Toy Tutorial - Another Type of Basic Foraging Toy

Another Type of Basic Foraging Toy

This foraging toy is super simple to make and most of the pieces can be found at the dollar store.

In order to make this toy you will need the following supplies:
2 Plastic Children's Plates (Dollar Tree carries them in many colors and animals. I used monkey ones.)
Rex Lace
Pony Beads
3 Small Cups of Some Type - You can use shot glasses or the snack cups like they sell for toddlers. I used tiki style glasses that are slightly larger than shot glasses. I found them at Dollar Tree.


Start by drilling 3 holes in each plate. You will want the holes to be spaced evenly around the plate and in the same location on both plates since this is how you will connect them and hang them in the cage. You will also want to drill one hole in the bottom of each of the cups you will be using at the bottom.

Cut 3 pieces of Rex Lace that are all the same length. These pieces will be what holds the entire thing together. You will need to decide how long you want the entire toy to be and how far apart you want the plates. This will determine how many beads you will need for each strand. Start by tying all 3 strands of Rex Lace around the hook that you want to use to hang the toy in your cage. I use a key ring to tie all of them to and then add a hook to that. From there you will want to add your beads to each strand. I added 19 beads to each strand for this section. After you add your desired number of beads then add one of the plates. To add the plate you just thread the Rex Lace through the holes you drilled. Then add another layer of beads, making it as long as you want the space between your plates to be. I used 16 beads per strand. At this point you can thread your Rex Lace through the second plate. You want it to look like this -

At this point you will want to decide how far down you want your bottom cups to be as well as how many beads your cups will cover. I used 24 beads to get the length shown in the picture. String those beads onto your Rex Lace and then add the cup. You will then tie off your Rex Lace to keep the entire thing secure. I added one additional bead on the bottom of each cup just to help make my knot more secure.

WHERE DID YOU GET THE C LINKS? I HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE. I HAVE A DOLLAR TREE FAMILY DOLLAR DOLLAR GENERAL AND FREDS. WHAT DO YOU USE TO PUNCH HOLES LIKE THROUGH THE PLATES? AND THE PONY BEADS ARE THEY AT THE DOLLAR STORE?

SASSYS MOM wrote:

WHERE DID YOU GET THE C LINKS? I HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE. I HAVE A DOLLAR TREE FAMILY DOLLAR DOLLAR GENERAL AND FREDS. WHAT DO YOU USE TO PUNCH HOLES LIKE THROUGH THE PLATES? AND THE PONY BEADS ARE THEY AT THE DOLLAR STORE?

I ordered my C Links from Amazon. They are also called Learning Links. I used to use a hand powered craft drill to make my holes, but now I am using a regular drill. You just use a small drill bit and drill slowly. Some things will crack, but most of the time the drill does fine. I buy my pony beads at Walmart, Michaels, and Dollar Tree depending on who has what at the time. I actually got a huge container of them from Walmart for $5. You just want to make sure you don't use any that are glow in the dark, glitter, or pearly. Those are bad for the gliders.

C Links

You could also use the links for baby toys, but you would use less of them since they are larger.

ok thanks and i defently would have got glow in the dark thanks for telling me not to.

Love this thread!!

http://www.enasco.com/Search?q=math+links&x=0&y=0

Great place to get c- links. I use them for everything for the gliders so I ordered the 1000 package and it comes with its own tote to store them in!

If you have a store called the School Box near you, they also sell Learning Links aka C links.

I've got some tutorials on toy making posted on GG....would you guys like me to post them here as well?

That would be great! Thank you.

LOVE!!!!