I made my own "Ostheimer" figure!

[momma_unlimited]

So this has been my first attempt, using only a dremel tool and scrap of firewood.  I painted it with non toxic paints from Joann's (it is only .59 per color!).  I still need to determine a coating that will make it shiny and protect it- any ideas?  It is about the height of my pinky finger.

I am going to make a whole set of woodland creatures and some trees... between that and a new co-op I am joining, I have finally figured out how to do Waldorf on a budget!

[Carhootel]

that's adorable!! I really want a scroll saw so I can make some little creatures, I never thought of doing it with just a dremel!

[Melaniee]

Adorable!

[WindyCityMom]

Cool!  My husband has a dremel thingamabob.  I should borrow that...

[MommaLura]

beautiful!!

[monkeyma]

Very cute! Now I want to get a dremel and make some cute people. Would the tool you have do arms and legs? Or is it better for basic shaping?  

I don't know if this would work over paint, but I know beeswax finishes are really nice. You make a double boiler, melt beeswax, then add 3 parts joboba oil to one part beeswax. After it cools you apply it. You can get them premade, too. 

[Jenn_M]

Very cute!!!  I've had a scroll saw on my Christmas list for several years but people must think I'm kidding ;)

[RollerCoasterMama]

A cheap and easy way to seal is Mod Podge.  I tried beeswax polish, mineral oil, and something else that I'm blanking on right now on my first animals...but we didn't paint them properly...water color but used it like acrylics...very heavy and the minute they got wet, the paint came off.  The day I found my toddler with a pink face and a wood colored little piglet, I quit messing around and sealed everything with Mod Podge.  It might not be the most natural finish in the world, but it did the trick for us and saved those animals I'd worked so many hours on!!   And it was much easier to get ahold of then non-toxic varnish!!! 

Congrats!  Making toys for your little ones is So Much Fun!  The only downside...it can get addictive and suddenly you find you've got more than you could possibly need!  (Ask how I know!!)  Have fun!!!

Edited by RollerCoasterMama - 12/7/10 at 7:36am

[Plarka]

Do you know what kind of part you used with the Dremel? My husband recently bought one so we could make wooden toys and Ostheimer things, but then said we needed this table saw attachment.  When that arrived, he tried it and said it wouldn't work on anything thicker than like a half inch!  What do we need to make it work?

And I just bought some suuuper expensive Stockmar watercolors to paint whatever wooden toys we manage to make, not happy to hear they come off immediately in a baby's mouth!!! At least we can just use them for wet on wet painting though!

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by Plarka 

And I just bought some suuuper expensive Stockmar watercolors to paint whatever wooden toys we manage to make, not happy to hear they come off immediately in a baby's mouth!!! At least we can just use them for wet on wet painting though!

Oh!  Didn't mean to spook you.  Our problem was doing it wrong.  I don't have any experience painting.  DS's dad claimed to, so I followed his lead.  He used the watercolors like oil paint.  THICK.  So it wasn't the pretty muted tones you usually see where the wood is just stained.  If you do it that way, then the beeswax polish works fine.  I just didn't feel like sanding everything and starting over, so I sealed them.  I did try it the proper way when I made some dinos a few months later.  Worked great!  One even took a trip through the washing machine and is still nice and green.  :) 
 

[Plarka]

Phew, thanks for explaining!

[elus0814]

That looks great!

[honeybunmom]

Well done; super cute!

[momma_unlimited]

Monkeyma-

I think you could make arms and legs, depending on how detailed/what angle they are at.  I have the basic kit and the cutter is a circle about the diameter of a nickel.  Then the little sanding/smoothing tool is maybe the diameter of a pea.  So you can go pretty small. =)  There may be more cutting options if you buy a cutting accessory kit tho!  I know I was thinking of getting a routing kit to go with it.  I have this amazing idea for a castle but I'd need a router to make the pieces interlock right.  I am totally going to try the beeswa/jojoba finish.  Hopefully with the acrylic paint it won't smear.

Plarka- I didn't use a table saw, just a plain old handheld dremel 200,  With the basic accessory kit,  Really I only used the cutter and sander, a little sandpaper too.  Oh wait; to start off, my husband did cut me a small piece of wood off of a huge chunk using his Skil Saw, but I think I could still have managed without that, it would just wear out the cutter faster- but these parts won't last forever, I know with the sander accessory it has to be replaced from time to time. 

Rollercoaster Mama-

Yes this is so fun, I don't think I'll ever buy them toys again!  After all, the whole "Waldorf" toy ideal is that it be handmade with warmth and love... nothing better than someone making it for a specific child right?

[Plarka]

Do you know what the cutter tool accessory is? My husband isn't sure if we have one.

[Tilia]

That is adorable!

[momma_unlimited]

 

Do you know what the cutter tool accessory is? My husband isn't sure if we have one.

 http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=426

This says it is for "thin wood" but it worked for me. I was using pine, which is softer.  Might need the "rip and crosscut blade" for hard wood. I also here that you can buy a "mini" circular saw for the dremel.  Might be a good idea now that I envision creating entire kingdoms of animals and people! 

If you go to dremel.com there is a search tool called "accessory fast-finder" and you can enter which model dremel you have, what action (cutting, sanding, etc) you wish to do, and on what type of material, and it will tell you and show a picture. =)