Sunday, August 17, 2008

Cardboard Car


Sorry everyone, for the long absence. 
We've been busy the past two weeks - first, we all had colds, 
and then my parents came, all the way from Singapore! 
They'll be here five weeks, which is absolutely lovely. 
So in recent days we were occupied with recovering and 
getting the house ready (i.e. repeatedly cleaning the same rooms 
of the same toys which seemed to magically reappear 
at the same places five minutes after putting them away).  
I've been making stuff - sewing mostly, but haven't had the time 
to put them in pictures. I even have a couple of tutorials ready to go, 
except I haven't gotten round to learning how to scan patterns 
into the new computer with the relatively new scanner 
(new to me, anyway). So once I've figured all that out,
 I'll post the tutorials. 

In the meantime, here's what we made today - 
a cardboard car for the kids. Usually when I make something, 
the ideas and plans churn in my head for a few days before 
I am ready to execute them. But yesterday, Emily decided 
she needed a cardboard car. And fast. Now, in fact. 
Managed to hold her off with the (true) excuse that we didn't 
have any boxes. But she wouldn't be put off, and the longer she waited, 
the more complicated and fancy her "car" idea became - first it was 
a car for her dolls, then it was a car for her and Jenna, then a car 
for her and Jenna and their dolls with seat belts. Then it was 
a carriage with a roof. Then a sort of utility vehicle. 
Finally it was bedtime (phew).

And this morning she asked for the car again. And I thought 
we'd better make it before she got enough ideas to ask for an 
amphibious-bus-cum-sedan-chair-cum-flying-saucer. So we set about 
making it, with no plans in my head except that it needed to have 
some nice wheels. Somehow found two diaper boxes (visible 
in the photo) and used them inside-out. Gives the kids a surface 
to decorate and avoids telling the whole world which stores 
we shop at for necessities. 



It essentially has two small boxes for bench seats, a smaller box 
for the engine/dashboard, two paper plates glued together 
for a steering wheel, a wooden disposable chopstick for the 
steering column, another box in back for a trunk/boot, and paper 
shapes for the headlamps, taillights and wheels/hubcaps. 
Grandma and I put it together (hooray for help!)
Emily drew in windows on the sides and decorated the trunk.



I realize it is about the boxiest car I've ever seen, but at least 
it's generic in shape. This way, with some imagination, it can 
be a fire truck, bobsled, canoe, race car, convertible, non-waterproof 
submarine, amphibious boat and bus! Perhaps even a princess 
carriage, if we decided it came from a zucchini rather than a pumpkin.

2 comments:

  1. I have been following your blog, and your love of cardboard, for a couple of years now. I finally ventured into my own attempt at cardboard crafting by making a rocketship for my daughter, inspired by your car. Thanks for the great ideas!

    ReplyDelete

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