How do I make a baby rattle??

[rdb]

Okay, I'll be the devil's advocate. IF I were to attempt this, I would use ONLY an organic rawhide, or rawhide lace...meaning, no lye, ash , or lime, just elbow grease to remove the flesh and hair layers. Dried in the sun, shaped when wet, but not soaked.

Considering that all rattles for kids today are made from petrochemical plastics, or metals, I'm going to step out on a limb and say, "How bad can this really be?".

[ArtS]

Cal,

How to make a baby rattle - mmmmm - if you pick one up and shake it vigorously that might work - but you will get in big trouble with it's mother!

Art

[Kowboyboots]

Just givem a pigs ear, LOL

[calanneh]

OK ya buncha clowns......

How about thoughts on the actual question??

What do yall think about the mocs with a small rattle on the laces. Tandy sells the kits so do you think that are safe?!?!?!?

cal

[Jordan]

Babies are adept at putting anything in their mouths even their feet. I don't think it would be a huge problem, as mom's, especially new ones, are extremely hyper vigilant. Have you thought of mini gourds? when they are dried they rattle and you could maybe cover them with moc material.

[Davy]

You can buy what they call surgical calf here in Aust . mainly used for shoe linings , straps on orthopedic attachments etc but I dont know how surgical it is . Ring a tannery to find out or footwear section of a college , there isnt much those guys dont know about leather , its processing and uses .

[Surveyor]

To answer the question you have asked several times; babies put anything in their mouths they can. So the mocs could very easily wind up being gummed, especially if rattles were attached to draw attention to them. I would leave the mocs as footwear and not toys. I have six, so this comes from some hands-on experience.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Surveyor

[calanneh]

To answer the question you have asked several times; babies put anything in their mouths they can. So the mocs could very easily wind up being gummed, especially if rattles were attached to draw attention to them. I would leave the mocs as footwear and not toys. I have six, so this comes from some hands-on experience.

Thanks Surveyor!

I have two myself and you're right. First thing they did with anything was taste it....lol. And evendently it takes them a bit to determine if it tastes good or now before they spit it out.....

I guess I will drop the rattle item from the mocs as well and just make him the mocs.

As a replacement gift, what do yall think about a bib that fastens behind the neck and maybe around the back as well. This will hold it down so he cant put it in his mouth. I could carve his name etc and then super sheen it 2-3 times (inside and out) to seal it up real good.

I may be beating the dead horse now, but this is for a single mother of four boys who can't afford many gifts.

If yall think the bib idea is too risky still, then I may stick with the mocs and then make a leather door/wall hanger with his name.

Any thoughts on the bib???

cal

[Sharpshooter]

Having sidetracked your thread by being a wiseguy, I guess I'll toss in my two cents worth.

From my perspective, a leather gift for a baby is something that REALLY isn't for today but instead for 20 years from today.

Very few "baby" gifts last beyond a year or two. With the exception of the favorite stuffed companion and blanket, the rest is just worn out and used up.

Now a carved nameplate or wall hanging that's not too "baby" oriented could squeeze into the lifetime gift so long as it has a "cool" factor that will survive the teen years.

Finding that just right "thing" is a huge challenge but realize that babies don't have that good a sense of time and if you don't give them a watch for a few years you can get away with a lot of things. maybe wait until the child develops a specific favorite 'thing" and go from there.

My son really came to like Mickey Mouse, it became obvious pretty early on so I made him a lot of Mickey stuff that he still cherishes at 17 years old.

[bruce johnson]

Leather picture frame. Small slip cover to go over a "brag book" for snapshots. These are two pretty standard baby gifts for my customers.