Photo Source: The Merrythought
This year, unlike almost every Christmas in the past several years, I did not have the majority of my gifts purchased by Thanksgiving. I committed never to lose track of time like that again because 1) Christmas crowds are not my thing, and 2) in my opinion, Christmas sales are hype; sellers raise prices to account for the dramatic sales.
While I do not enjoy Christmas crowds, I do delight in shopping for loved ones. It’s fulfilling finding the perfect gift. This year is the first that I can honestly say I accomplished the majority of my Christmas shopping online. As a result, over the last three weeks, boxes have arrived one after the other until a considerable cardboard packaging pile stacked up in the doorway of our outside storage unit.
One holiday survey from 2013 anticipated that two out of five people would make the majority of their holiday purchases online, which means I’m not the only one with all this extra cardboard lying around. And then, there is always the additional packaging of the gifts themselves. That amounts to a lot of cardboard, people.
So, it makes sense to think beyond the recycling center or the burn barrel; why not recycle Christmas cardboard to crafts, making something for or with your kiddos to usher in the New Year?!
Photo Source: The Merrythought
I won’t reveal how many hours I spent searching for cardboard crafts, but I will say that there are some amazingly creative people who see things in cardboard that floor me. While I found many cardboard creations that required considerable artistry and expensive materials, I chose to include cardboard crafts I felt parents could create for or with their kids with a little bit of effort and minimal supplies.
For instance, the DIY Cardboard Camper Playhouse above designed and constructed on The Merrythought. Two large boxes, a box cutter, duct tape, and paint/paintbrush were all the tools she used. This Airstream camper would have been a huge hit in our home years ago when my kids could play in a cardboard box for days; even to the point they slept in it.
Photo Source: Estéfi Machado
Here’s an interesting tidbit. I didn’t learn to wash clothes until I was away at college. My mother and I had a system that worked beautifully. She washed all the clothes, and I folded, hung and put them all away. I imagine it was always in her mind to teach me eventually, and I can assure you it was never in my mind to worry about it. So, I didn’t; and then, when I left for college I taught myself in the dorm basement–even without the internet, if you can imagine that.
I was thinking about that learning experience when I came across this front loading washing machine designed by Estéfi Machado. Since I’ve never taken Portuguese, I can’t help much with the translation of this website, but thankfully, the photos clearly demonstrate each step.
Prefer a top loading cardboard washing machine instead? No problem. Grab a Home Depot box and duct tape and try this one.
Photo Source: ikat bag
I don’t care how cool our newfangled phones are; there is simply something sublime in using a rotary phone. My grandmother, Momma Milly, refuses to upgrade to even a push button phone for her kitchen, and instead, has a bright yellow rotary dial phone hanging across from her oven.
This tutorial for a cardboard rotary telephone is the creation of Lorraine from ikat bag, and I gotta tell you, it’s pretty impressive. From the marble weights for the rotary dial, to the wire cradle receivers, she thought of everything.
Photo Source: MollyMooCrafts
Did anyone receive a new flat screen television for Christmas? While awkward to shove in a vehicle, those wide, slim boxes apparently provide the perfect framework for a brilliant aquarium.
The cardboard fish tank tutorial at MollyMooCrafts has a highly interactive element, beginning with sliding tracks at the top. There are also top openings that serve to hang fish (a separate craft linked from this particular tutorial), and portholes cut into the sides for viewing the internal detail kids and parents create together. It’s truly delightful!
Photo Source: Nessa Dee
The great part about Christmas is the vast selection of boxes available for crafting. There are shoe boxes, small jewelry boxes, and even extremely large boxes with every other size box in between. Put them together and what have you got? The perfect start to a towering cardboard city.
That’s just what Nessa Dee and her two children built for their Crafty Friday project. In addition to the boxes, they gathered a hot glue gun, glue sticks, packing tape, scissors, markers and several different materials for embellishments, and then, they set to work.
The result is a towering city that tells a story of their unique interests and taste. I love it, don’t you?
If cardboard cities capture your attention, or you desire extra inspiration, take a look at Ana Serrano’s Cartonlandia. You’ll never look at cardboard the same again.
Photo Source: Empress of Dirt
Maybe you don’t want a project that takes up an entire side of your house. Maybe you’re looking for something smaller scale. Perfect. Try Empress of Dirt’s Earth-Wise Owls made from recycled cardboard and, oddly enough, spoons. There are a few other supplies (like buttons, hot glue and rubber bands) as well as very detailed instructions for this tutorial here.
The number of cardboard craft tutorials available across the internet are as broad as the interests in those who may be searching. Whether you’re looking for a cardboard sewing machine or a cereal box monster, it is likely waiting for you to find it or design it and blog a tutorial of your own.
And if you’re just starting out, having never used cardboard as a medium for yours or your kids’ artwork, I recommend reading “How to Work with Cardboard.” Not only is it an entertaining read, but informative too.
For those who already have experience using cardboard in crafts, what have you and your kids made with it? If you’ve had multiple projects, what was your favorite and why? Feel free to post links!
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families to live, love and learn. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods where she currently home schools two of her three kids.