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Cardboard crafts:15+ fun ideas to make from cardboard

One two three four, hat of, hat of… One two three four a hat of paper of course! Who didn't grow up with it? Nowadays we do less and less with paper and more digitally. Invite someone to a children's party, for example. Or congratulate him on his birthday. And our kids even play a lot digitally. Time for an 'ode to paper and cardboard'. So turn off the TV and put that tablet away for a while. Let's tinker with cardboard!

Ideal for a drizzly afternoon tinkering with cardboard. Or sit outside in the sun. Do you ever do a craft afternoon? Very cozy. And it's good for the kids too, to be creative for once. Also for mom by the way. So are you having a good time? In this blog you will find the best craft ideas. And you don't need much for it. Some old toilet rolls and an empty box are often enough. tinkering with cardboard; you gotta love it!

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Collect all toilet rolls to tinker with cardboard

It remains a concept in primary schools. Collect toilet rolls. Because if there's one thing you can tinker with, it's toilet rolls. And kitchen rolls, for a larger size. Crafting with cardboard is ideal. You can put anything on it. The painting. And cut into fun shapes. Perfect for kids with a good portion of imagination.

Crafts encourage your child to think creatively. Not only fun, but also educational! What else do you want. Another advantage of tinkering with cardboard:it hardly has to cost anything, you can even pick it up for free at your supermarket. So don't do anything with the old paper for a while. Time to tinker with cardboard:so that's sustainable tinkering too.

All kinds of craft supplies can be found here ⇒

Crafting with cardboard; 15+ cool ideas

It's free and you can do whatever you want with it. And also a bonus:you always have it at home. Although you may have to hang upside down in the old paper bin for it 😉 . So is the craft shop closed on Sundays and your kids still want to start a fun project? Then you will find the best ideas for crafting with cardboard below. Do you have a cool paper project of your own? Share it in a comment 🙂 .

For the record:we did not make these crafts ourselves. We found the ideas on Pinterest. All credits to their creative creators!

1. Crafting with cardboard for the little ones:make a calico cat

Provide edible glue and your toddler can get started. Cut out a cute cat shape from a piece of sturdy cardboard. And child can do the laundry! Or the 'wallpapering', actually. Instead of pieces of cloth, you can also put some old magazines ready. Can your child tear and stick? Does mommy still have some old buttons for her eyes? And maybe a nice collar? In any case, the end result should be there. Cute, aren't those paper kitties? This craft idea comes from Daily Dachsie Journal.

2. XL cardboard marble run

Any toddler can enjoy it. A construction on which marbles or balls roll down. Toys that our grandparents already played with… But you can also make such a track yourself by tinkering with cardboard for example!

Provide a large box as 'bottom'. Then you can make the course with pieces of cardboard. Also fun:decorate the entire track with fun colors and turn it into a real pinball machine!

Would you rather make a small variant? Then craft a small marble run/maze in a shoebox. Then you get such a 'hand game' that you can play together.

3. Making a washing machine out of cardboard

For mom, it's anything but child's play. We have to get rid of mountains of laundry. Is the machine on? Great, then you should have some time to tinker with cardboard the old-fashioned way. If you have a large box, you can easily make this cool washing machine together.

With a thick waterproof marker, your mini-me can turn a simple box into a real washing machine. Cut out the door with a sharp knife (job for mom), leaving one side attached. This way the washing machine can really open. Because it is intended that all those small and large washes can of course. Can you see what mommy is going through? We also found this cool craft on Pinterest.

4. A drive-in cinema

This cinema is outside, but of course you can also use it indoors. Actually a super fun children's party idea. First let everyone craft their own car with cardboard and then watch a movie with some popcorn!

5. Little cardboard crafts, great fun

Crafting with cardboard is fun… But tinkering with clothespins too! And this is a nice combo. You always have a piece of cardboard at home. And the same goes for clothespins. With a little cut and paste you can make a very nice interactive craft.

First cut out the shape of the animal you want to make on the clip. A little sleuthing on Pinterest will give you even more inspiration! You can find these ideas on Crafts Unleashed.

Next, you need to create the "surprise." You only see it when the squeezer opens! You stick it on the bottom of the clip. Then stick the top on it. Add a nice text on it and your cardboard craft is ready!

Did you make such a funny peg-beast yourself? Then we are of course very curious about the result!

6. Craft your own pencil box with cardboard

You can of course make a nice pencil box from a shoe box, but how about this nice cardboard pencil box? Very beautiful!

You simply stack the empty toilet rolls (there they are again!) after you have pimped them. Make them different sizes by cutting them diagonally and stick nice washi tape on the edges to finish them.

We found this fun craft idea on Pinterest. Of course you can also cover the box with beautiful pictures. Or how about photos? Do you immediately have a nice Father's Day gift for daddy's desk.

7. The paper dollhouse

Perhaps a classic when it comes to crafting with cardboard… Make your own dollhouse! You can go either way with it. And an extra room is added in no time. Just get an empty box from the shed 😉 .

Super cute, aren't these Lady Lemonade cardboard houses? You can go crazy with paint, old magazines, wasabi tape and your pritt marker. Also a nice long-term project, because that house doesn't have to be finished in one day. Also fun:making your own Barbie house out of cardboard. Is one house still too simple for you? Then take a look at the following craft idea…

8. A whole city of cardboard

Wow, this is definitely not a one day project. But tinkering with paper can also be a bit of patience, right? This is not a craft project for the little ones. But once your mini-me gets a little handy you will be amazed at how much creativity there is in that child. Children love to let their imaginations run wild. And are often a lot better at it than 'grown-ups'.

So have a good stock of cardboard ready. Scissors and some glue. And just build your own world! Are you going for a Brazilian city like this one? Or for traditional Dutch gables?

All in all a very cool craft project for the long term. And you'll see how addictive it is to expand that world a little bit at a time. Perhaps even more addictive than the tablet or PC? We'll see.

9. Making guitars from cardboard

How cool are these guitars? We found them on a Spanish website of which we did not understand the explanation at all, but hey, if you look closely you can see how you can tinker with cardboard, right? Especially the strings are fantastic!

10. Making a stove from cardboard

There is no shortage of household equipment if you let your children get to work with cardboard. That washing machine from above was nice, but a real stove with oven should of course not be missing if you want to tinker with cardboard. It's not that difficult .

Here, too, Mama is allowed to cut the oven door again. The knobs on this oven are made of wood, but you can also use toilet rolls for this. Cut to the desired length, close at the front with, for example, a sheet of paper and stick.

11. Making cardboard fish

A shoe box and some other pieces of cardboard. Some paint, a thread and a cap from, for example, empty milk cartons and you are 'ready' to tinker with cardboard and make such a beautiful aquarium as above. Found on DIY ideas.

12. Making an airplane from cardboard boxes

And how about this special aircraft? The children are happy with that for a while, especially if you also turn it into a nice painting project!

13. Crafting with cardboard and making a garage

You have to save some toilet rolls for this, but once you have them you can get started making this huge garage for all cars. Not only fun to play with, but also fun to clean up the cars at the end of the day. That way you don't necessarily need a storage basket in the nursery.

14. Making a steam locomotive from cardboard

If you have enough boxes at home, this steam locomotive is also fantastic to make. You cut out the wheels separately so that you can really make them against it, so you get an even more 3D effect with the cardboard. Finishing touch:the white balloons! Found on Pitty Pat.

15. Making a puppet show from cardboard

Make a puppet show together out of cardboard and don't forget to tinker with the 'dolls' with cardboard. As you can see here, you can easily craft fun animals yourself. A curtain in the puppet theater and your child is ready to put on an entire theatrical performance. Found on a French DIY website.

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