Day 3 of Cardboard: Vending Machine

Have you ever tried explaining to your children why it's so much better to buy something from the grocery store vs vending machine?  "You could buy 5 of these if we bought it from the grocery store!"  Doesn't matter what you say, there's something about putting a coin in a tiny slot, picking your item, and having that item fall down into your waiting hands.  

Today we are making a vending machine out of cardboard.  This project was made by hubby with Joshie's input.

Skill level:  Easy!

Time:  15 minutes

Tools Required:  Diaper box, Clear Tape, Marker, X-acto knife, Imagination

This is one of the easiest projects to do but it is great for creative play.
Here are the steps but feel free to improvise:

1. Use a cardboard box that doesn't have text printed on it.  I picked this one up at the grocery store.  It used to hold pasta.  You could also use a diaper box, cut it open, flip it around, and re-tape it.
2. Use an X-Acto knife to design a) the coin slot  b) the swinging door c) the coin return
3. Hubby inserted a tube inside the box so that the coin would roll down from the coin slot and exit from the back of the box.  He put a little flap on the coin return so that coins wouldn't be flying out of the box.
4. Once you have completed the coin slot, swinging door flap, and coin return, tape the box closed.
5. Now it's time for some Sharpie fun.  You'll need to draw your number pad, as well as the items that are going to be for sale.  Notice how we have some items thare are not food?  The sun, heart, baby, and boot were Joshie's choices.

You're finished!  Now it's time to play and learn at the same time.  

 Here's what we taught Joshie with this vending machine: 

1. Number Recognition
2. Order/Sequencing  - i.e.  first you put in the coin, then you push the buttons, then you get the food
3. Sharing
4. Creativity - Joshie started putting his pretend play food into the swinging door so that he would "get" something once he put his money into the coin slot
5. Counting - A bag of chips would cost 1 coin, while the boot would cost 2 coins

We get a lot of use out of this box and the kids love it.  Thanks hubby!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this craft... come back tomorrow for Day 4 of Cardboard!

Day 2 of Cardboard: Canada Post Play Mailbox

Welcome to Day 2 of Cardboard Crafts!  It's also Day 2 of March Break!

Today we are going to make a Canada Post Mailbox from a diaper box.  

Hubby and I love making things with cardboard.  We have way too many unused diaper boxes so when I asked him to make the kids a mailbox, he got on it right away.  This is what it looked like when he was done. The kids were thrilled.

This is what it looked like when I got my hands on it. I covered it with red poster board and taped it all over.   I let the kids play with it for a while but I felt like it needed a little something more.

I glued a picture of the Canada Post logo to the sides of the box.  I found the picture on google, enlarged it, and cut it out.  Now it looks like a Canada Post mailbox!!

The front opens up just like a mailbox and the back has a flap which allows us to take out what they put in. At first, it was just paper going in.  By the end of the week, we found lego, bowling pins, and a football.

So... how does this mailbox stack up against the real thing?  Well... we don't have to wait in line.

 Seems like our mail gets delivered quicker too! 

I hope you enjoyed this craft.  Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of Cardboard!

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Day 1 of Cardboard: Milk and Juice Boxes

This week is March Break..  a week when the kiddies are out of school and the malls and museums are jam packed.  I don't have to worry about that yet since none of my kids are in school, but we are definitely going to take it easy this week.   In honour of March Break, I am going to be posting 1 cardboard craft a day. 

Today we are going to make cardboard milk and juices boxes.  These are so easy to make and so much stronger than the play sets that we bought from Toys R Us.   Joshie and Bunny have so much imagination and they loved helping me make it.  

Skill level:  Easy!

Time:  10-15 minutes

Tools Required:  Old cereal box, X-acto knife, ruler, pencil, printer, tape, glue

First, head over to Mirkwood Designs to download a free template.  I used the template called "Milk Carton Box".    I found the current template to be too small so I enlarged mine before printing it out.   If you are using a cereal box, make sure you trace and score the template on the outside of the box so that when you fold the box, the brown cardboard becomes the outside.  Hope that makes sense!   (If not, head over here and take a peek at how I built a puffy box out of cardboard.)

I wrote the words O.J. and Milk onto the cardboard but you can decorate it any way you want.  Joshie coloured it with crayons and then I used packing tape to keep the crayon from rubbing off.  I also used some duct tape at the top because I didn't have any glue left in my glue gun.  All in all, this was a very easy project!

How about some OJ with your breakfast?

Or some chocolate milk with your snack?

Have fun making these with your kids!  Come back tomorrow for Day 2 of Cardboard!

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