Soap carving, sketching, other fun stuff

See Ivory - The Name You Trust for Good, Clean Family Fun! for soap carving tips. I mean, if you're going to do it, you might as well do it like a pro, right?

What? You've never carved Ivory soap? It's a classic hobby in my part of the world. I hate to think how many bars I whittled on as a kid. Even with all that practice, though, I'm not sure I ever got as good as this. But I had fun. Hmmmm. I haven't done it in a while. Hmmmm.

And, if you wonder why Ivory floats, here's some background on that. And, since it does float, you can use it to make your own play boats.

And, no, I don't have any ties to the company that makes Ivory. None. I just like these kinds of family fun projects, where kids (of all ages, ahem) get to make their own toys and knick-knacks.

On a somewhat related note, one of my favorite things to do is to give a kid a sketchpad. Most kids are artistic, I think, but some of them need an adult to show a little faith in their ability to learn to be good at it.

Suggestions for other easy, inexpensive projects, anyone?

Update: Some soap carving is fancier than others. See here and here for some amazing examples from the Orient. (Thanks, David, for bringing these to my attention.)