DIY: Buzz Saw and May Basket

Are you looking for some easy crafts to make at home? If you have a button and some string, you can make a Buzz Saw. Click HERE for a full set of instructions, and click HERE to watch a YouTube tutorial on the toy.

 

 

History of the Buzz Saw (from Historical Folk Toys)

“The Buzz Saw is one of the most popular noisemakers of all times! Indigenous Peoples made “buzzers” from a circular piece of bone or antler and used sinew instead of string. Colonial children played with buzz saws. This type of noisemaker was also known as “button on a string” during the Victorian period and later. A very large button from a mother’s sewing basket could be strung for this toy. Coins, bamboo, stones, and seashells have also been used to make this toy. Tin was even used, and teeth were cut around the circumference so that the disc would shred a piece of paper when the two came in contact. Made this way, it resembles a circular saw blade, and this is where it got the name Buzz Saw. Other names are Whizzer, Whirligig, Whiligig, Moonwinder, and Skyewinder.”

 

 

 

If you have some paper, some tape, and some string, you can make a May Basket. Click HERE for a full set of instructions, click HERE to watch a YouTube tutorial for the craft.

 

History of the May Basket

The May Basket is an old tradition that goes back centuries. It is part of the celebration of May Day, which customarily takes place on May 1. This old custom marks the changing of the seasons. Villages and towns used to host May Day celebrations with such activities as the May Pole. The May Pole was a large pole in the ground with ribbons coming off of it. People would take the ribbons and dance around the pole with them. May Baskets were especially popular during the mid-late 1800s during the Victorian era. People would make their own May Baskets, fill them with treats, and hang them on the door of someone they cared about on May 1. The point was not to get caught leaving your basket. The recipient would have to guess who sent it to them. May Baskets are a great way to spread cheer from a distance!