2D Cardboard Fun: Train Track and Doll House Project

 

Yes, I will admit it.  I have a sort of cardboard obsession.  I have trouble throwing out any box because I am constantly wondering what I can create with it.  There was the simple little house, the village of houses (yep, even invited friends over for that one), the “Sports Enough Tunnel” (my favorite train/car DIY box) and today, I’m sharing about the 2D train track and doll house projects.

What I love about this project is that there are no materials to gather aside from markers and a utility knife.  Any box will do!  

Here is one of the boxes I started with.  (The kicker is that these boxes were filled with yet more cardboard.  Sorry, honey!)

For my son, the train-enthusiast, I drew a simple track and loop.  Be sure to hand your kids some crayons or markers so they can get in on the design fun.

For my daughter’s box, I decided to make a 2D doll house floor plan for her princesses. When you were a kid, did you ever have the Crayola Design Kit for Interiors?  (I still have mine!)  I think that was where I got my love for looking at house blueprints.  With the kit, I spent hours with a simple floor plan and filling it with couches, chairs, plants and other furniture items.

For this floor plan, my daughter told me what colors to make the rooms and I drew away.  In imaginative play, she told endless stories of Ariel going to the pool, Belle inviting the other princesses in for lunch and lots of running through the house.

It was a simple impromptu project that provided more than an afternoon of fun.  And yes, I did throw them out (I can’t bare to write that!) they did end up in the garbage after a few days.

Next time you get a box, what will you make?  Just get down on the floor with your kids and create!


Linked with:  Tip Junkie, Preschool Powol Packets, The Thrifty Home, Somewhat Simple, Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling, Craftionary, I Can Teach My Child