One of our favorite places to visit is the Boston Museum of Science. At the Museum of Science they have an amazing room just for toddlers and in this room they have a huge magnetic wall that has different sized and shaped PVC pipe secured to huge magnets. There is also a mechanism that sucks up little ping pong balls and drops them down a shoot at the top of the magnetic wall. The children can rearrange the magnetic PVC pipes to create different paths for the balls to drop down. This is my son’s favorite part of the museum and he could spend hours playing with the ball run.
I started thinking more and more about the different elements of the ball run and decided it wouldn’t be very difficult to recreate a ball run that had moveable pieces for our home. It was super fast, easy and inexpensive to build and my son has played with it for hours! Nothing like bringing a little taste of the Museum of Science home with us. 🙂
Supplies Needed:
Large Piece of Cardboard
Lots of Toilet Paper Rolls
Paper Towel Rolls
Felt Fabric Sheet
Velcro
Pom Poms
Paint (optional)
Set Up:
Cut your cardboard to the size you want your ball run to be. I choose a piece that was about my son’s height and I left a flap of cardboard along the bottom so it would have a little bit better balance.
Cover your cardboard with your felt fabric sheet.
Paint your toilet paper and paper towel rolls.
Add a small square of the hook side of velcro to each cardboard tube. We found that they worked best when we did once piece at each end, even on the small rolls because they stuck to the felt better.
Finish by sticking your velcroed pieces to the felt and start sending the pom poms down the shoot.
Additional Ideas:
If you want curved piece cut one of your rolls on a diagonal in the middle and rotate it around so the long parts of the diagonal are next to each other and short parts are next to each other. I secured it with a two pieces of masking tape, glue would also work great.
We played with pom poms, bouncy balls and little toys cars are also fun.
If you have older children it would be fun to set up tasks for your children to figure out, such as start the balls in the top right corner and find a way to get them clear over to the bottom left corner, or some other place.
Thanks for reading!
Have you tried to make a ball run? I would love to see the ball run you’ve created or hear about any of your experiences or thoughts to make it better in the comments section.
There are a lot of really cute board and wooden puzzles to be found but unfortunately they also tend to be fairly pricey. We’ve got a handful of coloring books and I thought it would be fun to attempt make my own board puzzle out of cardboard.
The nice thing about making my own puzzle is I have full control over what is on the puzzle as well as the difficulty of the puzzle. For my penguin puzzle I decided to keep the pieces fairly big and simple, but as my son gets better and better at puzzles it would be super easy to cut out more pieces and up the complexity. So far our six piece puzzle is perfect!
Supplies Needed:
Two pieces of cardboard (from shipping boxes, not cereal boxes)
A picture (colored or printed)
Exacto Knife
Glue
Foam Paint Brush
Brads
Steps:
I started by coloring my image. If you have an older child it might also be fun for them to have a puzzle made from an image they colored.
Take your glue and mix it with water. I usually do two parts glue to one part water.
Cover one piece of cardboard with the glue mixture then press your picture onto it.
Cover the top of your picture (now glued to the cardboard) with another layer of the glue mixture. Make sure to get the edges really good and press out any wrinkles as you go.
Let your picture dry.
Cut off the excess cardboard around your image.
Cut out the pieces you want for your puzzle using your Exacto knife. I would suggest leaving at least an inch wide boarder around the inside of your puzzle so that it has a little more structure when piecing it back together.
Glue the outer boarder of your image to the second piece of cardboard, creating the back of your puzzle. Let it dry, then cut off the excess cardboard from the back piece.
Press a brad into each piece of your puzzle so that your child will have something to grip when taking the pieces in and out. Then put a thick dot of glue on the back of the brad so it stays in place. Let it dry.
Piece your puzzle back together and you’re ready to go.
Thanks for reading!
Have you tried to make a cardboard puzzle? I would love to see the puzzles you’ve created or hear about any of your experiences or thoughts to make it better in the comments section.
Before kids I never would have thought I would have anything but a minimalist decorating style. I don’t like junk, nicknacks, or clutter. I like the space under my bed to be empty and to have some wiggle room in all my draws.
But… then we moved into a tiny apartment just outside of Boston where my whole kitchen space consisted of five draws and three cupboards (and a half sized oven, that looked fake and could not fit a full sized cookie sheet).
And then… I started having kids. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Jokes on me. That clutter free lifestyle is long gone. It’s been throughly replaces by a tight living space, a toddler and a baby.
I still hate clutter, but these days it seems more or less unavoidable. Kids have a lot of stuff, even when they don’t have that much stuff. Ugh. And when you have a child, and you know you’re going to have more children and you don’t have a ton of money you tend to keep everything your current child outgrows for your future children.
The point I’m getting to is cardboard boxes have become my best friends. They are cheap, plentiful, and great for storing things around the house so even if I have lots of clutter and stuff I don’t have to look at it.
Steps to make storage boxes to fit any space
1) Measure your space and find a box that is as bigger or bigger than it.
2) Cut your box down to fit your space
3) Glue or tape the inside flaps of your box down so they don’t catch on things in the future and so they don’t come unfolded unexpectedly.
4) Get a length of fabric a few inches longer than the sides of your box. Start by hot glueing the fabric to one end of your box and stretching it around your box as you go, leaving a few inches of extra fabric above and below the wall of your box. Once you have the fabric glued around your box glue the loose edge to the bottom of your box then fold the remaining fabric over the top and into your box. Glue it down, then run an extra a line of glue directly along the inside edge of the fabric and press it to the box so that things wont catch on the fabric when you’re pull them out of the box.
5) Slide them into their space and fill them as needed.
I hope this helps you like it’s helped me. I now have storage boxes under my sons bed and all along the cabinets in my kitchen. Living in such tight quarters this have been amazingly helpful to me.
If you have thoughts, inputs or suggestions on how to make it even better I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
The holidays have just passed and during December I ended up seeing a million toy ads, many from the company Step2, which happens to make awesome play kitchens. Every time I saw them I though about how much fun my son (who loves helping me in the kitchen) would have with them. I’ve tried to win a few but no luck. Go figure.
Anyway, since our cute little family is surviving on a grad student stipend I thought I’d try my hand a building one… out of cardboard. My little guy is two, he’s going to have fun with it no matter what, and he’s really not going to notice or care that the thing is painted rather than made out of colored plastic.
Supplies Needed:
Large rectangular cardboard box, I looked for one that would reach a little above my son’s stomach
Large flat piece of cardboard
Shoebox
Exacto Knife
Hot glue gun & glue sticks
Paint
Bowl, can of soup or cup (will be traced)
5 milk carton lids
2 soda pop lids
2 empty toilet paper rolls
3 brads (optional, only if you want to be able to hang pots/spoons)
7 Small nails
Roll of plain white paper (wrapping paper rolled inside out would also work well for this)
A curved piece of plastic for the sink part. I ended up using a cracked tupperware, but I think a milk carton cut in half, a plastic salad container (like you find at Costco) or even a takeout box would work just as well
Step 1) Flip Your Box
If you plan on painting your kitchen you’re going to save your self a lot of heartache and a lot of paint if you flip your box inside out so you don’t have to try to paint over and cover up whatever ads are printed on the outside of your box.
My box was a huge pain to flip (because I ended up with a really sturdy one that had about a million staples holding it together) I had to use the edge of a hammer to get all the staples out of the seam, a lot of boxes are just glued and you can pull them apart with a little bit of arm muscle.
Anyway, pull the staples out or rip the glue apart then flip your box inside out and glue the seam back together using your hot glue gun.
Step 2) Outline the Oven & Cupboard
I used a book to keep a strait edge and just kind of eye balled where I wanted my kitchen oven & cupboard to fold out from. I traced one of the soda lids for the little hole on the cupboard so there would be an easy way to pull it open and I cut out the extra square ‘viewing window’ in the stove for the same reason.
Step 3) Outline the Sink
Use whatever container you have for your sink and trace it. If your item (like a halved milk jug) doesn’t have an edge that will allow it to sit into the hole you’re going to cut, then make sure to cut you’re hole smaller than the width of the jug so that it won’t just fall through.
Step 4) Cut out your Cupboard, Oven and Sink
Use an exacto knife and cut around the areas that you traced. Make sure you leave one side of the cupboard and oven intact so that your child can bend them open without pulling them off the box.
Step 5) Make your Shelf
Get a piece of cardboard a little longer than your oven/sink box. You need a flat strip that will fit inside the box. Bend the edges of this piece of cardboard and rest them against the flaps inside your box to hold them in place.
Step 5) Make your Burners
Trace something round (a cup, can of soup, bowl) to outline your stove burners. Then use hot glue to outline what you traced. Make smaller and smaller hot glue circles inside of your burners.
Step 6) Make your Backsplash
Get a large piece of cardboard, about the height of your child and as wide as the box you are using for your oven/sink. You will use this to create the backsplash. Lay it flat on the floor and roll a length of plain white art paper over it (or wrapping paper, printed side against the box, white side out) and tape it in place. Use a ruler or stencil to create the pattern you want for your backsplash.
Step 7) Make your Microwave
I found a shoebox that had the lid connected to the box, it was awesome because I could just throw the lid over the top of my backsplash and the rest of the box would just hang in place. If you can’t find a shoebox that already has the lid attached, no worries, just tape the lid to the box.
Use a book to trace a rectangle on your shoe box and draw out your buttons.
Step 8) Add the Faucet
Get your empty toilet paper rolls. Place one roll upright where you want your sink faucet to be, cut a “C’ shape in the second roll and slide the flap into the first roll creating a slightly curved faucet. Use your hot glue to glue them where you want them to be on your box.
Step 9) Paint
Grab your paints and paint your kitchen to your hearts content.
Step 10) Add your Knobs
Grab your bottle caps. (I choose to paint mine) Place the two soda bottle caps on opposite sides of your faucet and grab one of your small nails. Push it though the top of your bottle cap, and through your cardboard box (you may want to use a hammer, I was able to use my super strong thumb). Then grab your glue gun and glue the bottom part of the nail that is protruding through your box. This will keep the cap in place and protect your child from the pointed part of the nail while still allowing them to twist the “knobs”
Do the same thing with the knobs for the oven burners, and I choose to add one to my microwave so it would be easier to open.
Step 11) Add your Brads
I poked a few little brads through the back of my backsplash to hang pots and pans on. Do whatever works for you… you could probably also do it with nails, but I didn’t like the idea of nails jutting out so I opted for the brads.
And “Wha-la” you’re done!
If your kid/s are anything like my son they will adore it. We’ve got some great stainless steel pots and pans from Ikea and my son happily cooks on his stove and dutifully puts his dishes in his sink. Ha. I love it!
Have you made this craft? What was your experience like and do you have an suggestions to make it better? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
This is my first post for Cardboard Creations and I’m super excited about it, especially since this craft was really easy and turned out a lot better than I dared to hope for.
Supplies Needed:
1 large cardboard box (two if you want a roof)
Exacto Knife
Optional Supplies:
Large Plate (will be traced)
Book (will be traced)
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks (If you want to flip your box inside out to hide the text on it)
Paint
Kids seem to have a strange fascination with cardboard boxes and since we live in an apartment complex we have access to tons of boxes of every shape and size sitting near the recycle… turns out they are kind of an ideal crafting material.
And, since my son can’t get enough of dogs, I thought it might be fun to make him a Playhouse/Doghouse.
Step 1) Create the Roof Flaps Grab a large box, I stared with an Extra Large U-Haul Box. Lay the box flat, with flaps out. Find the top middle of the small flap of the box and draw a dot, then grab a strait edge (a ruler or book work great) and draw a line from that dot to the bottom edge of the flap, creating a triangle shape. Repeat this step for the other small flap at the top of the box. Then cut off the outside triangles so you just have the one large triangle in the middle left. Step 2) Create a Window with Shutters On the wide side of the box I traced a small book so I could create a window. Then I drew a line down the middle of it, so my window could have shutters.
I finished it off by drawing two small rectangles right in the middle of my shutters that could be used as finger holds when opening and shutting the window. Use your Exacto knife to cut out the windows leaving the further most sides intact.
It might help to have a book pressed up against the side of your window so that first crease happens along a line and doesn’t make your box bow awkwardly.
Step 3) Create a Door Grab a large plate or book to trace. I used a plate and positioned it toward the top of the box. I traced the top half of the plate, then used a book to create strait lines to the bottom of the box making a door.
I would also suggest marking a small area to cut a window in the door, this can be used for your child to open and close the door, and to peek through it. Again, use your Exacto knife to cut out your door shape leaving one side intact.
Again, it might help to have a book pressed up against the side of your window so that first crease happens along a line and doesn’t make your box bow awkwardly.
Step 4) Create a Roof (optional) If you want a roof your going to need another decent sized box. I found a big flat one, ripped out the seam on it so it would lay flat and then cut a large rectangle sized piece out of it, big enough to cover my whole other box. Then I bent it down the middle creating a point so it would stay on the box as a roof, but so I didn’t have to glue it down.
Step 5) Flip the Box (optional – only if you want to paint your box) Lay your box flat and find the seam where your box is glued or stapled together. Using your knife try to pry apart the glue or staples so that your box can lay completely flat.
Step 6) Reform the Box (optional – only if you flipped your box) Flip your box inside out, so that the unprinted side of your box is facing outward and glue the seam back together (I used a hot glue gun for this and it worked marvelously).
Step 7) Paint Your Box (optional) Paint it however you like.
Step 8) Fold the Box I left the bottom flaps of my box intact and folded them under the box for some additional stability. I rested the long flaps at the top against the triangle pieces I had cut out and laid the roof across them. And Bam! The house is ready to enjoy!
Have you made this craft? What was your experience like and do you have an suggestions to make it better? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
Sharing is Caring… Want to share this post? Check out this ready made tweet:
Click to Tweet: Check out this super easy, cheap, cute, DIY playhouse! #Upcycle #CardboardCreations #DIY https://www.slyspoon.com/2016/01/cardboard-creations-easy-diy-playhouse.html
