Learn German: Ich wollte nicht schlafen, deshalb bastelte ich eine Puppe. - I didn't want to sleep, so I made a doll.

Basteln is a regular (or "weak") verb. To form its simple past (Präteritum), we take the verb stem (bastel-) and add the past tense ending for ich, which is -te. This gives us bastelte. It is very similar to adding "-ed" to regular verbs in English.

Why is the word order deshalb bastelte ich instead of deshalb ich bastelte?

Deshalb (therefore/so) is an adverb, not a coordinating conjunction like und or aber. Because it takes up the first position in its clause, the verb (bastelte) must stay in the strict second position. This forces the subject (ich) to move to the third position, right after the verb.

Why does the sentence use wollte instead of the spoken past (habe ... gewollt)?

While spoken German usually prefers the conversational past (Perfekt) for most verbs, modal verbs like wollen (to want) are a major exception. Even in everyday conversation, native speakers almost always use the simple past forms like ich wollte, ich konnte, or ich musste.

Why use basteln here instead of the standard verb for "to make" (machen)?