Pop-Up Cardboard Play Day #7

Another cardboard adventure out in the park!

This time I learned something important.

I love DEconstruction,

but

not destruction.

The kids that came out to play built a fun labyrinth of houses/caves and then slowly took the whole thing apart. It was really great just watching them. I saw a two year old saw cardboard for about an hour straight. In the same groove. I loved it.

Later in the week I took just the Windballs to another park to play, and a few teenage boys kicked them around a bit. It was good, I was glad to see them enjoying them, but then they just stomped on them, shattering the MakeDos to bits before running off.  I didn't love it. My teacher voice came out.

Did you see the adorable pink cardboard kitchen that I found at the grocery store where I sourced all the cardboard?

Cardboard Costume Challenge 2013!

YYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!  Today is the Kick-off  for The 2nd Annual Cardboard Costume Challenge!

The Mission? to inspire the making of awesome handmade cardboard costumes.

My secret agenda? Help parents reconnect with their kids (and themselves) through making.... and my even more secret agenda, rid the earth of flimsy, flame-retardant Halloween costumes destined for the landfill.

I decided that this year I wanted to adopt a non-commercial, non-competitive approach (less contest, more spirit tunnel) AND I wanted to make the event more kid-centered (it's such a valuable design opportunity for kids.) I also wanted to encourage adults, who maybe don't own a sewing machine, or don't think of themselves as "creative" to branch out and try dabbling in cardboard.

Cardboard Cowboys by Leelada via Flickr

My own creative mother found the costumes entered last year so amazing she said she was too intimidated to attempt a cardboard costume! This year there won't be any categories, sponsors, or prizes.....just an event for sharing cardboard enthusiasm and the love of making!

So what do you think? Sound interesting? You can follow posts and tutorials throughout the month of October centered around topics like cardboard hats, masks, accessories, and other costume extras plus info about tools, tips for working with cardboard, and moving from idea to finished costume.

Upload pictures of your costume in progress (as well as completed) HERE in the Flickr community and access past tutorials HERE.

P.S.

There are a few prize related contests and opportunities out there that you should know about if you would like to enter a competition (with some pretty substantial loot.) We'll definitely be rooting for you!

Inhabitat Green Halloween Costume Contest (adults)

Inhabitot Green Halloween Costume Contest (kids)

DIY's Cardboarder Badge

See you soon!

Cardboard Play Day at Kujira Yama

This Friday the adventure playground Play Park will be hosting us for a "Cardboard Play Day" to celebrate the Global Cardboard Challenge. We're praying for sun, since a rain day will mean re-scheduling, but either way preparations are in the works for an amazing day.

Play Park is part of an incredible, volunteer supported NGO (NPO) called Asobiba that operates a variety of permanent and temporary adventure playgrounds throughout Tokyo. I'm so excited to work with them and hope to bring cardboard play into their adventure play repertoire in the future!

If you're free, and you're in Tokyo, please join us!

武蔵野公園  クジラ山

Location: Musashino Park's Whale Mountain プレー  パーク October 4, 2013 2013年 10月 4日 FREE 無料 12pm-5pm 午前12時 - 午後5時 Rainy Day = canceled 雨降りの日 = 取消

Cardboard Play Day at Musashino Place

A few photos from our first ever, open-to-the-Tokyo-public, cardboard pop-up play day.

We ran the event with just recycled cardboard, a few tools, bike power, and creative spirit.

Neighboring Ito Yokado kindly helped us bring many beautiful boxes over from their store (including the fantastic red stuff which was left over from New Year's postcard displays) and MakeDo pieces were lent to us by the American School of Japan.

We assembled these incredible Wind-balls prior to the play day, with Tanaka Satoshi's design plans that you can get here. Just plain fun. We've now got the smaller one up as a lampshade in the girls' room and it's gorgeous.

[slideshow_deploy id='3382']

The highlight of the day was seeing parents and children building together. Once my Japanese teacher helped me to write a sign in Japanese inviting everyone to play freely, they all started getting to it. Little houses, castles, tunnels, trains and forts....it's all poetry to me.

The same box on wheels that I made about 8 months ago (and flew back and forth from the US with) withstood countless laps on the concrete around the grass patch. I'm thinking we could do a great pop-up based on these alone....where to reclaim some old wheels????

Thanks to my friends from MIA, my husband (who even made dinner after we got home) and Chris B of a small lab for coming out, bearing the cold, taking pictures (many of which you see here) and wrangling cardboard with us at the end. A true labor of cardboard love! I really appreciate your support.

I'm looking forward to hosting more pop-ups and play days in 2013 so stay tuned for more info on where we'll be next...

....of course I hope you'll consider having a few cardboard pop-ups in your own home in the meantime?

Cardboard Day of Play: Tokyo

What can I say? I'm exhausted, but smiling away as I type this...The energy and enthusiasm of the kids that came out to play was incredible. Their creations- inventive, ridiculous, beautiful, fun- gave me that electric feeling of seeing creative minds at work.

My favorite moment of the day was peeking inside the doorway of a cardboard tunnel to discover a secret shelf holding an overflowing treasure pot of candy collected from the Homecoming Day festivities. It felt a lot like discovering a squirrel's cache of acorns hastily piled up for winter in the hidden nook of a tree...

I can't leave without  extending my sincerest thanks to the American School in Japan staff and parent volunteers for working to make the Day of Cardboard Play happen. I also send a deep bow to MakeDo Japan for donating MakeDo kits (that the kids had a blast with) and last but not least, Tanaka Satoshi for all his help and inspiration. You can see his signature work in the video clip below.

Back again tomorrow with more cardboard costume ideas. Can't wait to see more of the pictures that are trickling into the Flickr pool.....Hey, why don't you go ahead and upload yours right now?

Meet the judges: Tanaka Satoshi

Tanaka Satoshi is an artist and maker who works on projects ranging from web design to architecture. He is known widely as a MakeDo Master, but I consider him to be an all around cardboard contemporary. Tanaka has created eye-catching, larger-than-life cardboard sculptures as well as projects for kids. The wind-ball pictured above as well as an adorable koi made from a tissue box are among my favorites.

Tanaka is the creator behind the Japan MakeDo blog, and will be joining our "collective" of judges for the Cardboard Costume Challenge 2012. I also share the pleasure of working with Tanaka at the Global Cardboard Challenge event on October 13th here in Tokyo. Thanks for joining us Satoshi san, we look forward to seeing more of your incredible cardboard creations in the future!