Happy Winning Wednesday! A big WIN in our house is Cardboard Box Crafts! We order our diapers, wipes, and other essentials in bulk – so we end up with some wonderful large cardboard boxes. On the rare occasion that I’ve ordered a piece of furniture or an appliance, we got boxes that were perfect for a big playtime project!

Cardboard boxes can be turned into almost anything. Take the opportunity to craft with your family, and then use your imaginations to play with your new creation!

The following are some fun examples of Cardboard Box Crafts that we’ve made in our home. The kids love being able to cover the boxes in construction paper, stickers, drawings using markers and crayons, and more!

Cardboard Rocketship

First, open the top of your large box. I like leaving the bottom closed so the kids can put toys in it while they play make believe.

Using a sharp scissors, cut one of the smaller flaps off (that will be the back of the rocket ship). The opposite flap will be the front of your ship. Using your scissors, leave a rounded portion of the flap, about 3 inches wide. You can see the small flat on the front of our ship in the photos.

The two remaining large flaps need to be trimmed to make wings. I simply used my scissors to cut between 1-2 inches off each side at an angle for each “wing.”

After you’re done cutting the flaps, it’s time to decorate! Using kid friendly materials like cardboard paper, glue sticks, and stickers, help the kids decorate their new rocketship. I let the kids cover sections of the box using the glue stick, and then helped them stick on the construction paper. You can also use aluminum foil on sections like the wings if you want more of a metal look. I completely set them loose with the stickers and they had a blast!

If you want to really take it to the next level, print out a control panel and glue it to the inside of your rocketship. Thats it! Now let them have fun flying through space! 🙂

Cardboard Cars

This is a super easy craft and very fun! Your box doesn’t need to be huge for this one. Cut the top completely off the box. Now you need to cut off the bottom flaps. Before you cut anything else, use a marker to draw your tires. Cut off the remaining flaps, cutting to leave the tires attached to the box.

Now it’s time to decorate! Let the kids pick out construction paper in their favorite color(s) for their car. Let them use glue sticks to stick on the construction paper. I let them cover one whole side at a time and helped them smooth on the paper. They felt very independent and it was an easy and safe way for them to help out. I used black and white construction paper to cut out colors to cover the tires. Use a marker to draw on the lights, grill, and other car details.

Use the tip of your scissors to poke a hole in each of the 4 corners. I used shoestrings to make straps for the car to sit on the kids shoulders. You can use yarn, ribbons, or whatever you have on hand. Now – have fun!!

Cardboard Castle

This craft requires a much larger box. I ordered a storage ottoman and the box it came in was perfect for a castle! You can also recycle a box from a neighbor. You can try posting on Nextdoor to see if one of your neighbors has a big box in good condition that you can use 🙂

Prop the box up on it’s side so it’s nice and tall like a castle. I used a serrated knife with a pointy end to cut a drawbridge. started at the bottom of the box, cut up and around to make the drawbridge, and left the bottom connected. Use the tip of the knife to poke a small hole in the corners of the drawbridge and above the door openings. Using 2 long pieces of string, connect the drawbridge to the castle.

Using the knife, cut a door in the back of the box so that they can get in and out of the castle even if the drawbridge is closed.

Cut one of the box flaps off  – I used one from the top of the box so the bottom could stay in tact. Use a sharp scissors to cut the flap into a pattern that looks like the top of a castle. You can use a pattern if you like, or just wing it like I did! This is a sample of an easy design.

Tape the piece onto the top of your castle using box tape. It gives your box some extra height and makes it look a lot more like castle. Cut a small slit (about 2 inches) on each side of the top of your castle. Slide empty paper towel or toilet paper roll tubes onto the slits to look like towers.

Now get the kids involved to decorate! I used a marker to draw bricks on the sides to give it more of a stone castle look. We had decorations left over from a party that we taped on the top as well as some fun LED battery operated lights from the holidays. Use markers and stickers to let your kids get involved.

Now – have fun! My kiddos loved to sit inside and play with puzzles, read books, and just hang out – it became their favorite fort!

NOTE: I chose to build this without my kids because I used a knife for this craft. They can still decorate it, but I did the “building” without them for safety.

I hope this post inspires you to use your boxes for fun crafts with your kids! Not only is it an opportunity to recycle your boxes, but it’s a great way to play and let your kids imaginations soar!

ENJOY and happy Winning Wednesday!

XOXO