Hi everyone! We’re super excited to get out this first post in this series about things we love to make. These are products that we sell on our Etsy shops, and of course you’re welcome to purchase them from there ;). However, if you’re reading this blog you’re probably a maker like us, and we want to share our passion with you all. So over the next few weeks we’ll be posting downloadable step-by-step plans, parts lists, and 3D printable models so you can make your own music stations, handheld xylophones, and music cubes.
The most popular products we make are undoubtedly our configurable / collapsible music stations. We make versions in both wood and furniture grade PVC, as shown below. Each frame of the music stations is approximately 3 feet tall by 18 inches wide. The wood music station is made from 2 inch by 2 inch lengths of cedar. The frames connect together to form a cube via a locking screw and hanger, and can then be taken apart for easy storage. We’ve sold a couple of these to preschools, because it allows children to play together while exploring the world of sounds and music making. Encouraging outdoor, exploratory play is very important to us as parents of two young children.
The frames of the PVC music station are connected via 3D printed collars, allow each frame to freely rotate. The frame can be folded up accordion-style when not in use. Because the frames are free-rotating in the collars, the music station can be converted into a cube or zig-zag shape. We’ve even had people unfold it completely and hang it from their fence – using it as a “music wall”.
By the way, furniture grade PVC is awesome (albeit not cheap), comes in a variety of colors, and is great for any project you can come up with. It’s usually available via Amazon prime below (full disclosure – we are Amazon affiliates, and purchasing through our site helps us to keep this blog going!).
Two other toys we’re very proud of are our 3D printable, hand-held xylophone and music cube. Just like the music stations these are our original designs. We will be posting 3D printable files soon.
We make the xylophone keys ourselves from aluminum bar stock. I’m sure we’ll have a whole post devoted to working with aluminum, but the short story is that we cut the keys and drill the holes with a blade and drill bit rated for soft metals. We then polish the keys to a chrome finish. We do this because by making our own keys it ensures a crystal-clear sound every time (as opposed to some of those cheaply made mass-produced musical toys out there), and more importantly its fun…and working with aluminum and other metals is an invaluable skill for any maker.
That’s all for this post! We wanted to give you all an over of these toys, because we’re very proud of them, and let you know that we’ll be posting DIY instructions for each of them soon.
Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think! We can’t wait to continue to work on this series of posts!
