
Announcement
Hi everyone, we are taking a break for family health and balance currently; wishing you and your families the best in this new year!
NEXT RESTOCK: TBD. Follow us at facebook.com/armadillodreams or instagram.com/armadillodreams for shop restock announcements, previews and other news.
Armadillo Dreams makes waldorf inspired handmade wooden toys. Our shop is a husband and wife ran business by Dustin & Amanda Cowell. We are a homeschool family with 3 children living and loving life in the high desert of Central Oregon. Everything we sell is made from natural materials, is friendly for little hands and is handmade with love! We believe it's important for children to have high quality natural toys that they can dream, imagine and play with.
Orders ship out in 1-2 days via USPS. Shipping time is 2-5 days U.S. or 1-3 weeks international.
Follow us:
armadillodreams.com
facebook.com/armadillodreams
instagram.com/armadillodreams
twitter.com/armadillodreams
birdtuckyandpip.etsy.com
Items

All Items
Reviews
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Jessica on Apr 17, 2021
5 out of 5 starsAll of my items from this shop are amazing. Beautiful details and the owner is very nice and accommodating.
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Ellie on Jan 11, 2021
5 out of 5 starsSuch a delightful little toy and nice to find and unusual animal that my little one was interested in. It is well made and prefect for small hands. Thank you!
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Anika on Dec 30, 2020
5 out of 5 starsSuch a cute Lucia. My children love her a lot and my snowflakes bit her a warm welcome. This will be a heirloom on our seasonaltable.
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Barbara on Dec 9, 2020
5 out of 5 starsLove this doll! Well made, unique. Made a great gift for my daughter, who hasn't stopped playing with it.
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anniepants41 on Dec 1, 2020
5 out of 5 starsSo beautiful, arrived well packaged and just like the pictures. Thanks!
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J on Nov 12, 2020
5 out of 5 starsWe're in love! A great size to go with Holztiger animals and so meaningful to her farmer great grandpa. The details are thoughtful and gorgeous. Thank you!
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Patricia on Sep 28, 2020
5 out of 5 starsNot our first and definitely not our last! There toys are made with lots of love. Thank you! ❤️
About ArmadilloDreams
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Amanda & Lincoln
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So many colors!
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How it all starts in the wood shop.
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Dustin & Lucy
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1000 degree F wood burning!
Behind the Toys
*** About Us ***
Armadillo Dreams is run by Dustin and Amanda Cowell. We have lived in Central Oregon most of our lives. We met during sophomore year in high school. After graduation we moved to Portland, Oregon for about 3 years and then moved back. We got married in 2004, had our daughter Lucy in 2007, had our son Lincoln in 2010 and had our son Alden in 2015. We enjoy a high desert life near the base of the cascade mountains and near the deschutes national forest in a land full of lakes and rivers.
*** Our History ***
Armadillo Dreams started in late 2010. We started the shop after Dustin discovered a passion for woodworking during the summer that year while building a backyard chicken coop. We always wanted more wooden toys for our children, but didn’t have a lot of money. Amanda had already been selling on Etsy for about 5 years with her other shops. We combined Amanda’s artistic skills and knowledge of Etsy with Dustin's passion for woodworking and Armadillo Dreams was born.
No matter how big Armadillo Dreams gets we plan to keep operations small and home based. Our wood shop is in our backyard (a large converted shed). We also have a two car garage that was remodeled into a family room that serves as an indoor work area. A lot of work also takes place on our dining room table. We like it that way.
*** Our Process ***
We hand draw all of the designs for our toys. We then cut them out of poplar in our backyard wood shop. Each toy goes through up to five sanding processes to make them super smooth on all sides. Next we wood burn all of the details so they will never fade. At this point we paint some of our toys with AP certified non-toxic watercolor, while others are left natural. Lastly, we seal the toys with natural beeswax polish.
*** About Our Toys ***
We get our poplar from a local lumber yard who sources it from a sustainable supplier. Each toy is made from a different piece of wood, so grain and slight color variation may occur. Our wooden toys are hand detailed and each has its own personality, but will look very close to the original. Painted toys receive a light wash of paint instead of completely coating them, so you can still see the wood grain for a more natural texture. All of our designs are hand drawn so you won't find wooden toys like ours anywhere!
*** Safety ***
We don't recommend giving our painted toys or small toys to children who are still placing objects in their mouths. Our painted toys are painted with AP certified non-toxic paint and sealed with natural beeswax polish, so they are safe if a child does happen to put a toy in their mouth.
Please like us on Facebook (facebook.com/armadillodreams) or Instagram (instagram.com/armadillodreams) or Twitter (twitter.com/armadillodreams) for shop update news, behind the scenes and giveaways!
Shop members
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Dustin
Owner, Maker, Customer Service, Shipping, Marketing, Husband, Father
Dustin does the cutting, sanding, sealing and polishing. He also handles packaging, shipping, customer service and marketing. Aside from his shop duties he also enjoys fishing, hiking, cycling, geocaching, gardening and movies.
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Amanda
Owner, Maker, Designer, Wife, Mother
Amanda is the artist. She makes the patterns, wood burns, and paints. She designs our graphics for web and print. She also chases around our children, has three other Etsy shops, does homeschooling, spins yarn, knits and reads. She is Super Woman!
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Lucy
Daughter, Toy Tester
Lucy is amazingly smart, creative, is an advanced reader and has a huge love of the outdoors. She loves her brothers and anything Harry Potter.
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Lincoln
Son, Toy Tester
Lincoln is super creative and has a huge imagination. He enjoys making up all sorts of games and activities for him and his siblings to do. He enjoys bringing his ideas to life with Legos and Minecraft.
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Alden
Son, Toy Tester
Alden is a very sweet and loving little guy. He has a big heart. He LOVES being outsite as much as possible. He also enjoys riding his scooter, listening to books and drawing.
Shop policies
Our process/materials:
We use poplar wood for almost everything in our shop. Each item is carefully cut, sanded smooth, and the edges are slightly rounded and hand sanded to make sure they're friendly for little hands. Details are wood-burned by hand so they'll never wear away. Some items are painted with a wash of AP certified non-toxic watercolor paints, but most are left natural so children can project their own colors onto them, stimulating imagination! We finish each item with a beeswax/mineral oil wood cream which is rubbed in and buffed for sheen and to help seal the wood. Since we use watercolor paints for color, items are not suitable for use in water.
Accepted payment methods
Returns & exchanges
Cancellations
Cancellations: not accepted
Please contact the seller if you have any problems with your order.