The Pine Grove Art Exhibit of Wooden Toy and Gift

I'm posting a few photos here of the exhibit we set up in a Rowley school's Art Gallery Alcoves.

As one of her former co-workers explained, 

The Gallery is named in memory of Pat Marshall (thus the Pat Marshall Link Art Gallery)  and it was originally called the Link gallery, for the fact that that space "linked" all the wings of the school, and as a gallery, we hoped it would "link" the school and community. Pat was a much loved teacher, assistant principal, and then principal at Pine Grove.  She cared deeply about her staff and students and always put them first.  Pine Grove became an award winning school under her leadership.

Many of these wooden items are already listed for sale in the webstore at www.woodentoyandgift.net, and others will soon be added. (The quilts in the background of each alcove will be added to Quilters' Quarters web store soon - www.terrycrawfordpalardy.com)

Here's a look at some of the trucks placed in the "Under Construction" alcove display:

Fall Season is ending; Winter changes are ahead.

We've had some time this fall to think about the changes ahead for Wooden Toy and Gift.  The larger pieces, including the rocking motorcycle and 18" doll furniture are dwindling in numbers. They continue to be sold with a 30% discount to lucky buyers who will  have items in the limited collection designed and made by Rick. The shop will be adding more plaques, puzzles and small wooden items in place of the larger ones.

Please stop in to see us on Small Business Saturday (November 30, 2013. We'll be celebrating the new Quilters' Quarters with door prizes and discounts on fabric, batting, sewing notions and more. And of course, we'll be serving hot cocoa and home made cookies.

Visit our webstore at the www.woodentoyandgift.net site to find which items are still in stock and on sale. Or come visit us and save shipping cost! We'd love to see you.

Fall Clearance Sale!

The beautiful weather has seen Rick and Terry out front this weekend. With a multi-family yard sale next door benefitting a young girl's college fund, Wooden Toy and Gift has again set up the canopies and is offering a great price on the larger wooden toys that Rick makes.

Rick is going to begin focusing on the smaller, more detailed scroll saw work, creating  plaques for many special occasions. Weddings, births, retirements, homecomings ... college, military and public service affiliations ... disability awareness butterflies and angels, large and pocket size ... along with the smaller-sized trucks and puzzles that intrigue and inspire creativity and imagination in young children ... these are the items he will continue making. "Beautiful things that make people happy" is still his goal; toys that allow kids to think and enjoy playing with for years ... things that will last from generation to generation ... these are the things that are worth the time and care he puts into his work.

And so, from now until the larger items are sold out, Rick is offering them at a 1/3 discount. This may be the last chance for shoppers to acquire the large rocking motor cycle and the 18" doll furniture pieces:  his  pedestal dining table and arm chairs, the armoire, china hutch, grandfather clock, bureau and picket fence bed will all become collectors' items of
limited numbers. You really don't want to miss this pre-holiday clearance sale!

In place of the larger items, space in the shop will be refurbished to accommodate a woodworker's and a quilter's dreams ... for several years now, Georgetown has been without its Five and Ten Cent hardware/general store in town. When Cressy's closed downtown, a piece of Georgetown's history was lost. The place where local shoppers could stop in and find almost anything they were looking for had met the needs of local quilters for many decades. While Wooden Toy and Gift can't physically accommodate all of those varied shoppers, there is a small group whose needs have not been met by the other retail stores in town: stitchers have had to go out of town to find those essential little notions to begin or finish their quilts and fabric needs.

The second half of Wooden Toy and Gift known as Terry's Thoughts and Threads will expand to fill the open space. Fabrics, threads, needles and pins, batting, trims, patterns and books will begin to appear in the first floor shop, and sewing lessons will be offered in the space.  In time, the second floor will become a quilters' studio where lessons for beginners and small groups of quilting friends can gather to share ideas and skills with an end-goal of producing small quilts that will be donated to those in need. As the disability plaques honor those who face and meet challenges, the charitable quilts will warm those in need of a bit of comfort and love.

A little bit of the town's history will be reborn ... memories of the centuries past will be reawakened as Terry shares her knowledge and care of treadle machines ... . Rick will continue to honor the accomplishments and courageous battles of those who face illness and those who face challenges in protecting our way of life. And together, they will continue to use all that they have to fulfill their retirement dreams of hosting local shoppers in the little shop "just two doors north of Perley School" in Georgetown, Massachusetts.

Watch for the clearance sales, and listen for news of the quilt shop's opening. There will be updates here at the WTandGNews.blogspot.com, at www.WoodenToyandGift.net, at www.TerryCrawfordPalardy.com. and on our Facebook pages for Wooden Toy and Gift and Terry's Thoughts and Threads.

And watch for a new book that will surely follow all of these events ... the Happily Ever After years of Rick and Terry's retirement are coming true~

Wooden Furniture for 18" Dolls

As we wrote in a previous post, Rick often works with select quality Eastern White Pine, and sands and rubs the wood to a beautiful natural finish. He doesn't use stain on the woods, instead leaving them "unfinished," which is a misleading word. He prefers to sell the items in a non-toxic state, leaving the choice of natural or color to the customer. In the case of the motorcycle, we know of two that were changed: one was painted to match Grampy's purple motorcycle, and one was treated with several coats of clear spray varnish to enhance the beauty of the wood and the durability of the heirloom.

Rick finishes his doll furniture, also made of select quality Eastern White Pine, in the same way. He designed the picket fence bed many years ago, and made a headboard for a twin size bed to match. The full size headboard was soon purchased, and though he hasn't made another, he would if asked; one customer asked for a bureau, and Rick made one with deep drawers to hold doll clothes. Because these dolls have many outfits, one bureau was not enough. So Rick made an armoire to hold fancy dresses and shoes.

He's made a 'pedestal table' and arm chairs out of high quality plywood with carefully scroll-sawn patterns in the chairs' backs. To complement the table and chairs, he's made a china hutch with linen storage benath and a grandfather clock with working movement: the only battery powered item in his collection!

Terry dresses the table with a 100% cotton, washable table cloth, coordinating napkins and seat pillows. It makes for quite a display when the table set, hutch and grandfather clock are used together. Tea sets of old can be purchased at many gift shops - plastic sets for younger children are available at many mall toy store chains.

Due to the small cabinet door handles, these pieces are not recommended for children under four. But once your children are interested in the 18" dolls and their accompanying stories, this furniture is a very good investment. Children playing with tea sets and dolls often become very creative in their thoughts and vocabularies. Many hours of good old fashioned fun will take place around this table!

It's important to note that these pieces also nicely accommodate a family of teddy bears~ He even made a park bench to allow the dolls or teddies to chat about books outside.

Visit our webstore at www.woodentoyandgift.net to find these furniture pieces, or drop by our shop to see them in person. We'd love to introduce you to our dolls and teddies and have you join their tea party!