Do you find it hard to keep your children involved in any constructive activity for long? How about repurposing cardboard boxes.
Every household should have a collection of cardboard boxes since online retailers such as Amazon use cardboard boxes extensively to package their products. Usually, people discard the boxes in recycling bins or use them to store non-perishable items at home.
However, with a little creativity and effort, you can repurpose cardboard boxes to create fun crafts. These crafts can also be made without incurring a huge expense.
To make cardboard box crafts, you will need a few items. These include scissors, some glue, colored paper, etc. You may also need some brushes and watercolor paints, along with sketch pens.
Listed here are some nice and easy-to-make cardboard box ideas for kids.
Repurposing cardboard boxes in innovative ways
1. A superhero character
Is there any kid who is not fond of superhero characters like Batman or Wonder Woman? Using cardboard pieces, you can create replicas at home. Hang these superhero cut-outs in your kid’s room and they will love it. If painting the entire superhero costume seems tedious, you can use printouts from the web and paste them on the cardboard pieces.
2. A car
Rather than buying a toy car for your kids, you can make a cardboard box-based car for him/them to play with. You will need a fairly large cardboard box for this though. On the front side, paint or paste headlight cutouts and a vent simulating the engine. At the sides, fix the wheel cutouts using glue. Use cardboard pieces to make the seats inside. Paint the car in your choicest shade. Lastly, use some string to go around your child’s shoulders so that they can run around and pretend that they are driving.
3. A castle or dollhouse
Again, you will need a large-sized cardboard box to make a castle or dollhouse. You can make the front of the structure using paints and a cut-out resembling a castle. Make small cut-outs for the doors of the fort. Use paint to give your creation a dramatic look or you may paste on printouts. If you have white cardboard, painting with watercolors or sketch pens can be a fun activity for you and your child.
4. A guitar
Does your kid have a flair for music and singing? If yes, it would be a good idea to show him/her how to create a toy guitar using leftover cardboard. Paint the cardboard brownish yellow and use a black hue to make outlines. You can use rubber bands and string so that the toy guitar can be played and hung around the neck.
5. A sword and shield
Kids love playing war games, so instead of buying plastic-based swords and shields, you can make these using cardboard. You can cut out the shapes from a cardboard box. The shield pieces can be designed with a symbol or animal face.
6. A robot
There is no right or wrong way to create a robot, as it can come in all kinds of shapes, colors, and sizes. Start by stacking 2-3 boxes to form the body of your robot and experiment with how you stack them until you find a shape you like. You might choose to put the largest box on the bottom or you might use two smaller boxes on the bottom to form legs and then use a hot glue gun to secure them together.
Next, add some details. Your robot does not have to be traditional silver, so paint it any color you like. Plastic lids make great buttons or try adding the bottom section of an empty egg carton to form rows of buttons, and don’t forget the aluminum foil antennas.
7. An airplane
You will need a long-shaped cardboard box to make an airplane. Make incisions at the front and end sides of the box. Make the airplane nose and tail at the ends using additional cardboard pieces. On two sides, cut out vents and use cardboard sheets to simulate the wings. Lastly, use some string to go around your child’s shoulders so that they can run around and pretend that they are flying.
Wrapping up
You can use your creativity while making these cardboard crafts. It is okay to inspire the kids to make such crafts, but you should monitor them so that they do not get injured while using scissors. Also, for safety, do not use cardboard boxes and pieces that have metal staples and sharp ends.
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