I’ve always been the sort of person who wants to hang on to happy trash, shorthand for things that might otherwise be thrown out or recycled but that could also be used for creative projects.
Now I’m going to be hoarding empty boxes even more than usual in the hope that we can make some of the projects from DIY Box Creations: Fun and Creative Projects to Make out of Really Big Boxes
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Courtney Sanchez has gathered a dozen fun projects using large cardboard boxes in this book. The projects include:
- airplane
- rocket ship
- boxcar
- train table
- hot air balloon costume
- indoor doghouse
- retro stove
- dollhouse
- puppet theater
- fort
- lemonade stand
- sailboat
The book starts with general tips and a rundown of important supplies, and each project is shown in multiple steps so it’s easy to pull them together. The idea is that kids ages 8 to 12 can make these projects themselves with supervision, but grown ups could make them for younger kids as well.
These projects are cute, clever and a lot more detailed than the projects my daughter and I have made with big boxes in the past.
The train table, for instance, is stunning, with boxes mounted on plastic cups to give the table height and built-in storage for the tracks and trains. I also love the retro stove, which uses dowel rods and milk jug lids to make pulls and knobs. The puppet theater is great, too, and the fort has a Minecraft theme if you know any kids who are into that.
If kids help construct these creations, there’s a lot of learning to be done, including by following directions, engineering and constructing with their boxes, and the creative play that is sure to follow when the boxes have been transformed.
This book is a lot of fun and you might just find yourself buying moving boxes so you can make some of these projects.
Do you have a favorite thing to make out of cardboard boxes? I’d love to hear about it!
About the book: 80 pages, paperback, 12 projects. Published by Walter Foster Jr., September 2016. Retail price $9.99.
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