Build cardboard house - instructions for a cardboard house

• Building playhouse made of cardboard
• Building cardboard house - instructions
  • Ornament of the house
  • ball track
  • Facility
  • fitness
• Cardboard house for pets

Would you like to give your child a special toy that is creative and environmentally conscious, as well as simple and inexpensive ">

A large playhouse made of cardboard has many advantages - both for your child and for you. Your offspring can retire to Papphaus to play in it or just to enjoy the peace and quiet. For you, such a toy is inexpensive - and it is immense pleasure to build a stylish playhouse made of cardboard . Our hands-on, step-by-step guide will show you how to do it, and provide great inspiration for the exterior and interior design of the house. Have fun after the tinkering!

Preliminary remark: Why it is so cheap to build a playhouse made of cardboard

To make a paperboard, you will need some materials, as you will see shortly, but: Most of these utensils you probably already own. And when it comes to decorating, you have a completely free hand - which means you can just take what you're looking for and you do not have to go shopping - unless you're missing certain elements that you really want to bring along.

Building playhouse made of cardboard

What you need for a cardboard house:

• big box
• long paperboard (about 20 cm wide)
• big, flat cardboard
• Cuttermesser
• scissors
• electrical tape
• wide Tesaband
• Bang foil (= bubble wrap)
• pencil
• tape measure
• long ruler
• Acrylics
• brush
• Decorative elements of your choice
• craft glue
• floral wire

Note: Cardboard packaging can also be used in a variety of packaging - the main thing is that the cardboard element is large, sturdy and in good condition.

Building cardboard house - instructions

Step by step to the playhouse made of cardboard

Step 1: Stick all sharp corners and edges of the cardboard box with insulating tape.
Step 2: Place the box with the opening facing up.

Step 3: Cut an entrance in one of the two shorter sides, for example in the shape of a round arch or in an angular position.

Tip: Use a craft knife for this. If necessary, you can sketch the door first with a pencil and then cut along the line.

Step 4: Repeat the third step on the opposite side of the cardboard.

Note: Depending on what you like better, you can also score doors in the box instead of the entrances. In this case, do not cut the cardboard pieces out completely, leaving the left or right edge untouched to open and close the door.

Step 5: Fold up the four components of the cardboard opening.

Step 6: Stick the folded up parts with insulating tape - outside and inside.

Step 7: Lay out the bottom of the cardboard house with bang foil.
Step 8: Glue additional cardboard to the folded-up and fixed long sides of the cardboard top. Use wide Tesaband for this.

Tip: These cardboard pieces should be about 20 inches wide. For the length, simply orient yourself by the dimension of the long sides of the box, which should become the cardboard house. Thanks to the additional cardboard elements you stabilize the house and create a slightly larger adhesive surface for fixing the roof.

Step 9: Measure the longitudinal and transverse sides of the box to determine the required size of the roof. Insert a tape measure for this purpose.

Important: Multiply the width of the cardboard box by 2. This will give you the optimal width you should use for the "roof box". The length of the roof corresponds exactly to the length of the house.

Step 10: Cut a large, flat piece of cardboard for the roof (simply mark the length and width with pencil and finally cut with the cutter).

Step 11: Measure - again with the measuring tape - the center of the roof box (starting from the width).

Step 12: Using a pencil and long ruler, draw a straight line from left to right (from the center marked).

Step 13: Slightly cut the cardboard along the line with the craft knife.

Attention: do not cut completely! It's just about being able to fold the roof more easily afterwards.

Step 14: Fold the roof box into the carved center to get the typical shape of a roof.

Step 15: Stick the wide-teak roof to the pieces of cardboard you added in step 8 - from the inside and the bottom.

Note: It does not do anything at all that the roof does not close with the cardboard at the front and back. If it bothers you, you can also glue the areas with other pieces of cardboard (cut them out beforehand and fix with Tesaband).

Step 16: Draw a large window on each long side of the paperboard (simply a rectangle). Use pencil and ruler for this.

Tip: Alternatively, you can also draw several small windows.

Step 17: Measure and mark the center of the window rectangles (you only need to draw a line from top to bottom in the middle).

Step 18: Cut the top and bottom lines of each window completely (with the cutter knife).

Step 19: Cut the center of each window with the cutter.

Step 20: Slightly score the left and right lines of each window with the utility knife.

Note: Do not cut through. The purpose is, as with the roof, to fold the cardboard easier.

Step 21: Fold the two window sides of your incised windows slightly outwards to create the typical window look.

Step 22: Paint your house with acrylics as you like - outside and inside.

Tip: You can let your creativity run wild here. We will give you some ideas in the next section of our guide.

Step 23: Wait for the paint to dry completely.

Note: If you do not want to paint the cardboard, you can glue it on as well - this may include wrapping paper or photos (collage).

Step 24: Decorate the playhouse with your desired elements. Again, your imagination knows no bounds. And again some suggestions are waiting in the following chapter.

Tip: Simply fix your decoration with craft glue or flower wire. If you use the latter, you should always tap the ends of the house in the house - this will prevent your child from being injured unhappily when playing in the cardboard playhouse.

Everything is made, fixed and allowed to dry "> Decoration of the house

Ideas for the outer and inner ornamentation of the house

Exterior painting of the roof in bright colors such as red or orange; decorate the interior with deep blue and then glue luminous stars and moons that shine in the darkness (as you know them for the ceiling). Alternative for inside or outside: fairy lights .

Paint a flower meadow or various animals such as hedgehog or cat outside on the cardboard. Details of the animals may make "tangible" - such as the hedgehog's spines with parts of a frizzy mop or the fur of the cat with plush.

Here are some ideas on how to decorate the outside of the house:

• Form and fix flowers from pipe cleaners
• Create clouds of cotton wool and stick them on
• Shutters with colorful craft felt
• Glue the glitter bands to the lower ends of the roof
• Make a ball track out of paper rolls and fix it

ball track

Extra: How to build a ball track out of paper rolls

Step 1: Take two empty rolls of toilet paper and an empty paper towel roll.
Step 2: Paint the rollers as you like, or paint the outer sides colorfully.

Step 3: Glue the first roll of toilet paper, slightly high up on the house (but under the roof) slightly obliquely (so that an opening points slightly downwards). Whether left or right, is up to you.

Step 4: Fix the kitchen roll paper slightly to the left or right under the first roll of toilet paper. You have to use a ball to check whether it rolls reliably from the first to the second cardboard roll. Do not attach the kitchen roll paper until it is properly aligned.

Step 5: Now do the same with the second roll of toilet paper, which forms the lowest part of the ball track.

Step 6: Finally, attach a suitable collecting tray for the balls below the second roller - this can also be made from cardboard.

With a ball track, your child will certainly have a lot of fun - and you may also like to roll the balls through now and then.

Facility

Tips for "furnishing" the inner area of ​​the playhouse:

• Lay out the floor with a fluffy blanket
• put in one or two decorative or cuddly cushions

fitness

For whom a playhouse made of cardboard is suitable

First and foremost, a cardboard house is of course intended for children to play with. But who has a pet (cat or dog), who knows that the fur noses are also very happy in cardboard boxes enjoy. Thus, there is also the possibility to build a great playhouse made of cardboard for the four-legged friends. In this case, you simply adapt the decorative elements to the respective pet.

Cardboard house for pets

Ideas for a cardboard house for cats:

• fasten thick thread / shoelace at the top and let it hang down
• Attach element for scratching (sharpening of claws) with Velcro
• Fix game mouse to a spring and stick the latter to the house

Ideas for a cardboard house for dogs:

• Attach the toy bone with Velcro (challenges the dog ...)
• Adhere squeaky and / or chew toys to cardboard playhouse

For cats and dogs useful:

• Stick on the empty cardboard roll and hide some treats every now and then
• Interior with a warm blanket (playhouse as a sleeping lair)