Remember these easy scrap wood toy projects I shared recently? #2 – The Wooden Medals – had me at “hello”. The idea is remarkably simple, attractive, highly customizable. Easy! So I made them. And I loved it!

This easy scrap wood toy project is beginner-level friendly, though it does involve sewing, woodworking, and assemblage. If you don’t feel confident about making your own wood cuts from scratch, you can easily order some online from any crafts site.

You’ll need: 

 
  • Scrap wood cuts, finely sanded.
  • Leftover fabrics for the ribbons.
  • Wire loops (preferred) or sturdy string
  • Threads and needles
  • Safety pins
  • Optional – any small adorn you have at the bottom of your crafts box. I had some plastic bracelet charms. You may also use small coins, fake jewels or loose beads. However, you better skip this step if you have babies or toddlers around.
Step 1. Cut and sand your medals finely.
Step 2. Drill small holes to attach the ribbons.
Step 3. Cut your ribbons. Size them accordingly to your medals so they will look good together. You’ll want to fold it few times for the desired thickness. Mine were approximately 4×16 centimeters.
Step 4.. Fold ribbons carefully, keeping your desired design on top. I didn’t hem the edges. You might, if you want to, but I think it’s just as good if you leave them as is.
Step 5. Sew around each ribbon couple times.
Step 6. OPTIONAL. Sew the safety pins to the ribbons. This way it’ll be much easier to pin them on. Just zigzag over it, securing the pin to fabric. If you don’t feel like it, skip this step, you might as well just pin the ribbon to the t-shirt.
EXTRA. Waxing may add a nice vibrancy to the wood texture. BUT, don’t wax your medals if you plan to use hot glue! It won’t stick.
Step 6. Attach your ornaments to the medals. For half of them, I used tiny screws. Since I only had four, I quickly ran out and finished others with hot glue gun. Worked even better!
Step 7. Attach the medals to the ribbons with wire loops or string.

 

Ta-daaa!
Lovely. I’m very excited about how they turned out. I adore how each one has its own idea and can be interpreted in so many ways.
Gender-neutral, roleplay-friendly, highly customizable and simply adorable. A perfect little giveaway for kids birthday party. This could make a great classroom project, too! Let the kids combine elements to their taste and make one-of-a-kind medal. Instead of using ornaments, you can draw your designs on wood, or color-block it.

Emir is so crazy about hats and glasses and accessories these days. And what are your kids’ favorite picks for the costume play? Share in comments!

 

If you like this project, check out some other nice scrap wood toys from this post, and this tutorial for a cool kid necklace.
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