Make a quick cardboard ship

Cruise ship? Pirate ship? Cargo ship? Cardboard ship. If you have everything to hand this is a quick 15min cardboard project for hours of toddler fun.

You will need:

A cardboard box
A sharpie
Scissors or a stanley knife
Brass paper fasteners

This project centres around my new craft wonder accessory the brass paper fastener. I am trying to use them in everything I do.

1. Cut the flaps off the top of the box and keep them to make the anchor.

2. Cut circles in either side of the box for port holes. These then become your steering wheel.

3. Draw a wheel on the circles (does it have a technical name? I can’t think) and then fix it to the front of the box using a brass paper fastener

4. Draw an anchor on a chain and fix it to the side of the box using a brass paper fastener.

5. Draw waves on the bottom of the box.

5. Put a small chair in the box for the toddler captain.

You can also make a telescope from the leftover cardboard.

Set sail.

Our first dolls house

Back in the day, before we discovered the joy of dolls house structural engineering with cardboard boxes, I was desperate to find something new to do with a cardboard box, and a toddler who had been inside for too long.

Out came the sharpies and a knife to make a little house. It’s pretty good for a younger toddler, at this stage mine was obsessed with putting things in things so on several occasions ALL the toys disappeared in this box.

It’s very quick to make. If you are not 100% confident with your drawing skills (and I am not) have a browse online at some basic illustration. It’s sometimes just good to get a bit of inspiration to start you off. Basic sharpie line drawings can also double up as colouring templates for kids so they can help to decorate the house.

And always build a cat flap. It’s amazing how occupied a 2-year-old stays with a cat flap, or a corgi flap in this instance.