Wooden Waldorf style animals

 We like wooden animal toys. We like them a lot. As far as my pre-schooler is concerned, 12 little wooden ducks is way better than 2. They can have parades. They can all go to a restaurant and eat noodles together.  They can all pile into a bag and get carried up and down the stairs over and over again for no apparent reason. You just can't do that with two (for some reason...).
So I have found that designing and creating them on my own is far more satisfying - and interesting - and bank-friendly - than spending untold sums on the store-bought varieties. I did not own a single power tool until I started making these, which tells you how much of an expert I was.
So to get started, I tried searching the web for a good tutorial, and found surprisingly little. Though I still can't claim to be an expert, I have now gained enough experience that I can provide some useful advice for those who want to give it a go.

Incidentally, if you buy these from my shop on Etsy, this will give you an idea of what goes into each one!

Briefly, here are the steps involved in creating your own wooden animal toys like those pictured here.

(1) design - draw your critter out on paper
(2) cut - use a scroll saw or band saw to cut the wood
(3) carve - please don't use box knives. Carving knives.
(4) sand - at least 3 grits. maybe 6.
(4.5) optional step - woodburning
(5) paint - non-toxic paints!
(6) finish - food grade oil and wax finish

(1) The first step is to draw out your pattern on a piece of paper. You can draw pretty much whatever you want, but here are a few tips. First any long thin pieces - think tails, antlers, horns, skinny legs - are likely to break if they are too long and thin. This is disappointing for an older child, and potentially dangerous for a small child since the broken parts could be a choking hazard. So, aim for chunky designs. Next, any narrow openings (e.g. between ears) are very difficult to carve, sand, and paint. This isn't a huge problem, but might make the finished version look less polished if you are going for a nice finish. So again, keep the design simple. If you will only be making one of a given type, you can cut out your paper design and trace it directly onto the wood. However, if you may want to make multiple copies, it is worth tracing your pattern onto something sturdier like cardboard (e.g. cereal or cracker box), then using that to trace onto the wood. Voila - stage 1 complete.

(1b): Just kidding! First, a note about wood. Pine is very cheap, and very soft. It's easy to cut, carve and sand, and soaks up the paints. However, pine will take dents and chips really quickly - so toys made of pine will start to wear pretty quickly. On the other end of the spectrum, maple and birch are very strong and close grained, meaning that they sand to a beautifully smooth finish and are quite solid. The down side of these is that they are quite a bit heavier than pine (if a younger child might throw it), they are harder to work, and they don't take paint as well. For this reason, maple and birch are my favorites for teething and baby toys - things with simple shapes that do not need much paint, but that I want to be velvety soft. A nice compromise is poplar. It is relatively easy to work, and it takes color well, but it's stronger than pine and won't take damage quite as quickly. Poplar is what I use for most animal toys that will be painted and are geared for older children (3+).
Typically I use 1/2 or 3/4 thickness, depending on how big the final product will be. Anything smaller than about 2 inches looks better at 1/2 inch thick, while larger sizes are sturdier at 3/4 inch thick.

(2) This part is pretty self explanatory. Using a scroll saw or a band saw, cut out the shape from the wood. If you don't have power tools, but have a lot of motivation, you could hand-cut using a jigsaw instead. Then you'll decide you never want to do that again, and that it's worth it to go find a band saw. Try  Craigslist.

(3) This step, for some reason, was the trickiest for me to figure out. Somehow I made it this far in the world without being aware of carving knives. Just sanding the sawn edges works, but doesn't give the nice contours that I wanted - much less the little details like spaces between ears or paws. Realizing that there must be something obvious I was missing for ways to shape wood, I finally stumbled on what was, indeed, obvious. Carve it. Please use strong, sharp knives designed for the purpose, rather than risking your fingers and eyeballs with a razor blade. I use Flexcuts like  these and love them! The guy in the woodworking store would not let me leave with my new knives unless I also got a glove to keep from cutting off my fingers. These woodworking guys turn out to know their business, and should be listened to.

(4) Sand, starting with either 60 or 80 grit. In the first pass, get all of the blemishes, edges, and marks that you want to get - do NOT leave them thinking that the next rounds will smooth them out. If 60 grit doesn't do it, nothing will. Once everything is smooth, do a round at 100 grit, then 150, then 220 (or so). Now,  if you didn't listen and still have saw marks, go back and clean those up with your 60 grit, then go back over with all the others to clean up the scratches you made. Your critter should be incredibly smooth now.

(4.5) This is optional, but I prefer to use a woodburner for dark features like eyes. This way they are very durable and guaranteed not to smudge.

(5) Wipe everyone down with a damp cloth to get the sawdust off, then it's time to paint! I like watercolors on wood - but that's up to you. Be careful of getting too much water, which will allow the paints to run along the grain if you're using poplar or pine (not such a problem of birch or maple, though these don't absorb the color as well). One nice effect of woodburning is that it slows bleeding of paints across woodburned lines. You'll want to let your paints dry for at least 24 hours before moving on to finishing.

(6) There are tons of options here, from polyurethane (very safe once cured) to plain old mineral (baby) oil. Too many options to review them all. However, my favorite is a home-made blend of beeswax and oil. The oil soaks into the wood, and the beeswax provides an outer protective coating - and all are food-safe and nontoxic. Which oils? There are various options, like mineral oil (often used for chopping block and salad bowl conditioners, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or walnut oil. In an ideal world, I would use beeswax with walnut oil - but walnut oil  can be difficult to get ahold of, so I often use coconut and/or olive oil instead.  Melt them together in a double-boiler, and let them cool. Then, apply a thick coat to the wooden animal and let it sit out for at least an hour (maybe overnight). Use a clean, soft cloth to wipe away the excess and polish it - then apply a second coat and let that one sit for an hour as well. Wipe it away, and you're done.

(6b) Well, almost! After they have been wiped clean, you may still need to let the animal sit for a day or two for the finish to cure - it depends a little on what kind of finish you picked. If they still feel a little greasy, give it a day or two before you hand the toys over to your kids. So, in total, plan to start these at least 3-4 days before you'll need them - One day to cut and carve, another day to sand and paint, then another day to finish, and a day or two to cure.