Wooden Waldorf blocks

I love the wooden blocks from Waldorf stores, like these ones, they are just so natural and open-ended but are also quite expensive. I thought it should not be too difficult to make my own and was right! The most difficult part was to find the right wood. Here in Texas you just don't so easily find smooth-barked trees in a park like the ones up north. But I finally found a couple of nice dry juniper sticks and set to work. My husband taught me how to use a power saw (I loved it!) and I created different length blocks. I did not think it necessary to do them in increments like the ones in stores but I could have. Next I sanded the cut ends and removed sharp side branches. I finished cut ends with an oil-beeswax mix (directions I used can be found here) and polished them with a cloth. They smell divine and I just love how they turned out. Now I need to find other diameters and also make some longitudinal cuts to create long narrow pieces. So many possibilities with these! Below are some ways we have already used them.

 Stacking

 Building structures and furniture

Nature table