Today’s feature article comes to you from Cathy who blogs at the lovely UK blog NurtureStore! Enjoy!
With crafty kids in the house there’s always demand for new materials to create with. One thing we always keep well stocked is our Making Box, packed full of boxes, papers and wrapping that would otherwise be heading for the the recycling bin. It gives us a never-ending supply of craft materials, all for free and good for the environment too. Here’s one of our recent recycled crafts, transforming an old cardboard box into a beautiful play house.
We started by opening up a cereal box and re-folding it inside out. You can use glue to stick it back together for a neater finish but my girls have no time to wait for glue to dry when they’re in the mood for creating and playing, so we used sticky tape.
Then my daughters drew their houses. You could paint or use collage pictures cut from a magazine but we had a brand new box of marker pens that we couldn’t resist.
The children can draw whatever house they like – one just like their own real home or the house of their dreams. You might like to add in a pet cat, flowers climbing up the wall and a chimney on top.
My younger daughter decided she wanted to add a garden so we taped two pieces of paper to the underside of the box. This gives lots of extra space to draw on and creates a great play space.
And here’s her finished house, with front and back gardens, a trampoline and big green pond – all ready to add some little characters to she can start playing in the new world she’s created.
If you children enjoy crafting with recycled materials you might like to get a copy of our free Glorious Junk! e-book which has lots of ideas for turning junk into toys.
Cathy James lives in the UK with her two daughters. She writes the blog NurtureStore which is packed full of creative play ideas, kids’ crafts and fun activities. Visit NurtureStore to sign up for a free weekly Play Planner.
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This is great! My daughter would absolutely love it! Cereal boxes are a great material to work with and everyone has them on hand!
My kids did something similar once for a school project. They used a TV box inside so it was a little bigger. After that it became a train, a suitcase and many other things before it disintegrated. But it was fun while it lasted 🙂
Thanks for sharing…One person’s trash could be a teacher’s treasure (LOL)
Michelle
The 3AM Teacher