Honey Comb Cardboard

A beautiful new cardboard find this week: Honey comb. I only have a few pieces dug out of a fruit vendors recycling pile.

We've come up with one way to use it so far...in our toolboxes.

Cardboard & Cap Peg Rack

Now that my daughters are almost 2 and almost 4 they've started borrowing my jewelery. I'm not quite sure what that means about my taste in jewelery, but they are scaling my 4 foot high bookshelf  to get to it. As a compromise, I've decided to sacrifice access to some of my sturdier, more sought after necklaces in the hopes of safeguarding some of the more fragile and precious stuff.

Contraband jewelery stuffed into little boxes, purses and paper bags was popping up all over the house.... as if a colony of Leprechauns had taken up residence. In an effort to deter further looting, I bargained that some kind of necklace depot would distract them....

I started with just one box, which gave me 6 lengths of cardboard approximately the same length. I then assembled my caps.

I had a variety of laundry soap and maple syrup caps and some of the caps magically fit together, but some did not. I ended up using Washi tape to secure them. I didn't have enough caps, so I borrowed a cylindrical block from the block bin. You can use whatever you have on hand for this project, it doesn't have to be plastic caps. Blocks, corks, tiny plastic or glass bottles; all can do the job.

Next step was arranging the caps and tracing around them. I used a box cutter to carefully cut around the circles on the top layer, and then a serrated knife for the layers below. It's helpful to try and cut just inside the area that you traced for a snug fit.

Last step was gluing the layers together. I used one layer as a backing and didn't cut any holes in that layer. I also spread a thin layer of glue slightly diluted  with water over the top piece of cardboard to preserve it and keep it from showing dirt and fingerprints. To hang the rack I threaded paper cord through the corrugated channels and tied it off.

Spring Planting in Cardboard

Last year I started experimenting with planting in cardboard even though nearlyeveryone around thought I was crazy. Well, not one of them was shy when the time came to harvest our cherry tomatoes...

This fall I made a simpler kind of planter utilizing the planter hangers that I have, and torn pieces of scrap corrugated cardboard tucked and layered inside. They over-wintered well, and to freshen the boxes up in the Spring, I just added new cardboard to the outside edges and removed some of the inner layers.

Spinach, salad greens, cilantro and nasturtiums...we can't wait for our little sprouts to start popping up! And we're curious to see how our experiment with the glass case (Used for displaying traditional Japanese dolls- there are always tons of these at the recycling shop) works for our tomato starts. We're hoping to transform it into a home for adopted caterpillars......

Cardboard Play Days 4&5

[slideshow_deploy id='3717'] This week was filled with lots of play, lots of cardboard, and lots of discovery. I learned a lot by watching children and parents play and build together during the two events that took place.

The first was a play event for my daughter's Yoji group, a play group that meets weekly at the local Jidokan (a kind of youth community center). The other was at a local park called Kajino Koen. The Kahjino event hosted lots of local groups that support the park, like Play Park: a local adventure play organization that facilitates weekly play events for children.

Play Park built an amazingly tall and steep wooden slide with wooden handholds, as well as over-sized hammocks, rope walkways, and braided swings. I'm in love with the work that they do and I'm hoping to deepen my relationship with their community in the coming year.

A few things I learned this week:

• Crayons (bright, waxy pastel ones) play really nicely with cardboard. Markers wander, and paint is a pain to clean up.

• Parents love to play like children. Children give them a great cover for indulging in the kind of play that they used to do.... and at the same time children fall in love with their parents all over again. There is an amazing playful connection that Is kindled, and when I see parents leave cardboard events smiling, I know an imaginative little fire has been lit and will grow into something more.

• pre-teen boys like to kick cardboard boxes and stab them with screw drivers. At first I bristle, and then I watch for a while and see the totally therapeutic effect of this activity for them. They calm down, start talking to each other and then start to cooperate and build. Cardboard stabbing boys, I welcome you, and I love to see the amazing things you can build with cardboard.

• Girls can bring a quiet measured intensity to building with cardboard. I love watching them deliberate while considering all the details like widows and shelving...their excitement is contagious.

• I love connecting with people through cardboard, seeing parents build something for their children, seeing children build something else for themselves, watching three year olds rip their older brothers around in the back of wheelie cardboard boxes.

• What can I say? I'm hooked.

Resources: How to put wheels on a box and instructions for Tanaka Satoshi's Giant Cardboard Windballs

Cardboard Kid's Chair Makeover

Our beloved cardboard kid's chairs are almost 3 years old. They've been in desperate need of a makeover for a while now, and I thought those of you who read the blog would be interested in seeing how cardboard furniture wears over time.

These chairs are regularly used as vaulting boxes by my two little ones so I can't imagine a better stress test.

I started by addressing the corners that had worn, and cut small strips of cardboard to use as shims.

I glued them into the worn areas to give the chair corner rigidity again and reshape the edge.

Next I trimmed off any loose cardboard and traced the different pieces of the chair one at a time onto (new) post consumer cardboard and cut the pieces out. After some gluing and clamping, this is what we got:

Not bad huh? Almost as good as new......and the chairs will be even more smashing after we treat their exteriors to a new look:

.....catch that in my next post.

Cardboard Heart Locket

When my daughter was about 18 months old, we went on a trip to an island off of Tokyo's coast called Shikinejima. It was the off season, most restaurants were closed and we were sleeping in a tent.

We ended up doing a lot of shopping at convenience stores, eating meals of: apples, Oreos, cans of hot cocoa, and cans of tuna fish, and were even gifted a fresh bag of assorted seafood from a local fisherman, which we hesitantly attempted to cook over a fire... Maybe you've had a similarly strange almost-camping experience?

One of the shop keepers, a little old man who was so enamored with our daughter and her blond hair, kindly gave her a red plastic 3D heart pendant which had a light inside that would blink on and off.

It was one of those toys with sticking power, and became well-worn and well-loved over the next year and a half- that is until the battery died.

When I saw this cardboard heart ornament on Pinterest by A Little Learning for 2, it gave me the idea for making a low tech replacement for the blinking heart pendant.

My daughter approved. She loves being able to open and close the locket. We're now working together to make something similar as a Valentine's Day present for the grandparents. Definitely not afraid to share the cardboard love....

Info on adding cardboard beads to your locket here.

A Cardboard Toolbox for Kids

As a family of makers, a kids' cardboard toolbox was next up on our cardboard making list. I found a smaller box with smaller handholds for the toolbox with real tools, real nuts and bolts and other real stuff, for real cardboard projects...

Child sized tools: embellishment hammer, round tipped serrated cutting blade, spackling blade, screwdriver and safety scissors

Assorted screws, bolts, nuts and washers

Here's a peek at our first project. I originally saw this idea in what I believe was a February 2012 issue of Family Fun Magazine. They used dry wall screws and a rock for pounding, which would work too.

We enjoyed the opportunity to do some parallel "making". It was great to all be focused on different cardboard projects while we pounded, sawed and glued to our heart's content.

The accordion cardboard drop cloth is a great addition to this ensemble. I blogged about it last fall here.

Do you have a cardboard tool kit or set of tools for your kids? I'd love to hear how others are making cardboard construction play accessible for kids of all ages...

Make a Cardboard Toolbox

Two years ago I found a beautiful old wooden sheep shearing box at Camberwell Market during a trip to Australia with my family.

It was beautifully worn and even had tiny little strands of wool still caught in some of the corners. I quickly filled it up with my favorite sewing tools and supplies, and have enjoyed toting it around immensely ever since.

I have long thought about trying to replicate the design in cardboard for my cardboard tools. When I started working with banana boxes last year I realized I had found a possible solution.

I spent several weeks in late December and early January creating a variety of designs and assembly techniques that incorporated the pre-made features from the banana box like the pre-punched handholds.

I truly believe that this (essentially paper) toolbox could last a lifetime before being recycled.  It's easy to build, strong, durable, and functional. Maybe someone will buy mine at a flea market some day. Wouldn't that be a dream! (Although maybe now that I've built about 10 extras, I might get on that sooner than later...)

The act of constructing a cardboard toolbox instantly transforms you from a passive Cardboard Aficionado into an energized Cardboard Maker- be prepared for this dynamic life change!

You'll need:

• Approx. 30 minutes of your time

• 1 banana box

• cutting tool

• ruler

• pencil

• large binder clips or small clamps

• white glue (I prefer low VOC eco glue

Cardboard Finger Puppet Book

This Christmas present  was a team project. I got lots of guidance while I was sewing the facial features on "wiggle worm." My daughter also wrote the story for the book, which strangely enough changes every time you read it... you can catch the "text" below.

Stitch your wiggle worm together from a fabric scrap.

Cut holes in the middle of the pages of a cardboard book. Cardboard book how to here. Tape your worm in place.

Glue a cardboard page over top, to secure the "wiggle worm."

Looking a little smug after the photo shoot isn't he?

MakeDo Cardboard Igloos

On Saturday we were excited to host another Cardboard Play Day at the American School in Japan with an enthusiastic group of young builders.

Kids living in dense urban areas like Tokyo usually don't have a backyard or nearby place where they can muck around.

Providing the space and materials for cardboard tinkering is akin to tree house building for city kids (as well as a beefy upgrade from blanket and sofa cushion forts.)

We had the most gorgeous day of pre-winter weather that you could hope for and a great turn out of kids and parents.

[slideshow_deploy id='3160']

I really enjoyed working side by side with the kids this time, holding pieces of cardboard together for them and taking their direction as they figured out how to attach shelving, install "TVs" and keep intruders out of their igloos.

The kids faced the perils of dome collapse and near exhaustion from sawing cardboard doors and windows all day, but we still we had to kick them out by 2:00 so we could cleanup and go home...

Looking forward to putting on another cardboard play day again really soon!

Cardboard Tinkering Toy Series: Cardboard Tube Gun

Part cross bow, part rubber band gun, part cardboard tube rocket, we affectionately refer to this device as the "snake shooter."

You'll need two strong cardboard tubes like the kind that aluminum foil comes on plus one more that fits over the two joined tubes, something like a poster tube might work.

Join the two narrower tubes with masking tape.

Add decorative tape.

Attach rubber band.

Cut notches on the sides of the larger tube segment.

Watch out tube heads!

Cardboard Tinkering Toy: Cardboard and Cork Flip Car

This car is SO much fun!

It really makes my girls giggle because it seems like it has its own personality. We've had a great time tinkering with ramps, and there was also a failed zig-zag chute, but the girls also love attaching a string and chasing after each.

This project is pretty intuitive once you gather all the tools and materials together. A few pointers:

* Use large paperclips that have fewer kinks to straighten out.

* Try to cut your corks as evenly as possible.

* You can make the car without the hinge in the middle, but if you do make the hinge, be sure to leave a gap between the hinging parts.

I hope you try this one out, it truly is a toy for all ages!

Cardboard Costume Challenge Results

[slideshow_deploy id=2839] (Notes: Because all of the costumes were essentially made of cardboard elements mixed with other media, I eliminated the "hybrid" category. There were no bicycle costume entries.)

Adults:

Edward Westerhuis: I am the Ram! Cardboardia: Cardboard Jack-o-lantern (Special Mention) Leelada via Flickr: Cardboard Cowboys

Kids:

wrnking via Flickr: Cardboard Knight Rachel and Tom Morgan: Archery Knight

Kid Made:

Leo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Sid: Star Wars Storm Trooper (Special Mention) Lego Block

You all have me pondering the many new ideas you put out there with your incredible costumes! I'm thinking about metallic cardboard, felt on cardboard, fringed cardboard, cardboard horns, and wearable cardboard houses and cars.

So much inspiration! I hope you feel the same way! The level of creativity that turned out for the challenge was so overwhelming, I hope everyone feels a great sense of accomplishment from the costumes they created. Tomorrow I'll be posting some reflections about the challenge and welcome your suggestions for next year.

Deep bows to all our judges and to MakeDo Japan for donating MakeDo kits to all the winners of the contest!

Cardboard Costumes of 2012

As you can see from the pictures, the only thing that can keep you from smiling when you're wearing a cardboard costume is the rain!

Cardboard Cowboys by Leelada via Flickr

Wow!!!!!!! & I Need your Help!

1. Cardboard Contest 2012, 2. IMG_7213, 3. Cardboard, 4. Accessory 1 ~ Photo 7 (made from cardboard cereal boxes), 5. Cardboard gargoyle mask, 6. Skull Mask, 7. African buffalo mask, painted, 8. Supernatural Habitat, 9. Made in Cardboardia. Workshop in Moscow., 10. Made in Cardboardia. Workshop in Moscow., 11. Minister of Culture, 12. Day of Giant Tyran's Creatures, 13. Sea creatures, 14. Costume, 15. Cardboard Ishkabibble costume by Anandamayi Arnold, 16. картонная маска Бкнганга3

Wow!!!! I am in awe of the fantastic costumes that have been entered so far............ but I know we can get more people involved!

We want as many people to enter the Cardboard Costume Challenge and show their creations as possible! This is our chance to inspire a movement of incredible cardboard costumes full of creativity and craftsmanship!

Maybe you weren't able to enter the contest but you have a friend that made an incredible costume out of cardboard, or another student at your child's school? Help them to enter! I'm extending the submission deadline to Nov. 2 to allow for entries from various time zones.

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You can copy and paste this message into your email or smart phone:

I saw your amazing cardboard Halloween costume today, and wanted to tell you that you should enter this cardboard costume challenge online http://thecardboardcollective.com/cardboard-costume-challenge/ There are prizes from Make-Do (a cardboard construction kit) and several different categories to enter. Check it out and hey, great job on your costume!

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MakeDo Japan kindly donated the best prizes ever! One of the most imagination-inducing, creativity-boosting, cardboard-affirming toys on the planet! Thanks so much MakeDo Japan!

Live in Japan and want to buy MakeDo so you can tinker with cardboard throughout the year? click here. If you are an English speaker and need language help to purchase MakeDo, email me at thecardboardcollectiveblog@gmail.com

If you live elsewhere, MakeDo is available via Amazon.

5 minute Cardboard Petticoat

While I realize not every costume can be best created out of cardboard, I wanted to inspire you with a little idea for some covert cardboard.

At one point I tried to construct a full blown petticoat out of cardboard, but after more than one failure, I thought there must be a better way.....

Surely this is a trick that every mother should have up their sleeve? A kind of Julie Andrews move akin to pulling the drapes off the wall and stitching up a dress, except you'll pull a strip of cardboard out of your recycling and make an ever-puffy twirly skirt.....hopefully while singing?

Just staples and a long strip of cardboard is all you need. Make sure that the corrugations in the cardboard run parallel to the skirt's hem and you'll get a smoother contour.

Cardboard Karma Chameleon

A few more tweaks and this guy's ready to dance!

How are your costumes coming?

We have a little less than a week left!

Can't wait to see YOUR creation! Upload to Flickr or just shoot me an email with your costume photo attached to thecardboardcollectiveblog@gmail.com

Adapting a sewing pattern for cardboard

It's often handy to work from a pattern if you're feeling squeamish about designing a headpiece for your costume from scratch. Sewing patterns are a great option if you can get your hands on an appropriate pattern for the costume you're making. Here I've adapted a simple child's hood pattern into a headpiece that is big enough to fit an adult.

1. Trace your pattern pieces onto cardboard and cut them out.

2. Texturize your cardboard by crumpling it up and twisting it, this will give your cardboard a more leather-like texture and make it easier to work with.

3. Cut thin flexible strips of strips of cardboard about 1.5 to 2 in. wide by whatever length you will need (I like boxes that are similar in weight to pizza boxes) and glue these strips one side at a time to the two pieces that you are trying to join. Regular white glue and clamps or clothespins work great for this.

4. Continue adding your cardboard seams as you put all your pattern pieces together. trim as needed.

5. Now you can begin to modify your piece for your individual costume. Here I added more pieces with the same technique by gluing thin strips of cardboard for the seam and then attaching a forehead and jaw piece.

Links to a few handy patterns suitable for costume making:

Vest pattern by the Mother Huddle

Hood pattern by Fabric link

Children's fitted hood/hat pattern by Martha Stewart Living

Baby cowboy boots pattern by Nap Time Crafters (You could adapt this pattern for making any kind of boot-like shoe covers.)

Meet the judges: Octodrone

Meet cardboard artist John Daniel who goes by the Flickr name Octodrone and the moniker jD. He's made cardboard  masks, costume elements, and props professionally for productions by the Presidio Trust, and  Word For Word's workshop performance of "Stories From Sonoma Mountain" in Wheeler Hall at UC Berkeley.

When I was looking for inspiration for the Cardboard Costume Challenge I came across jD's work on Flickr and was instantly drawn to his striking cardboard masks and props. When I read about how many of these masks and props were used; to act out plays about nature and environmentally conscious personalities like Ansel Adams, I was even more intrigued. What a fitting use of recycled cardboard!

jD is busy preparing for an exhibition of some of his cardboard works in SanFrancisco right now, so we're really lucky he's agreed to help out with the judging for the costume challenge. Thanks again jD, and best of luck with your opening!

Some cardboard texture ideas for you...

1. Cardboard spirals are great for cardboard wigs, antennas, or scary egg carton eyeballs that fall out of your glasses.

2. Egg cartons and crates make great bumps, horns, tentacles and nostrils for animal costumes.

3. Braided cardboard, Rapunzel or Boy George are just a few options to get you started.

4. Picket fences can create bones, gladiator bracelets, etc.

5. Corrugated strands separated reveal those cool crimpy parts if you're trying to add new textures.

6. Fan folded cardboard holds it's shape well for bows, fins and wings.