A DAY IN THE LIFE OF EDWARD MULBERRY: THE TOY MAKER. Miniature Crafting Challenge 9: "For the kids".

Dear Readers:

Do you remember the day Edward Mulberry went back to Sweet Berry Valley last Christmas?

From the story :An early christmas present

After a long time living and working in the Big City , he decided to move to his home village to be close to his family and friends.

Nearly five months after his return, he is happily settled in his home town again. He is living with his parents and he really enjoys their company. He sold his car and bought a bike that he rides everyday to go to his workshop, a small place in the centre of the village where he makes and repairs toys.

He has become a popular member in the community , especially among the children who always greet him cheerfully .In the Big City he was a toymaker but in Sweet Berry Valley he is "The Toymaker".

There he is ready to start his working day.

Let´s follow him! Welcome to his workshop!

Every morning,the first thing he does after putting on his apron is to check his agenda.He has some orders to finish today so he´ll better get down to work.

He was about to start cutting a piece of wood when Mortimer Bramble got into the workshop.

"Any chance to make this cart roll again, Edward?" 

"Sure!Come back in an hour and you´ll have it fixed".

Edward was repairing the cart when Nelson and his three children came in.

"Morning, Nelson! Good to see you!"

"Morning, Edward! Is the abacus finished?

"It is indeed! Have a look!"

Nelson´s children were looking forward to seeing what kind of toy was in the box.

Nelson, who is a firm believer in home -schooling, ordered Edward to make an abacus to teach his children to count. 

"Children, look at daddy!Let´s count together: one, two, three..."

Nelson´s efforts to grab his children´s attention were in vain.Tom, Maisy and Sammy were more interested in exploring Edward´s place than in learning numbers.

When Edward finished repairing the pull cart, he put the finishing touches on some toys for the nursery that Lucy Fenton ordered a couple of weeks ago.Every four months there is a birthday party at the nursery and he is the one who makes and delivers the presents to the children.

Shortly after he put the toys in their boxes, Lucy Fenton,came into Edward´s workshop.

"Lucy! I didn´t expect you at all! Wasn´t I suppose to deliver the presents at the birthday party this afternoon?"
"Of course,Edward! I just came to collect the number and letter blocks, if they are ready.I´ve some activities planned  for today and I´d like to use them."

"The blocks are ready, Lucy"

"That´s great, Edward! You even made a box to store them. That´s so nice of you!

"But Lucy...I´m afraid they are quite heavy!. They are made out of solid wood!"

"No problem,Edward! I´m sure The Robisons wouldn´t mind me borrowing one of their supermarket trolleys to carry the blocks to the nursery.

Edward helped Lucy put the box of blocks in the trolley.

"See you at the party then! The children are very excited to meet you!"

"I´ll be there, for sure!".
Edward really enjoys bringing toys to the nursery.Making children happy makes his job very rewarding.

Mortimer and his son came back to collect the pull cart. 

"Thank you for fixing my cart, Mr.Toymaker" 

"My pleasure, Bilberry".

Edward made a good job. The cart rolls out nice and smooth again!

Robert Seashore went to Edwards´workshop to have Créme´s sailing boat fixed.
"Just a bit of strong glue and it´ll look like new."

"Done! Ready to sail again!"
"By the way, Mr.Seashore, would you like to see the pirate ship that I´m making for the Sylvanian Toy Fair?"
"Yes, please, show it to me!You know how much I love ship"

"What do you think, Captain?"
"Edward, you are a very talented man! Would you make one for my granchildren? It would be a lovely present for them.
"I will, Mr.Seashore.I´m kind of busy at the moment but  I´ll get down to it in a few weeks".

It had been a busy morning and Edward was feeling hungry. He sat down to have a break for lunch. 
Suddenly, he heard some familiar kid´s voices and giggles outside the door.

 "Uncle Edward!"
"Candy, Ike! What a surprise!It´s great to see you!"
Edward´s niece and nephew love to visit his uncle´s worshop.
They usually visit him twice a week after school.

Today, their friend Tilly Dappledawn came with them. 
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mulberry!"
"Nice meeting you too, Tilly"

Every now and then, Edward treats his niece and nephew to a litle handmade gift.
Early in the week he made some yo-yos specially for them.
" Who wants a yo-yo?"
"Me, please! Can I have the yellow one?" Candy was quick to chose.

The three children thanked Edward for the little gift and they started playing with their yo-yos making them go up and down.

Candy´s and Ike´s unexpected visit made Edward rushed to finish his sandwich and ride to the nursery. The birthday party must have already started and he was in charge of  the presents.

When he arrived at the nursery the children´s eyes widen and they all stared at him with a big smile on their faces.They were thrilled to see Edward.
"Hurray! The Toymaker is here" they all shouted a the same time.
"You´re just on time for the cake, Edward!" Lucy said .

 After eating the cake and the rest of the goodies Lucy had prepared, it was time to open the presents.
Today´s party was to celebrate Poppy´s and Henry´s birthdays.

Both seemed to be very pleased with their new toys.
Quoits for Poppy and a bead roller coaster for Henry.

"Well done, Henry!" Lucy encouraged the children as the were throwing the rings. 

The bead roller coaster is also fun!

Let´s build a tall tower block!

While he was looking at the children having fun with their new toys,Edward felt very proud to be a toy maker. He couldn´t think of any job as rewarding as his. He remembered his mother´s words the day  he moved to the Big City to look for a job. "Do what makes you happy as long as you make others happy". Edward is feeling like he has done the right thing.

After the birthday party, Edward rode back to his workshop. 
On his way, he saw Nelson playing with his children. It seems they enjoy sport more than Maths.

Back at his worshop,Edward looked around and thought it was time to tidy it up a little bit.

When everything was clean and tidy it was nearly closing time.
He didn´t expect any more customers so he sat down to design a new toy house.

He was concentated on his work when his parents turned up.

"Mother, father! What are you doing here?"
He asked with suprise.
"We are just back from a day trip.We saw your bike outside the workshop when we stopped at the supermarket to buy something for dinner. "Mildred explained.
"It´s nearly half five so it´s time to call it a day, son.It´s not the first time you fall asleep at your workbench" George added.

"I´m actually waiting for a friend.We arranged to meet for a drink after work. He will be here any minute".

At that very moment, Monty Kennelworth came into the workshop.
"Monty! How are you doing?" Mildred and George were glad to see him.
"I´m doing fine,thanks.Would you like to join us for a drink?" Monty suggested.
"What do you think Mildred?" George asked  his wife.
"Just for one,I´m a bit thirsty. Let´s go." She said cheerfuly.

"We´ll meet up with you at the pub" George said as he started his motorbike.

Once there, they sat down in their favourite corner and ordered their drinks.

Edward raised his glass and said:
"I´d like to propose a toast"

They all clinked their drinks and said :"CHEERS!"

Edward had lots of good reasons for a toast.

He was very happy to be back in Sweet Berry Valley. He had a loving family, good friends, he was warmly welcomed by all  the villagers and he had the best job he could wish for.

Life was treating him well!

My dear readers: I really hope life treats all of you well!

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This story was inspired by the theme proposed for the 9th Creative Crafting Challenge: "For the kids".

This challenge was a good opportunity to make some miniature toys and to show you how Edward settled in Sweet Berry Valley.

The first toy I made was the quoits.

I don´t know which set the box belongs to (it was included in a second hand set I bought)but it inspired me to make this toy (If you recognize  which set the box for the quoits belongs to, I´d like you to let me know. I´m just curious about it)

It is a very simple but effective project at the same time.
You just need thin foam, a flower shaped button (you can also make a flower out of foam),a piece of a wood skewer or a toothpick.
For the rings I used worn out markers. 

Then, I made the bead roller coaster. Foxintripyshocks post about using beads for miniatures inspired me to make it.

I used wire that I painted with nail varnish. She used coloured paper clips but my beads were very small and didn´t go through the clips so I used wire instead.

She used a plastic bottle top and I used a small piece of balsa wood.

The abacus was made with the same materials I used for the bead roller coaster.

I thought it was going to be quick and easy but it took me much more time than I thought. I had to start from scratch several times.Balsa wood is very fragile and it breaks easily. 

The blocks were easy-peasy!I found these small blocks at a craft store and these stickers. I used foam for the box.

For the yo-yos I used thumbtacks. I saw my daughter playing with a yo-yo and I decided to try making a mini version.

It was an easy project but it was hard to stick the thumbstacks together . I had to paste some paper to them . Otherwise, the glue wouldn´t get the two parts attached.When the two parts were stuck together, I just rolled some thread.

There´s no much to explain about the boats. A pistachio shell,red nail varnish, a toothpick and  a bit of fabric for the sailboat. For the pirate ship I used a nutshell, two toothpicks , a bit of balsa wood to stick the toothpicks to the nutshell, black foam  and a tiny piece of dotted ribbon for the flag. 

I also made the three school bags.I had made some school bags before but this time, I tried a new technique .I think it´s quite easy (ha-ha no sewing needed).

Long time ago, I bought some foam core board to make a pavement that I haven´t started yet.
I used that material for the school bags.
Here you have some pictures of the process.
For the first one I made, I used glue to stick the felt around the school bag. For the other two I used double sided tape and it worked quite well.

That was a long post! Actually two posts in one!

Hope you enjoyed today´s story and/or DIY miniatures.

Thank you very much for reading!

A big hug!

Susan Wheeler ´s illustration