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.

Meet the judges: LiEr of Ikat Bag

If you've poked around on the internet anywhere googling the words "cardboard" and "kids" chances are you've come across LiEr's blog Ikat Bag and her fantastic cardboard creations. She's made everything from telephones to fruit and vegetable stands, light up trains, Barbie carriages, pinatas, dollhouses that have indoor plumbing and heating (well, almost!), tiffin boxes and granny purses all out of cardboard.

Did I mention that she is also a seamstress/tailor, a former physics teacher and school counselor, pattern designer, mother of 3 children and creative genius? Lover of Nutella?

I'm so excited to have LiEr on board judging the costume contest as well as spreading her enthusiasm for all things cardboard! I hope you stop by her blog to check out her amazing collection of projects and great tips for working with cardboard.

Yokoso LiEr!

How to make cardboard bug eyes

These cardboard apple box liners have so much potential. I love their color and texture which works perfectly for insect or reptilian costumes. I've seen these liners in pink, yellow, purple, white and brown. Ask the stockist at your grocery store's produce department if you can take a few home.

This a costume component easily made by any child who can handle scissors, so a perfect start for a kid's first self made costume.

How great would these be for a bed bug costume?

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: Lullatone

We have another cardboard aficionado joining our team of judges! Shawn James Seymour of the Japan-based band, Lullatone. Shawn knows a thing or two about making incredible cardboard stuff. He teaches kids how to make a variety of musical instruments out of cardboard for a local television show here in Nagoya, Japan.

Whether you know it or not, you've probably heard Lullatone's beautifully soft yet vibrant music. They've done commercial work for clients like Target, Volkswagen and Anthropologie, but my daughters' love the clip they did for a Japanese female hygiene products company called Laurier the most. Check it out.

If you haven't heard Soundtracks for Everyday Adventures, their latest album, let me just say it's one of our favorites. Usually we put it on while we're doing things together like working on puzzles or cutting up vegetables for dinner. This is also an album I love to listen to when I'm just sitting around in my living room making stuff out of cardboard during nap time.

And one more little tip for you. If you ever need to calm down a cranky baby, try this Lullatone masterpiece. It works every. time. Thanks so much for joining us Shawn!

How to make a cardboard beard

A cardboard beard that's long and scraggly......

This project is similar to the cardboard mustache, except that you're gluing cardboard fringe onto a base. I used a rubber band threaded through two holes on the sides of the beard to secure the beard to the face.

A few costume options:

Gnome: add gnome hat

Uncle Sam: add patriotic top hat

Santa on Vacation (hey, it's Halloween!): add mustache and red or green track suit

Dr. Weil: add bald cap and mug of green tea

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!

How to make a cardboard mustache

In case you need a cardboard mustache to go with your cardboard lederhosen...

This is pretty straight forward, but I just wanted to remind you to make sure that your cardboard corrugation channels run in the direction that you are cutting your whiskers. I scrunched up the mustache a bit and glued it down to give it a fuller shape, but you can also just glue on more cardboard whiskers one piece at a time to fill in any gaps.

Last I glued a square of cardboard to the back and strung a sturdy rubber band through the corrugation channels, painted my mustache with basic tempera, (you could even use watercolors) and....Voila. Cardboard mustache.

Want a peak at some of the world's most incredible facial hair? Click the link to check out Dave Mead's Magnificent Specimens photo essay. I promise it will make you smile.

A cardboard costume can make your Halloween less plastic

This past spring I posted about getting the opportunity to meet some of my eco heroes here in Japan, and now this fall I have had the pleasure to virtually meet another inspiration, Beth Terry of My Plastic Free Life. Beth is a passionate author, TED speaker, blogger and activist working to decrease the harmful impacts of plastic on our environment and our health. Her blog and book are filled with lots of practical things you can do to decrease your plastic consumption as well as information about some of the dangers of plastics. Both of these resources are a great place to start if you're thinking about what you, personally, can do to cut down on plastics in your life.

When Beth asked me to write a guest post for her blog about The Cardboard Costume Challenge, I was really excited to put some ideas together. But the best part was seeing this photo of the cardboard Brita filter costume that Beth made as part of her initiative to get Brita to start recycling their water filters. 16,000 signatures later, she succeeded. How wonderful is that?

Beth left me with one parting word of advice when it comes to cardboard costumes: Don't forget to make sure it's a costume you can sit down in!

Hope your costumes are well under way?

Mr. Pumpkin Head

[stop motion animation: The Cardboard Collective family / music: our friends Lullatone]

I wanted to squeeze one little Halloween decoration project in before we roll up our sleeves for the Cardboard Costume Challenge on October 1st!

SO, here's a project that is inspired by two of my favorite Japanese artists Tatsuya Kameyama  and Atsuko Nakagawa who go by the collective name tupera tupera.

We got the work x create books by tupera tupera for my daughter when she was about 2 years old, and they were the best sticker books ever. You can still buy them in the US through Muji's website here. (FYI I have no affiliation with Muji, just a fan)

These sticker books were so beautifully designed, I couldn't stop looking at them myself, and so I got to thinking about making something that the girls could use to change the faces over and over again.

About a year ago, I came up with a project called the Cardboard Marquee that basically utilizes this same concept for making two pieces of corrugated cardboard "stick" to each other. You might have missed it since I had about 2 followers then (neither of which was my mom BTW).....

To make this project you're going to need to secure plenty of pieces of corrugated cardboard that "link up." You need to test your cardboard pieces for compatibility unless you have cardboard from identical boxes.

Go for the strongest cardboard with the widest corrugations that you can find (and still cut through with the tools that you have on hand.)

This is basically a cardboard version of a felt-board, so don't expect these pieces to have a death grip. They are perfect for little kids to play with, but sometimes the flutes/corrugations get a little flat, so if that happens, I suggest poking a chopstick or skewer inside them to help reshape the channels.

Get your big piece of cardboard and strip one side of the paper covering the corrugation. This will take a little work, and I usually use a chopstick to help pry up the paper. When you're done, cut out and paint your pumpkin shape.

To make the facial features, I first cut them out of magazine pages and other recycled papers that I have and then glue them onto the cardboard. It's very important that you always have everything lined up with your cardboard channels vertically, so you don't get say, a lazy eye, unless that's what you're going for.

Strip the paper off the back of your facial features and you're ready for a truly dynamic and fun Halloween decoration for young and old!

Wohooo!

Best Halloween Costume Ever.

This is it! Our first EVER creative challenge on The Cardboard Collective!

I hope I can energize all of you cardboard creatives out there to come up with a truly fantastic cardboard Halloween costume this year!

Here's how it works.

2012 Cardboard Costume Contest

1.  Create a cardboard costume that fits into one of 5 categories.

• Kids

• DIY (100% kid made)

• Adults 13 and over

• Hybrid (50-75% cardboard)

• Bicycle Costume

2. Starting October 1st, 2012 you can upload your pictures to the Flickr pool. Include in the comments section which category you would like to participate in.  If you don't use Flickr shoot me an email with permission to upload your photos at thecardboardcollectiveblog@gmail.com

3. The whole point of making a costume is to get all dressed up and parade around, so don't forget to spread the word on your blog, facebook, instagram, pinterest, tumblr and twitter account by plunking down the #cdbdcc hashtag or link to the Cardboard Costume Challenge and inviting the people you know.

5. Check back on November 1st, 2012 for final results and galleries of the most inspiring costumes and hey, maybe you'll even win something cool from our sponsor MakeDo Japan!

Ready to get Started?

Head over to check out some truly inspiring cardboard costumes and get lots of ideas here: Cardboard Costumes Pinterest board

I'll be posting tutorials every week filled with new ideas for working with cardboard as well as give you a glimpse at our own costumes in progress. I'll also be introducing you to our amazing judges throughout the month.

I'm so honored to be sponsored by the coolest cardboard toy ever!

Don't forget to grab your badge here:

Will You Join Me? A Global Cardboard Challenge

Have you heard the news? The Imagination Foundation, (the people behind the short film, Caine's Arcade) are hosting a global day of cardboard play!

While I'm busy organizing an event here in Tokyo and getting ready to unleash our first cardboard challenge here on The Cardboard Collective, I wanted to get the word out to all of you so that you can get the ball rolling in your neck of the woods.

The Imagination Foundation has put together organizing kits with resources and ideas for hosting an event in your community.

We would love to publicize your event here on The Cardboard Collective as well, so this is an invitation to all of you cardboard creatives out there....Will you join me?

Celebrating 50 posts! with Cardboard Pom Poms

It's hard to believe, but nearly a year and 50 posts have passed since the start of The Cardboard Collective!

I'm so thankful to all of you!

The blog has been a space where I have used cardboard to find solutions to all kinds of creative challenges that we face in our little family. You have cheered me on with your comments and kinds words of encouragement to keep innovating and creating.

My home has morphed from a tiny Tokyo apartment into a full-blown cardboard lab!

A place where boxes are stacked in corners to their tipping point, paper bags full of cardboard scraps are stuffed into empty closet spaces, and little paperboard models of future designs wait patiently on my bookshelf.

Where will another year take us?

Hopefully to better control of the cardboard stash, and new ideas! But in the mean time...

Are you ready to Celebrate?????

Aren't these little cardboard fireworks the perfect symbol for all of the dynamo qualities of cardboard?

These cardboard pom-poms are a prime example of what can come of fiddling around with beautiful colors and textures that might be hiding in even your recycling bin.

I love that they look like little bursts of cardboard energy strung neatly in a row.

The tools I used for this project include needle nose pliers, wire (I used large paperclips), and a cardboard cutting tool like a utility knife or these corrugated roofing sheers that I like to use for heavier cardboard projects.

I cut the cardboard kiwi boxes into 1 cm strips and bundled about 30 together with a piece of wire.

After I tightened the wire as much as I could, I started gently bending and fanning the cardboard pieces out, exactly the same way that you would if you were making a pom pom from yarn. As you bend the cardboard you will want to tighten the wire more to help the pom pom maintain it's shape.

Lastly I threaded a piece of paper cording through the middle of the pom pom and just kept adding to my string.

Where are the cardboard hats and kazoos? Well I haven't gotten that far yet, but in the meantime...

Happy 50th everybody!

Here's to another year of making cool cardboard stuff.

Cardboard Office Supplies Holder

Can you tell I'm on an organizing bend? Why shouldn't MOM get a cardboard thing-a-ma-jig every now and then?

Well, here's my newest treasure - a place to stick some of the sharp pointy tools I use so I can keep them away from little, "I know what scissors can do" hands.

It's also a way to use up a lot of scrap cardboard bits that you (or I) might have lying around.

I'd love to show you my gigantic pile of cardboard scrap that I keep moving around to different corners of my apartment, but I'm just not there yet...I know it's become very vogue these days to blog about the imperfections in your life and prove that everything doesn't always look like a well curated Pinterest board. But honestly, isn't that the best part about blogging? The fact that I'm typing with a towel on my head right now, but your seeing all this great cardboard stuff?

I pulled a yellow kiwi box out of my stash for this project and then cut it down to size, carving out two little handles on the sides. I find that a serrated knife does the best job for rounding corners, as I've never been able to cut circles in heavy corrugated cardboard with a utility knife.

You can mash up the cardboard on the inside anyway you like. We've got a random kind of Keith Haring thing going on in there, but it would be cool to make a more structured zig-zag or circular pattern too.

If you do something with this idea, I'd love to see your work! I think there are a lot of places to go with this compressed cardboard in a frame concept. It's super strong! Please send me your photos so we can feature you here on The Cardboard Collective!

OK, today is recycling day so I've GOT to get out there and see what else I can haul back and stuff into that empty space in my closet!

Using Cardboard to Make Easy Toddler Art Stations

When it comes to making art, there are a few challenges we face in our home:

1. We share a small living space.

2. We have a baby in our midst who is prone to trouble and spilling.

3. We want to protect our furniture, favorite stuff, and floors from damage.

4. We want to devote as much time to fun and interesting experiences as we can. (and as little to clean-up, and maintenance as we can)

5. We want to try to solve our problems in frugal, creative and kind-to-the-planet ways.

So, I want to share these two methods that we use in our home for making art projects more spontaneous, less of a chore to cleanup, very versatile, and 100% recyclable!

The first item we use is a kind of art caddy that keeps brushes, paints and water cups organized and spill-safe. They are really quick to make, and very adaptable.

First just gather your supplies: a small cardboard box, pencil, serrated knife, and all of the items that you want to organize in the caddy.

Arrange the items as you would like them, and then just trace around each piece.

Use the serrated knife to cut just inside the area you traced. I left about a 1 mm gap for this project.

Fit your items into the caddy and you're ready to go!

The second item we use is a fold-up cardboard work mat which can double as an easel.

If something spills on the cardboard I can easily wipe up the excess and let the mat dry. We can also let some of our spills decorate the mat to create a whole new piece of art in the process! That's why I think this cardboard mat is a really great solution. It's easy to store and you can recycle it or make a new one when your kids outgrow it. It's also costs only pennies to make. Let's get started!

You'll want to customize this project to the dimensions of the table where your child (or children) works. I originally made my pieces about 8.5 in. in width, but after using the mat, I added two pieces that were about 12 in. in width so that we could incorporate two easel panels that would accommodate a piece of computer paper that was oriented vertically.

When you put the panels together, tape every other seam, then flip the while thing over and tape the remaining seams. This makes the work mat easy to fold up in an accordion - style.

To affix the paper to the easel you have a few options. Here I just used tacks, but you can also use strong magnets on the front and back or a little bit of washi tape.

You could also punch holes in the cardboard and string some elastic through, which would still allow you to fold up the mat without added bulk.

Electra is hard at work on her first homemade gift for grandma's upcoming birthday! A set of hand-painted (+ other interesting stuff she found and glued-on) note cards.

Happy Creating!

The Cardboard Collective Etsy Shop is Now Open!

I forgot to report in my last post that we are back in Tokyo! Wow, so much has been going on, and the online class I've been taking from Sister Dianne Gilleland (of Craftypod fame) is the catalysts for a majority of it all.

In the class I've been working on ways to get some of the cardboard PDF pattern designs I'm developing out into the world for everyone to see. It's going to take a few months, but for the time being, I've opened My Etsy shop: The Cardboard Collective and I have two Japanese Craft Books for sale.  Remember this picture from my about page?

cardboard table www.thecardboard collective.com

This is the table and chair set that started it all. The project that got me so incredibly excited about cardboard that I felt compelled to start this blog and spend all my free time cutting, gluing and collecting the stuff.

The plans for this table set are in one of the books that I have for sale in the shop, and the second book that's available by the same author, has more furniture and lots of great cardboard toys and games to make too.

I'm feeling great about the fact that I've been able to find an excellent used book source for these two titles and that they'll be able to live another life in the hands of fellow cardboard enthusiasts.

Etsy World Craft Party www.thecardboardcollective.com

Etsy World Craft Party www.thecardboardcollective.com

Some more great news is that I got to attend the Etsy World Craft Party in Tokyo! The event was held at FAB Cafe, a fantastic place with a laser cutter on site! You can try your hand at some amazing projects like laser-burned jeans, wooden stamps, decor, and basically anything you can dream up.

I'm excited to make an appointment and go back to use the laser printer to create some custom stamps and stencils for The Cardboard Collective. I also want to find out more about how it might work on cardboard, and of course, just hang out at Fab Cafe.

The best part of the night was meeting some other Japan Etsy Sellers, and learning more about their craft and their shops. I got to chat with Angela and her husband from Sake Puppets, a shop specializing in Sashiko embroidery kits, as well as Elena, the spunky woman who heads up Etsy Japan. All in all it was a great night, and I loved designing and creating the cardboard props for the photo booth.

Etsy World Craft Party www.thecardboardcollective.com

etsy world craft party www.thecardboardcollective.com cardboard

etsy world craft party www.thecardboardcollective.com

Thanks again Etsy for a lovely evening, and I hope you all get a chance to check out my shop!

Our Cardboard Swiss Cheese Chalet

A new watermelon box creation!  A hideout for my two little pipsqueaks.

This little place was a lot of fun to build, and I love the idea of a hideout that's triangular in shape.  I spent about 2 days working on this project off and on, because I had to take breaks when my arm got tired of sawing through all that cardboard.

The watermelon box I started with already had lots of holes in it, so I enlarged some of them to create my  "Swiss cheese matrix" on all three sides.

I started by figuring out the rough dimensions of the little fort by folding the box in different places until I found what worked best for a roomy wedge of cheese.

This box had about eight creased corners, so I cut cardboard strips about 6 inches wide and glued them over the unwanted creased portions so the cardboard wouldn't bend in the places I didn't want it to.

After securing the cardboard and cutting out all the holes from the sides, I put a nut and bolt with a washer in the side to keep everything together and make it easy to disassemble.

Last step was creating a top piece out of lighter cardboard so that the girls could open it easily.

I added a coat of yellow paint, but I think it would be just as nice plain brown.  I also thought  pink washi tape would liven up the holes, but you can see where that's all going to end up.

I'm looking forward to the day when they'll be building their own little cardboard nests... And hey, did I tell you where some of our other watermelon box scraps have ended up?

These came shipped in a cardboard box that we picked up at the local post office.

They're not ours to keep.  We're just babysitting for grandma...

Pop-Up Cardboard Garden

UPDATE: Our first big harvest! That little cucumber grew up!

Electra has had her cardboard garden for over a month and a half now, and seeing that the cardboard is still in great shape after 6 weeks of rain, watering and sunshine, I thought it was OK to officially let it be known that our pop-up cardboard garden is a keeper.

When I was on a cardboard finding expedition at my local grocery store, the produce manager asked me if I was interested in any of the watermelon boxes they had out behind the store. Watermelon boxes, I thought, why didn't I think of that before?

Watermelon boxes are made of triple-walled cardboard with a slight waxy finish, and they are super sturdy, even when exposed to rain. This garden isn't intended to last for more than a summer season, but the cardboard should easily last that long. After we finish picking our tomatoes the plan is to distribute the soil onto the other needy beds in our front yard,  and pack up our watermelon box for curbside recycling.

I used a serrated bread knife that I got from a nearby thrift shop to cut the box down to 12.5" high. Then I just positioned the box in a bright and sunny area of our front yard.

My husband kindly screened several wheelbarrow loads of compost from our backyard and added it to the garden. The last step was cutting off the little triangles of cardboard on the sides that center the watermelon box onto pallets for shipping.

We decided this would be the perfect first garden for Electra so I let her pick out all of her own plants at the local greenhouse. I encouraged her to choose a variety of vegetables, flowers and herbs. She chose cucumbers, tomatoes, chives, basil, cilantro, rosemary, zinnias and her favorite, geraniums.

She LOVED handling and smelling her plants and breaking up their roots to get them ready for planting.

Here she is watering the new crop, and facing a few skeptic neighbors who were sure we were preparing for failure.

We watered the garden as needed trying to let it dry out as much as possible to encourage deep root growth and preserve the box. I notice after one month of watering the box is starting to break down a little where the bottom  seam is touching the soil. It looks like it's not to much of a problem at this point, so I'm leaving well enough alone.

After a big rain the cardboard gets a little damp and softens. It will harden up as it dries out, so try not to disturb the cardboard too much when it's wet. I'm not promising invincibility here folks, but this IS a means of getting a few more cherry tomatoes into your little ones hands, and a great way to kindle a budding love of gardening.

Isn't this tiny cucumber the cutest thing you've ever seen? Seeing it all nestled up next to the side of the triple wall cardboard just about breaks my heart.