These people are wood crafters. They are followers of the older ideas that one can create their own toys, decorations, and furniture. These people can create great things with a simple wood dowel and a little work.  When a wood crafter looks at a wood dowel, they see a million ideas. These people are wood working aficionados. They see wood not as just wood, but as a medium to bring their ideas into reality. These people are artists and workers at the same time. Here is a sample of those great ideas that a simple round, wood dowel has created.

1. Beaded curtains. These curtains have a fine thread running from the wood dowel to whatever length is desired. The fine thread is then used to thread beads, creating curtain of the beads, hence the beaded curtain. These beads can also be used to create designs in the curtain by matching colors to a certain pattern.

2. Flag posts. Home owners and some apartment renters tend to decorate their homes on the inside and out with flags. These can be everything from silly flags used for solely decoration to the patriotic, American flag. No matter what flags are hung, the thicker wood dowels are most often used because they have such great strength and beauty.

3. Toy wands. Every aspiring princess and wizard of the day has to have his or her own wand. To meet this need, the wooden dowel can be utilized and decorated to match the personalities of the children while still making the toy affordable. Ribbons, feathers, and glitter can all be added to the wand to add to the individuality of the piece.

4. Yoyo centers. Yoyos are one of America’s all time favorite toys. The simple construction of the yoyo, paired with the ease of use and fun actions of the yoyo all make it a classic toy. The simple wood dowel makes the perfect center in which to construct the yoyo and to attach the string.

5. Shelf railings. Shelves are a necessary part of life. Some of these shelves hold precious ornaments and heirlooms. Many times these shelves have railings on them. For those who are constructing their own shelves, the wood dowel can be used to make for an interesting and unique railing on the shelf.

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of ideas for the wood dowel. Imagine what you may come up with using only a little creativity and a wood dowel. You just might have that perfect idea for that perfect piece of art. You also might have the beginnings of the next craze in ideas and wood crafting.

Tricia Bratton is an aspiring artist and employee at craftparts outside of Fort Worth in Haltom City Texas, offering many products including wooden toy wheels, wooden toy parts, buttons and plugs and a huge inventory of unfinished wood parts for woodworkers and crafters. For all of your Wooden toy parts needs, check out CraftParts.