Ideas for home made toys...

I thought we could share our ideas for homemade toys. Not that I have any but I would love to hear everyone elses! I also keep throwing away my formula tins but I'm sure there must be something I can use them for

oh i forgot to say that we also use to put alsorts of different textures like dirt, marbles, sand, rice etc in the formula containers and then painted then and Bay loved rolling them around the ground to hear the noises. Of course we only did a few and then the rest of the formula containers turned into nail containers etc for DH garage!

the washing powder sccops are fabulous for bath toys - Jake and Taine spend ages pouring from one to another (would pretend that was my idea but ripped it off old Treasures mag()

i get the empty toilet paper rolls(the cardboard bits)or paper towel rolls, fill them with rice etc,tape the ends shut and u can paint them pretty colours and tash spends ages and ages rolling them and shaking them and she enjoyed painting them too.

we also biuld huts. we have a 6 seater corner suite and each seat is a individual bit(does that make sense) so we can turn it round and use the coffee table as one end and put sheets and blankets over top, tash sits in there for ages with her dolls.

pasta jewellery-i get some macaroni and some wool with a big plastic blunt needle and she threads the macaroni onto the wool then once she finshed tie it together and she can paint it.

you can also make pasta faces-draw a big face on a peice of paper and use pasta for the features. like spirals for the hair,shells for the eyes,macaroni for the eye brows and ears, and we just use what ever for the mouth.

umm thats all i can think of at the moment.
at the moment its help mummy pack and clean. tash takes great delight in unpacking as i am packing and smearing stuff all over the windows and walls....

*bump*

I use polystyrene blocks for Jake to hammer and saw. He has a blast!

I also filled a deep container with rice - some plain, some dyed - and chucked in some measuring containers and spoons and things. Jake digs and measured and pours and shapes and has a great time.

I found that there was no cure for the obsession with the wipes container, so I saved a container for her, washed it out, and used all the different colours of ribbon that I saved (I'm a hoarder) cut them into short lengths, tied them together to make one long rainbow ribbon, and popped it into the wipes container to be pulled out, and out, and out. Keeps her busy for ages!!

I've used an old icecream container, and cut a round hole in one side for her to post ping pong balls through (the balls also make fun bath toys) and in the other side I cut a hole that her blocks fit through. A bit of tape around the holes so no sharp edges, and let her go to town.

Big coke or juice bottles, we fill with water, add some colouring and then add glitter and rice or marbles. tape the lid shut and roll it round the floor, the kids loved it till the dog bit a hole in it.