Comments on: Looking for Vintage Wooden Blocks

By: Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Eleanor’s Nursery

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:32:36 +0000

[...] and its little built-in shelves. Quite a while back, I had decided to fill those shelves with wooden blocks and spools. I’ve also added a vintage pull-toy that I picked up at a garage sale and a name train that [...]

By: Lynne

Lynne — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:24:58 +0000

I totally don’t have the know-how, but I think it would be great if they could be made into the base of a lamp! I think they would look great in a kid’s room.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:53:04 +0000

Hi! I love the blocks idea! You will have a while until he can actually play with them. I think they are a great design idea !

By: Terri

Terri — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:13:11 +0000

Hi – I usually lurk (love your design ideas!), but this post on lead brings me out of hiding. If you must have vintage blocks, please do as Emily suggested and get them tested for lead.

I was one of those moms who thought the lead/plastic worries were all hype….but my son tested on the high end of normal for lead at his 1 year baby visit.

We used an at-home lead test kit and found that there was some lead paint residue on the exterior of our vintage building’s shutters/windows. Lead dust from exterior sources can get on your interior window sills and blinds….and little hands and mouths love those window sills! We are on pins and needles until we have him re-tested at 18 months and just hope the levels have gone down instead of up. You can get the kits at online and at most hardware stores.

On a lighter note, here are some vintage-like blocks made in the US for those bilingual babes out there!

http://www.ilcoccodimamma.com/shop/toys.html

Congrats on your pregnancy…kiddos are so much fun!

By: Kelli

Kelli — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:06:15 +0000

If you like the old blocks, go with it. It will be a while before he will be able to reach those shelves, or those blocks and by then you could be totally over the blocks; or you could just move them to a higher location.

By: leslie

leslie — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:38:47 +0000

I’ve been reading a book, “Healthy Child, Healthy World,” and it’s really opened my eyes about being more aware of the pollutants we’re bringing into our homes (via toys, furniture, food, bath and body products, candles etc). I wish this book were around when I was pregnant with my first child (8 years ago). I’m going to make some immediate changes (one of the first being removing items with lead) in my home. I *highly* recommend reading it! It’s surprising to learn how lead can creep into our bodies. . .so many different ways, not just via lead based paint.

And unrelated to the book, we’re also looking into detoxing via chelation to remove heavy metals (including lead) from my son’s body. . . he’s on the Autism Spectrum. And some studies have shown there’s a link between lead and autism.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

By: tonia conger

tonia conger — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:31:09 +0000

Those blocks are beautiful! The perfect thing to put in those shelves whether it’s a girl or a boy! I’ve always been a fan of the older wooden toys. They look like they belong in a toy box much more than the thousand pieces of plastic that kids play with now.

By: jja

jja — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:00:29 +0000

Abiout cubes – just take care they are made from eco colour and ahve a certain safety certificate, we in europe have TüV or something similar, cubes and the room are very nice :-)

By: amy

amy — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:10:34 +0000

you know what I think! Get some new custom blocks from us! No- we have a mix. We have show vintage toys that the boys do not play with and then safe wood that they mouth and play with daily. Yr a designer- you should have what yo love to look at and also safe stuff too! I can’t wait to see it all!!!

By: Lou

Lou — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:12:27 +0000

Hmmms, maybe you should get them tested or get wooden cubes and stencil them on yourself? However here in the chain stores you can buy those really cute building blocks in red, green, yellow and blue — the wooden kind. An old style wooden train set and carriages would also be cute. You could store its train track too if you wanted to.