Partner in Crime: ‘Made by Joel’ Kiddo Games Repurposed for Grown-Ups
Joel Henriques is the toymaker, father, and writer behind the blog Made by Joel and book Made to Play! and an official LDO Partner in Crime. His goal is to make the creative process accessible to everyone, and encourage kids to fashion art using simple, affordable materials. We dig that message, so we’ve curated 3 of Joel’s kewl-est DIY posts that can very effectively be re-purposed for grown-ups.
Knights Battle - Lego vs. Made by Joel: Joel’s son is said to be a huge, massive, crazytown fan of Lego Knights (can you blame him?) so, Joel put his craftsmanship to the test (pictured above) making a wooden knight to see who would win the battle. LDO says: Repurpose this game to reconcile couple conflicts regarding who will wash the dishes after dinner, or to choose which concert you’ll go to for date night, fair & square.
“Prepare for Take-Off” - Ewok Launcher: Joel’s abundance of scrap wood made it a no-brainer to use his smaller pieces to craft up a good ol’ action figure launcher, after his 5yo daughter discovered the wonders of catapulting various pieces of food across the kitchen with her spoon at dinnertime. LDO Says: Repurpose these launchers to safely + easily pass the remote control across the living room, pass the syrup at the breakfast table, or use them at the office to launch reports to your co-workers up to 5 desks away.
Baby Toy Slot - Converse Box Edition: Joel’s baby-kiddo made playing with one of the family’s vintage cash registers a favorite pastime. So, Joel and older-kiddos joined forces to make this game more baby-friendly by cutting holes in the top of a grown-up’s Converse box and pairing it with hand-painted coins (with non-toxic paint, duh) for baby-kiddo to play with. LDO Says: Repurpose this game using real, grown-up Ca$h Money. You can save up for a family trip somewhere tropical and encourage the kiddos have their own cash register, to save up their own spending money on the big family vacay (or at the ice cream truck… whichever comes first).
