52 Cardboard Craft Projects

Image: ikatbag

They say when training a toddler, it takes 3 days to make or break a habit.

I'm sure there are many arguments for and against this notion but I'm here to tell you that it works.
Well, at least with my child.  I'm not so entirely sure it works on me.

Most of the time we don't even realise that we are creating bad habits - but we suffer greatly when it comes to breaking them. I constantly hear myself say "I quit smoking two years ago" - but that's mostly when I'm about to light up my third cigarette in a row.

Christmas Decoration Project

Image: A Little Hut

And so it begins.....

There has been much discussion in our home about when Christmas starts.

Is it when everything from windscreen wipers to organic fair trade coffee becomes available in gift baskets?
Is it when twinkly lights appear on the neighbours house and seem to be powered by a mini nuclear reactors?
Or is it when you start taking photos of your dog wearing reindeer antlers?

In truth, it's actually when all the shops start to sell an eclectic range of elastic pants with special re-inforced waist bands.

Build Your Own Office Organizer* Project

*As much as I would love to begin this post by leaping into the world of science and lay out plans, schematics and diagrams for building your own robot to aid you with the organization of your office and life, this task, much like having to 'build your own' robot, effectively rest with your very own capable hands. 

Also, it's just made from a cereal box. So there's that!

Image: A Little Hut

With shops like Staples, Ikea, Tiger and what appears to be the Daddy of them all The Container Store, being disorganized looks to be a thing of the past. 

Lamp Shade Project #2

Image: demilked

Continuing my quest for the perfect lamp shade, I have discovered the designer Edward Chew, who makes these stunning lamp shades from discarded tetra box drinks cartons. The design is an incredible example of how a waste product can be re-purposed into something that's amazingly funky and looks like a disco ball light for the 21st Century - and lets face it, who doesn't love disco balls?

Chess Table Project

Image: instructables

The 2012 Olympics are in full swing and I can't help but wonder why chess is not included?

They say chess is the sport for the mind but what qualifies a sport to be in the Olympics?

Between 1984 and 1992, Solo Synchronized Swimming was a sport at the Games.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't solo synchronized swimming an oxymoron?

Fire Lighter Project

Image: The Telegraph

You might think it's a bit strange for me to suggest a project that involves having to light a fire in July. Then again, it is summer, so obviously I'm thinking about barbeque's. Now you are thinking it's a bit strange because if you were to only look out the window, you're first thought would be - soggy burgers.

It's almost mid July and it's still raining. Not only is it still raining but I'm sure our house is not the only one to have had the "Will we give the heating a quick blast" conversation. The idea of summer is this. You use the money put aside for heating bills and spend it on holidays and ice cream. Simple. We shouldn't have to do both but it looks like this weather is here to stay.

Cardboard Box Toy Project(s)

There is a common rule we must all recognise, that when presented with an expensive toy, a child will quickly disregard that toy and play with the box instead. Their imagination being used to portray the box as an infinite number of objects. Taking them on adventures and helping them explore imaginary places in their minds.

So why don't we just cut out the middle man.

Almost everything we buy these days comes in a box. So, whether it's small or big, here are just a few ideas for you to make if you happen to have some laying around.

Portable Cardboard Parking Garage from La Factoría Plástica

Image: La Factoría Plástica

Image: La Factoría Plástica

Cardboard Shape Sorter Project

This project, found over at play and grow, appeals to 3 of my ongoing obsessions.

Image: play and grow

To start with, Evengy Kudryavtsev recycles cardboard, mostly Pampers boxes which I have in abundance, into educational toys for toddlers. That's two out of three obsessions right there. Thirdly, he's Russian, which you may or may not have guessed from his name.

When I first saw this I just felt so stupid that I had not thought of it sooner for my own son. I've looked at different wooden shape sorting toys and made plans for making one myself but this is such a wonderful idea that has just been staring me in the face. I guess that's the thing with the best ideas, they're just so simple.

Cereal Box Notebook Project

I'm constantly finding little scraps of paper in my back pocket with hastily scribbled notes on them.
Anything from shopping lists, phone numbers and silly ideas that pop into my head.

The worst part about this is not really the finding them in my pocket but my more my filing system for them.

Normally, at the end of each day, these scraps end up in a haphazard pile on my bedside locker where my son can, and usually does, find them the following morning and then spends the day depositing them around the house only for my wife to find them stuffed behind pillows, under seats, inside the washing machine and once surprisingly, inside a sandwich.

So, this project manages to achieve 2 of the favourite pastimes in this house. My wife's love of organising and my obsession with reusing cereal boxes.

Image: SCJohnson

Newspaper Pot Project

Image: A Heart For Home

It's all doom and gloom really, or that's what the newspapers would have us believe.

This morning there is report that the Banks are going to start charging us for not having enough money.
What's next - a toll for using the footpath outside their door?

Week in week out there is a constant flow of financial mumbo jumbo across the airwaves, through our TV screens and rubbing off on our very fingertips from the daily newspapers. If it's not about bank bailouts, new government plans, bigger bank bailouts, restructuring of finance, yo-yoing interest rates, ginormous bank bailouts, increased unemployment or the astronomical bank bailouts, then it's the usual peppered attempt at bluff nonsense, reporting on the 'green shoots of recovery'.

Mini Polaroid Magnets Project

It seems to be that these days very few people actually print out photos or so I keep being told by my mother.

Everything now seems to be digital and it's just so much easier to email photos or post images on Facebook & Twitter, Flickr & Photobucket or Picasa for friends and family and the whole world to see.

In fact, last week I actually went through a large box of old photos searching for a specific picture that I wanted to scan and upload to this very site.

Immediately after I did it, I though "hey, I should scan all my old photos."
This is a great idea. I could have all those old pictures on a hard drive and I can access them when ever I wanted. Then I remembered my son threw my last hard drive across the floor just to see how far it would travel. Surprisingly it wasn't very far as he was only a year old and it's a pretty heavy drive for a one year old.

Not surprisingly though, throwing it "not very far" can still cause the absolute most amount of damage possible.
Everything on it was lost.
My movies, my music and most importantly every photo of my son from the day he was born.

Thankfully I had a backup of all digital photos but as I said earlier - or should I say, as my mother said earlier - "nobody actually prints out photos anymore".

So here's a great reason to select a few digital pictures to print out before they all go kaput on some drive.

Mini Polaroid Magnets.

Image: Ambrosia Creative

This tutorial comes courtesy of Ambrosia Creative who was inspired by this post at How About Orange.

She pretty much followed the tutorial with a few modifications.

What you'll need is:

1. A4 Photo Paper.
2. Craft/pva glue.
3. Craft knife.
4. Piece of cardboard (the back of a notebook/sketchbook) - preferably a used one.
5. Magnetic tape - you can get some from Arts & Crafts co. or check your local art supply shop.
6. A white marker or Tipp-Ex.

Using this link to a Polaroid frame, or just using the jpeg below, crop and scale down your digital photos to fit inside the frame.

Alternatively, you can use the photoshop template provided by Ambrosia Creative.

Jennifer then scaled her Polaroids down to about 0.8″ wide and then printed her selections on photo paper.

Image: Ambrosia Creative

Using craft glue, she mounted the printed sheet to chipboard (she used the back of an old spiral-bound sketch book) and then she laminated her mini photos by laying pieces of clear masking tape on top.

You should be able to pick up clear masking tape in any stationary shop.
Important: The paper glaze in the How About Orange tutorial won't work for this project as it will cause the ink in the photos to run and bleed.

Once the mini Polaroids were cut out, Jennifer used a white opaque marker from Martha Stewart’s craft line, and colored in the edges but you could use Tipp-Ex if you can't find an opaque marker at your art supply shop.

Image: Ambrosia Creative

Then you just need to attach some strips of magnetic tape on the back and you have a great little set of mini Polaroid magnets.

Image: Ambrosia Creative

Image: Ambrosia Creative

So, for the sake of my mother and little boys who like to throw hard drives.

Go get printing.

Shadow Theatre Project

Image: minieco

Here I go again with the cereal boxes.
A cereal box shadow theatre project from minieco, which is great little project for kids this Halloween.

Image: minieco

You will need
1. An empty cereal box
2. A4 piece of tracing paper/greaseproof paper/vellum
3. Sticky tape
4. 2 or 3 sheets of dark coloured A4 paper/card
5. Wooden sticks or the coffee swizzle sticks you can pick up with take away coffee.

All measurements given in this tutorial are based on you using a cereal box which is bigger than 21 x 30cm.


Instructions:
Step 1.
Begin by undoing all the flaps on the cereal box and laying it out flap.

Step 2.
Cut out two large rectangles on each face of the cereal box. The rectangles need to be 19 x 28cm.

Image: minieco

Step3.
With the printed side of the cereal box facing up, tape a piece of A4 tracing paper over one of the rectangles to create a screen.

Step 4.
Remove the two flaps either side of the screen.

Step 5.
Re-assemble the box so that it is now inside out.

Step 6.
Decorate! You can use this pdf template. Simply print out the template and cut round the shapes – or use it to trace the shapes onto a black piece of paper. Remember to stick the scenery on the inside of the tracing paper screen. Use the wooden sticks/coffee stirrers to stick the ‘skull’ and ‘bat’ onto. 

You can download more templates here to add more characters to your show.

Image: minieco

Step 7.
Illuminate the back of the shadow theater with a bright lamp in order to bring the set to life

(PLEASE REMEMBER lamps get hot – so don’t leave it unattended)

Have a look around minieco. There are some great tutorials from Pacman Halloween Garlands to an amazing cardboard guitar.

I know I'll be trying that out with my secret store of cardboard!

Cardboard Star Project

Continuing my obsession with reusing packaging I found this little idea over on grey luster girl.

Image: grey luster girl

All you need is an empty cereal box, some glue and paint colour of your choice.

I think this is a great, cheap alternative to the giant metal star (which is £120 ) that I saw over on Rockett St George, a website selling unique homeware and accessories for your home. 

Image: Rockett St George

So, here's how to make it.
On the cereal box, draw and cut out two stars.  Score both stars from their tips to the indented parts (5 times each star). Push the stars out on the score lines by the tips and push in by the indented parts. There is a tutorial on how to do that here.

Image: grey luster girl

Next, glue the stars together.

Image: grey luster girl

Image: grey luster girl

Once the glue is dry, paint them your color of choice. Distress with ink or the edge of a pencil lead to get that weathered look.

Image: grey luster girl

Not bad for an empty old cereal box.

Father's Day Project

 It's Father's Day tomorrow - June 19th - and it got me thinking about what the role of a Father is.


   Being a Father starts with 'Two o'clock Feed.'

Image: Norman Rockwell

        and probably ends with 'Breaking Home Ties.'

Image: Norman Rockwell

                                       
                                             And in between there's lots of 'Going and Coming'.

Image: Norman Rockwell

I've only been a Father for less than 1 Year so I have all that ahead of me but I wanted to get the celebrations off on the right foot.

So lets start with the obvious.

Please Please Please stay away from the following.

1. Anything with "World's Best Dad" on it. T-Shirt, Cap, Mugs, Pens, Cuff links and Socks.
These will just illicit an momentary "Aaahhhhh!" before being stuffed into the back of a drawer.

2. A Tie. This says "I spent about 3 seconds thinking about your gift"

3. Anything that sings.

It's not funny. It's not ironic. It's simply a waste of good batteries (now that's the Dad in me talking)


If you are going to give a gift for Father's Day. It's the simple things that stand out. The homemade and you can't get any more simple than this idea.

Image: Martha Stewart

All you need is some cardboard. (Maybe use an old cereal box.)
Some photos you are happy to cut up.
2 paper clips
Sellotape
Poster paint or left over paint from tester pots.

All you have to do is print out this template and then cut it out.
Place the template on a piece of cardboard trace around it and cut it out.

Paint the frame.

Select a couple of photos and trim them to fit the openings, making them slightly larger than the holes in the letters. Tape them behind the frame.

To make the frame stand up, bend open two paper clips and tape the small sides to the backs of the letters at the very bottom.

And that's it. A lovely homemade personal gift and it shouldn't cost a penny.


On a final note.
If you really must do the whole "Worlds Best / Greatest / #1 Dad" thing then at least have a look at this.

Here's a bunch of free printable images that you can use to stick around the house or to make your own cards.

                                                               
                                                               Click HERE for Card 1

                                                                       & HERE for Card 2

Next up is Banners. Click Here

Here

And finally HERE for a whole range of tags, flags, bottle labels, napkin rings, tented cards, party tags and banners.

 

My own personal opinion is that homemade is better than shop bought. I don't mind the bumps and crumples, the sellotape and glue, the tears and scribbles and fingerprints.

I know that time and effort and most of all love went into it, but saying all that, if all I get is "soap on a rope" with #1 Dad engraved on it I can be sure of one thing.

A Father's role is to pretend it's the best soap on a rope ever!