Made by Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff

"Made by Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff by Scott Bedford is so good it hurts--'cause you know that if your own dad had had this book in his hands, your childhood would have totally rocked. "Chock-full" doesn't even come close to describing the teeming nature of this tome. The fun photos, cool diagrams, clear instructions and handy cut-out templates run the gamut from wacky home decorations and gadgets (like setting up a Bunk Bed Communicator) to subversively educational science projects (like getting sucked into a Gravity-Defying Black Hole) to zany party ideas (like making Radioactive Sports Drinks)." -BookPage "Hey, dad, want to ratchet up your coolness quotient? Pick up a copy of Scott Bedford's new book." -Chicago Tribune "I made the mistake of leaving this book on the coffee table recently where my nearly 5-year-old scooped it up, spent 30 minutes paging through it and then cornered me in the kitchen with a list of projects from it he wanted to make. . . .Moms, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friendly neighbors would all make good ring leaders for these projects. . . .My son was enchanted." -ApartmentTherapy.com "A treasury of 67 clever, exciting and imaginative projects. ... Getting kids to make and create instead of simply consume and use is a challenge for parents. ... Made by Dad provides a good place to begin." -Wall Street Journal "Remember all the crazy things you made as a kid, like ramps for toy cars or contraptions for pulling pranks? In his first book, illustrator Bedford, who also blogs at What I Made, gets in touch with his inner child. With a host of silly projects, this title is directed at parents looking for interactive activities for their children. . . . What's not to love? This engaging compilation is clever and entertaining. A fantastic book." -Library Journal "Made by Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff by Scott Bedford is so good it hurts--'cause you know that if your own dad had had this book in his hands, your childhood would have totally rocked. "Chock-full" doesn't even come close to describing the teeming nature of this tome. The fun photos, cool diagrams, clear instructions and handy cut-out templates run the gamut from wacky home decorations and gadgets (like setting up a Bunk Bed Communicator) to subversively educational science projects (like getting sucked into a Gravity-Defying Black Hole) to zany party ideas (like making Radioactive Sports Drinks)." -BookPage "Hey, dad, want to ratchet up your coolness quotient? Pick up a copy of Scott Bedford's new book." -Chicago Tribune "I made the mistake of leaving this book on the coffee table recently where my nearly 5-year-old scooped it up, spent 30 minutes paging through it and then cornered me in the kitchen with a list of projects from it he wanted to make. . . .Moms, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friendly neighbors would all make good ring leaders for these projects. . . .My son was enchanted." -ApartmentTherapy.com "A treasury of 67 clever, exciting and imaginative projects. ... Getting kids to make and create instead of simply consume and use is a challenge for parents. ... Made by Dad provides a good place to begin." -Wall Street Journal "Remember all the crazy things you made as a kid, like ramps for toy cars or contraptions for pulling pranks? In his first book, illustrator Bedford, who also blogs at What I Made, gets in touch with his inner child. With a host of silly projects, this title is directed at parents looking for interactive activities for their children. . . . What's not to love? This engaging compilation is clever and entertaining. A fantastic book." -Library Journal

"Made by Dad" is chock full of 67 extraordinary, custom-designed how-to projects for DIY parents everywhere. The projects range from full-length, artfully illustrated creations to smaller, MacGyver-like challenges that can be whipped out at the coffee shop, plus "DIY Dad" tips sprinkled throughout and illustration templates to boost your project's artistic appeal. All chapters, categorized by theme - Dangerous Decor, Gross Gadgets, Covert Creations, Crafty Disasters, Home Hacks, and more - include step-by-step project illustrations, complete with visual "status checks" (to help you keep up), and clever, playful games to incorporate the finished project. Dads will love to create stealthy contraptions like the Bunk Bed Communicator, and the whole family will be impressed with the endless entertainment that can be gleaned from the "Steampunk"-Inspired Balancing Robot. While the projects have a decidedly mad-scientist-in-his-laboratory feel, the book's charm and richness of material will appeal to mummies, too-especially when she flips to the whole chapter of projects dedicated to showing Mum-appreciation - like the I Love You THIS MUCH Pop-up Card (with Go-Go-Gadget-style arms that extend to give Mum a virtual hug!).