Contributing to a Sustainable Local Market

Beginning mid-October this year I started volunteering and selling items at the Wild Ramp, a local food and artisan store selling products grown and made within 250 miles of the store in Huntington, WV.  The Wild Ramp is like an indoor farmer's market where farmers personally drop off their produce and talk with customers; and where handmade artisan products are sold by local community members.  There are only three paid staff members at the Wild Ramp so the store relies heavily on volunteers to keep things going on a weekly basis.  I have been told for several years that Jon and I should sell our handmade toys and wood items that we make.  I always assumed that people wouldn't buy our stuff because of the price we have to charge to make it worth our time.  Well, come to find out, people are willing to pay and it seems that I can't keep up with the demand!  I included a few pictures of items I am currently selling.  Producers pay a $15.00 fee per month to reserve shelf space and receive 90% of the profits.

With the holiday season, I put together a few centerpieces made with holly, pine cones, dried berries, and pine boughs from our woods. 

I have been making holiday wreaths for five years now and they are super easy to make so I made a few to sell.  Like the centerpieces, I gathered supplies in the woods and even tucked a few turkey feathers in the greenery from a friend who raises turkeys.  This was my first year making bows with the help from youtube.

I made a mushroom rattle as a baby gift for a friend four years ago and they were so cute that I made more of them and expanded the rattle design to apple trees and ladybugs.  In less than a month, all of the mushrooms sold!  

On the top shelf in this picture are a bunch of my wooden toys that are really popular at the Wild Ramp.  To see the toys better, click the picture to enlarge.  In one month, I sold all but two of the cars on that shelf and even had a special order for two of the dump trucks.  Like the rattles, I continue to make more and restock the shelf on a weekly basis because they sell out quickly!

Most producers include specific information about their items and where they are located so customers feel more informed about the product.  For instance, meat and dairy products have labels for grass-fed only, grain-finished, free-range, non-GMO feed, etc.  For my toys I tell customers that I use re-purposed wood and seal it with a child-safe linseed and beeswax finish.

These log stools are really cute and modeled after the traditional milking stool.  The logs are gathered from our property.

We are also selling bag drying racks with the message, "Don't throw away your Ziploc bags!  Wash and hang them to dry on this rack."

Overall, volunteering and selling my wares at the Wild Ramp has been a productive use of my time while Paul is in full-day Kindergarten.  Whether it's seeing a customer get excited about my wooden toys or talking about different chicken breeds to the farmer who sells eggs, I have so much fun just being at the Wild Ramp.  It's a place where you feel part of the community and are surrounded by like-minded people. 

Pirate Birthday Party

Being a parent of one child, I understand how fast a child grows up and how I only get to experience the milestones one time.  For instance, Paul just celebrated his 4th birthday and to make it special and memorable we made it pirate-themed!  Paul has been building pirate ships with Legos for about 6 months now and is really into pirates, treasure, and cannons.

Jon and I try to keep things simple around here and birthday parties are no exception.  It's easy to fall prey to all of the disposable decorations and fancy store-bought cakes; but in our house, we find ways to make the day memorable and fun without all the waste and extra spending.

For the treasure hunt, I made a map out of a piece of scrap curtain lining fabric.  The fabric was dyed to give it a more worn look by soaking it in a bucket of hulled walnuts.  Black tea can also give a similar effect.  With crayons, I made a map with a dotted line leading the way to the treasure; landmarks such as the house, barn, and chickens were included.  To finish the map, I burnt the edges to give it a more authentic look with jagged and curled edges.

Our birthday gift to Paul was a treasure chest.  I found the building plans in a book that a friend lent me.  The chest was filled with chocolate gold coins, party favors, and a few gifts from friends.

This treasure chest is unique because to open it, you have to pull out the handles that lock the lid onto the bottom.  There are no hinges.  I purchased the handles from a flea market.

The treasure chest was hidden behind this log along with a pirate flag.  This log has been Paul's "pirate ship" all summer.  This is where his imagination goes wild and cannons and masts materialize out of branches and bark.  We have spent hours up in the woods playing at Paul's pirate ship and having picnics. 

Paul requested a pirate ship cake for his birthday.  It was a little difficult to make but the end result was priceless. Paul helped with the cannons (chocolate-covered pretzel rods) and building the plank (it's on the other side of the cake and it was also made with pretzels).  Paul kept turning the cookie sheet around and around to look at every detail.  The masts were chopsticks with construction paper masts. 

Treat bags included homemade pirate patches, chocolate coins, and Halloween stickers.

Homemade Lincoln Log House

Recently my parents passed down the Lincoln Logs that date back to my Dad's childhood.  I think there are 3 different sets but they are all compatible with each other.  Unfortunately all of the trusses were broken on the ends and there were only 4 roof slats, so I traced the broken trusses onto some scrap plywood and made more roof slats.  With a more complete set, Paul plays with the Lincoln Logs more!

After a few weeks mulling over storage ideas, I came up with a giant Lincoln Log House to store all the pieces in!

The bottom logs are glued and nailed together, and of course there is a solid bottom so the toys don't fall out.  The trusses, roof slats, and chimney are all removable.  They could be glued together and come off as one unit or even have a hinge.  Paul's favorite part of building is putting on the roof so we left it detachable.  The logs were made from 2x4's that Jon put through the router table to round off the corners.  The notches were also made with the router.  

Overall, the project was fun and Paul loves having a big log house!  I enjoy having a separate place for the Lincoln Logs besides a plastic bag or mixed with all the other toys in the toy box. 

Truck & Trailer Toy

It's a good thing my son doesn't know how to use a computer yet!  His birthday may not be until late October, but I just finished his second toy.  All of my projects use scrap wood left over from other projects.  I don't have a hole-saw, so I purchase all of my wheels from a local carpentry shop.  It is rewarding to make Paul's gifts.  Besides a basic woodworking class in middle school, I have no formal training.  Jon and I pick up carpentry skills as we go along.  I enjoy the challenge of finding the right piece of wood and cutting it just right.

Below are a few toys that I have made in the last 1.5 years for Paul.

Did You Have a Paddle Board as a Child?

A neighbor friend gave me a bouncy ball weeks ago for Paul to play with because she was concerned that one of her dogs would ingest it.  Within a few minutes of receiving the ball, I knew exactly what to do with it, make a paddle board!  I had one as a child and I thought it'd be a simple birthday gift for Paul.  This simple project took about 20 minutes to make.  I used scrap plywood we had in the garage; sealed the wood with a linseed/beeswax oil; threaded a rubber band through the ball; and attached the rubber band to the plywood. Total cost: $0.00