Cartwheels In My Mind: Weekend Challenge.

IT'S FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!...and I scream-type with in all the enthusiasm of a mother that has been wrestling two very active babies all week and is excited at the idea of Daddy being home all weekend and taking us all to the beach for some much needed away time.)

Speaking of children...I think that for the most part we all have at least one of them that is a part of our lives; whether it's our own, nieces or nephews, grandchildren or even children of a friend...which is why this week's challenge is to design a toy using your art products.

I got the idea to create a toy for Gracie after I saw these shower curtain hooks at Target and couldn't resist buying a pack in every color because I loved them so much. And as soon as I opened the first packet I noticed that when they clicked together they made an almost musical tapping sound that immediately grabbed Gracie's attention, but wasn't so loud that it annoyed the adults in the room.

(I couldn't find them online to share a link but in case you can't see they are REstyle brand.)

So to hold the hooks together, I wrapped the ring part of a keychain around an empty thread spool (as you can see from the fabric I wrapped around the spool, I was learning as I was going, unsure how it was going to end up.)

Once the hooks were all around the spool, I realized that I needed to do something different to make it sturdier and less likely to fall apart if she was playing with it...so I wrapped duct tape around the spool over and over until I was sure that she would be able to get a grip on it and the hooks couldn't hurt her in any way.

Finally, I covered the yellow duct tape with strips of fabric that matched the beads on the hook...making the duct tape hold it together so that there was hardly any glue at all (because I wasn't sure how it would affect her if she would put the toy in her mouth and get glue on it.) And then I tied a long piece of string around the ball to help hold the fabric in place and it was finished!

Supplies: Shower Hooks: Target; Fabric: Joann Fabrics; String and Thread Spool: Vintage.

This was my first attempt to make a toy...but it inspired me to try to use my art supplies to make other unique toys for my kids. Art supplies are so great for that type of thing because they tend to be colorful and eye-catching. And now I have ideas spinning in my head about big tic tac toe boards, handmade dolls and even little cardboard books. And I'd love to see your projects making your art supplies into one-of-a-kind toys!

You just might surprise yourself (and your children) by inventing something amazing. :)

Don't forget to share what you come up with on our flickr board so we can share them here on the site!