in. I suggest you make the blocks first, then measure and then make it. I used nails, nothing hard to do.
For my next kids project, I am thinking about a wooden puzzle! Any other ideas?
