10 Creative Cardboard Crafts for Kids

A little boy sitting inside a cardboard car

Engaging your kids in creative art and crafts helps to develop their creativity. Art and crafts activities also help to break the monotony of the regular study routine.

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10 Fun and Easy Cardboard Crafts for Children

A little boy playing with a cardboard box car

Here are 10 cardboard craft ideas for kid:

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1. Cardboard Box Television

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Take a microwave box and cut out a square from it. Remember to leave about four inches of space on all sides.
  • Then paint the box with the colour of your choice.
  • Stick some buttons on any one side of the television. These will act as your television keys.
  • Stick a pompom on top of the pipe cleaner with the help of a hot gun.
  • Stick the tin foil on the inner part of the box.
  • To make the remote control, take a piece of cardboard and glue buttons on it.

2. Cardboard Box Rocket

What you need

Two same sized cardboards, a pair of scissors and packing tape

How to make

  • Cut the edges of both the box to make one flat sheet of cardboard. Tap over the gaps and seams to provided more support to the cardboard.
  • Draw a rocket top at the top of the flat sheet of cardboard. Then, cut the cardboard into the shape of the rocket with the help of scissors.
  • Bind the boxes together into a cylindrical shape using tape. Tap the nose of the rocket in the end.
  • For the wings of the rocket, use the leftovers from the cardboard and stick it at the bottom.
  • Your basic rocket model will be ready!

3. Red Cardboard Barn

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Shape the cardboard in the shape of a barn. Then, make the door using the utility knife.
  • Now the barn is ready to be painted with primer and allow it to dry overnight.
  • Paint the barn surface with red colour and roof with black colour. Allow it to dry.
  • You can outline the door with white tape. Your Cardboard barn is ready!

4. Big Foot Shoe

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Cut a hole in a shoe box. It should be big enough for your kid’s feet to slip in. You can decorate the shoebox by painting it or making patterns on it.
  • Do this for another shoebox and you pair of BIG FOOT SHOE is ready.

5. Diy Cardboard Pirate Ship

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • On a flat cardboard piece, sketch one side of the ship.
  • You will need two sides, one base and one back to make your pirate ship.
  • Glue the back piece onto the side pieces of the ship. Stick these on the base by glueing along each side.
  • Apply glue on the base up to the front of the boat. In case you manage to align the base and the front, the front of the ship will have a nice, straight edge.
  • Get an L-shaped piece of cardboard, a stick to mark the mast. You can place a small piece of Styrofoam to firmly hold the mast in place.
  • Stick the L- shaped piece of cardboard inside the back of the boat to make the cabin. Now stick the Styrofoam on the base of the ship pressing against the cabin and stick the mast into the Styrofoam.
  • You can use a square piece of felt for the sail and design them according to your wish.
  • Make holes on the lower and the top edge of the felt. Insert small pieces of rope into each one of these and fasten them to stick to make the sail.
  • Put a small cardboard for the plank and mark small holes for canon holes.
  • Your DIY cardboard pirate ship is ready!

6. Cardboard Car

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • First place three boxes on a plane surface. Now, start from the left and shut the first box using tape. Tape the bottom portion of the second box and tape the top portion only of the third box.
  • Now, with the help of adhesive book covering cover the top portion of boxes 1 and 3.
  • Use the adhesive covering to cover the long sides. It will tape the three boxes together.
  • Cut off or bend one of the flaps of the second box. The remaining flap will act as a windscreen.
  • Draw a door on the cardboard and cut it out, leaving one side attached to the hinge. With the help of adhesive book covering, neaten the raw edges. Make the door only on one side of the car. Don’t forget to attach the handle to the door.
  • Draw a windscreen on the cardboard box and cut it out with the help of the X-Acto Knife. With the help of the packaging tape, stick the windscreen to the fold of the box. Cover the windscreen with a different coloured book covering.
  • Cut out the shapes of a wheel from A3 black card to make the wheel. To make the hubcaps, cut a circle from the grey book covering. Attach the hubcaps to the wheels using the craft glue.
  • Cut out circles from a white piece of paper and attach it to the car using craft glue. This will act as the headlights for the car.
  • Fill the shoe box with some heavy unused stuff and put it in the car for the car seat.
  • For the steering wheel, draw and cut out a steering wheel shape from the cardboard. Paint it black to give it a realistic look.
  • Attach it inside the car and glue a small bottle cap in the middle for the horn.
  • Your Cardboard car is ready!

7. Cardboard Box Guitar

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Take the cardboard box and cut big pieces of it.
  • You can trace and cut out three pieces of ukulele shapes from the pieces of cardboard. Make a circle at the centre of the body of the cut-outs of the guitar and then cut them out.
  • Then, trace and cut out two smaller pieces of cardboard again.
  • Attach two big pieces of cardboard together using a hot glue gun.
  • Cut two wooden dowels. First of one-and-a-half-inch size and the second of two-and-three-quarters-inch.
  • Make a five-inch line two to three inch below the circle. Now make four dots half an inch below the line. Using a utility knife, make a slit in the line. Then push a dent in it and lay the bigger dowel piece. Secure all these with the help of a hot glue gun.
  • Now drill two holes on the 2 layers of the cardboard. Make sure that you drill the holes exactly where you made the dots.
  • Make a one-and-a-half-inch line just under the guitar neck curves on the top. Then make four dots above the line, one-third of an inch apart. Now follow the previous method, make a shallow cut along the line and glue the smaller dowel piece into the crease. You have to make small dents on the dowel to secure the guitar strings in place.
  • Cut open a few rubber bands and attach the bands along the longer side of the one-inch paper clip.
  • Thread the other end of the rubber band through the four holes of the guitar neck from the back of the guitar.
  • Pull the rubber band one by one along the front of the guitar and through the drill holes towards the bottom.
  • Knot the other end of the rubber band to a paper clip stuck on the back side of the guitar. Trim the excess part of the rubber band.
  • Stick the third full-sized guitar with the help of glue.
  • Attach the two smaller pieces of the guitar to the back portion of it. This will provide durability and thickness to the guitar. Use a utility knife to trim off the extra edges.
  • The Cardboard box guitar is ready! This is one of the best ideas of cardboard box craft for kids.

8. Cardboard Bunny

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Download a bunny template from the internet or draw a bunny on a sheet of paper. Trace the template on the pieces of cardboard.
  • Now, cut out three pieces of bunny shaped cardboard from the larger cardboard.
  • Now punch holes on the bunny shaped cut-out randomly.
  • Glue the three different pieces of bunny shaped cut-outs and allow it to dry for some time.
  • Thread the shoelace with the help of a needle.
  • Your kid can lace in and out however he wants. This cardboard bunny is a perfect craft for your child to develop his creativity.

9. Cardboard Box Dollhouse

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and paint

How to make

  • Stack the shoe boxes and glue them all together with the help of tape. The shape and configuration of your dollhouse will be determined by the number of shoe boxes you have used.
  • Add a paper Mache film to bind the structure together and then allow it to dry. You can also make use of emulsion to paint the paper Mache structure. The emulsion gives an even finish to the structure and then dries to give a matte finish.
  • Glue your kid’s favourite scrapbook paper and glue to the inside region using standard craft glue.
  • You Cardboard Box Dollhouse is ready!

10. Cardboard Castle

What you need

Microwave box, pipe cleaner, buttons, pompom, utility knife, tin foil and pain

How to make

  • Make small rectangles by cutting small flaps from the box on top of the castle to make the battlement.
  • Cut two paper rolls tubes in half. Now place the four tubes on each corner of the box and also mark the area where the tube meets the box.
  • Cut some triangles from the coloured craft paper to make the flag. Stick the triangle to one end of the straw using the tape. Fix the straw to the tubes.
  • Now make some doors and windows by drawing them on the craft paper and cutting them out.
  • You can make some treetops using the green craft paper.
  • Make two-inch slits opposite to each other on the paper rolls. Slip the treetops into the top of the paper rolls. This is one of the best ideas of cardboard box craft for toddlers.

So, take some cardboard boxes from the store and use the ideas above for some creative crafts. Make sure that you or someone older is accompanying them when they are using objects like hot glue, knife, or scissors.