A model grandmother

Retiree picks ups sticks, creates intricate toys for grandchildren

Most abuelas make cookies and hot chocolate for their grandchildren. Estela Mehring whips up tabletop Ferris wheels and dinosaur merry-go-rounds.

During the pandemic, the retired nurses aide in San Antonio has made more than a dozen dollhouse-scale models out of hundreds of toothpicks, barbecue skewers and Popsicle sticks, which she picks up at the neighborhood dollar store.

The inspiration for these handmade model heirlooms: Mehring’s granddaughters Kylie, 10, and Aurora, 2, and grandsons Camden, 9, and Casen, 6. And as long as her grandkids keep coming up with more ideas for wooden wonders, their artsy abuela will stick by them with more stick art.

She said it makes her happy “to make them happy and to keep me busy.”

Mehring, 71, who moved to San Antonio about 20 years ago, has always been crafty. She’s turned heads with hats she has made as a member of Red Hat Society clubs.

But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago she got into making stick art.

With time and plenty of skewers on her hands, she decided to build her own versions of the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben. Oh, and just do it from

Photos by Robin Jerstad / Contributor Inspired by her grandchildren, Estela Mehring builds detailed miniatures — a Ferris wheel, a model of the Eiffel Tower, a dollhouse and more — from common craft items, toothpicks and skewers.

Mehring built this model of the Titanic for her 9-year-old grandson, Camden.