The trouble my children have with sharing toys isn't usually their lack of desire to share, it is mostly their lack of desire for sharing to interrupt their own toy enjoyment.
Take, for example, our doll farm. This is what my four year old calls a wooden barn house where all the small doll live with their tiny pieces of furniture and accessories. Also residing in the doll farm are the many tiny animals that belong to my two year old.
For the most part, these toys live together in harmony. Unfortunately, for the two year old to get to his toys, he must rummage through his older sister's well-organized doll house.
The solution? The felt barn toy carrier.
This is inspired by one of my favorite tutorials from UKLass. This tutorial also appeared in One Yard Wonders, but I personally like the original dollhouse from the blog the best.
I decided against the fold out design and side closures because two is a delicate age where all sorts of hidden toy elements set off tantrums on occasion. Best to steer clear with something more straight forward that I won't have to open and close a thousand times a day to appease two year old whims.
Take, for example, our doll farm. This is what my four year old calls a wooden barn house where all the small doll live with their tiny pieces of furniture and accessories. Also residing in the doll farm are the many tiny animals that belong to my two year old.
For the most part, these toys live together in harmony. Unfortunately, for the two year old to get to his toys, he must rummage through his older sister's well-organized doll house.
The solution? The felt barn toy carrier.
This is inspired by one of my favorite tutorials from UKLass. This tutorial also appeared in One Yard Wonders, but I personally like the original dollhouse from the blog the best.
I decided against the fold out design and side closures because two is a delicate age where all sorts of hidden toy elements set off tantrums on occasion. Best to steer clear with something more straight forward that I won't have to open and close a thousand times a day to appease two year old whims.
The toy barn lives inside the larger doll farm and keeps the tinier animals organized and out of the way. Simple enough for a two year old to pick up before bedtime. This way everyone is happy and can continue to play nicely together without too much trouble.
And yes, the velociraptor lives on the farm as well.
December 20, 2010 at 4:32 PM
This is so neat. I know my boys would love it....but I better make three of them...one for each son.
Thank you for sharing this fabulous craft, I hope you will consider linking it up to the Wednesday Window, where we feature all the best blog posts every week.
You just got yourself a new follower..
I made Danish Christmas Hearts and Paper Christmas Stars to cheer up our tree.
Happy Holidays!
JRFrugalMom from
Frugality Is Free
December 20, 2010 at 4:48 PM
Thanks for stopping by, I'll surely try to link up on Wednesday. The key with this barn is to reinforce the structure between layers with plastic canvas (like UKLass suggested) but my dimensions are sized down a bit to fit the felt sheets I had on hand.
December 20, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Really a nice idea! I am making fabric birds for my 5 yr old niece and wanted something to put them in. This might do the trick!
December 20, 2010 at 7:41 PM
Christie- Thanks for stopping by. I want to also make a little fairy hut for my 4yo but needed a more immediate toy solution for the farm animals. I think a good cotton print would do the trick as well, no need to stop at felt.
December 21, 2010 at 7:10 PM
What a sweet lil' barn:) You could use the basic idea for quite a variety of "buildings". I can almost envision a small town of them!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you and your family!!
December 21, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Hey Denise- I can definitely see that there will be many more of these little barns/houses/fairy huts and more in my future. Thanks for stopping by.