Cardboard Hermit Crab Costume by Amber
Materials: cardboard, paper chord, white glue, paint
carton
Cardboard Lobster Costume
Cardboard Lobster Costume by Amber and Pete
materials: cardboard, paper, paper cord, white glue, paint
Paper Jellyfish Costume
Paper Jellyfish Costume by Amber
materials: cardboard, paper cord, paper, white glue, LEDs
Cardboard Octopus Costume
Cardboard Octopus Costume by Amber
materials: cardboard, watercolors, paper cord, cartons, Kraft paper, white glue, wire, LEDs
Dancing Cardboard Skeleton Costume
Dancing Cardboard Skeleton by Amber
materials: cardboard, tempera, watercolors, paper cord, nuts and bolts, white glue
Paper Milkweed Costume
Milkweed Costume by Amber
Made from recycled materials and recyclable
Melon cartons, egg cartons, paper twine, cardboard, Japanese paper rice bags, newspaper, tempera, chalk, white glue, staples
A Cardboard Mushroom
Cardboard Mushroom (Amanita Muscaria) Costume by Amber and Pete
Made from recycled materials and recyclable
Cardboard, packing paper, staples, glue, tempera paint, Japanese paper rice bags
Cardboard Costumes!
L. Towill's "Snowy Owl"
M. Doran's cardboard peg horse http://unedaliaenwestfalia.wordpress.com/
J. deGroot's cardboard stag
Wow! These are some of the incredible costumes that blog readers sent. Cardboard used in a variety of ways, and utilizing the natural tones and textures of the material. Outstanding!
A Visit from the Purple Unicorn
Mac Huynh, Writer: Unicorn, Photo by Patricia Chang for Racked
Malorie Lucich McGee, Tech Communications: Cereal Killer, Photo by Patricia Chang for Racked
Ben Chiaramonte, Brand Designer: Wolf of Wall Street, Photo by Patricia Chang for Racked
Our Cardboard Costumes Pinterest board was recently featured on The Pinterest Handmade Halloween Hub. Some Pinterest staffers even made their own costumes inspired by some on the board, including our own Cardboard and Newsprint Unicorn Costume, (top) which looks even better in purple, I think.
Cardboard and Newsprint Unicorn Costume by The Cardboard Collective
Workshop: Cardboard Creatures & a Pinata too!
in Workshops
I had a great time with all the kids and parents that came to the mask-making workshop. Their creativity transformed a pile of cardboard and paper recyclables into a fun menagerie of hats, masks, wigs and mythical creatures. I also loved sharing my family's long time tradition of making pinatas (this time in cardboard) with so many families who had no idea what pinatas were.
Thanks to everyone who helped with clean-up, spreading the word through email, my very kind friends who translated for me, and to everyone who came out on such a beautiful day to enjoy the fun of making and celebrating together.
Mask-Making Workshop
In cooperation with Play Park Kujira Yama ( a weekly pop-up adventure playground in Tokyo) I'll be leading a Halloween mask-making workshop culminating with a cardboard pinata we'll decorate the day of the event. Oide!
Who: preschool and elementary aged children and their parents
What: recyclable Halloween hat and mask making
Where: Koganei Musashino Park next to Kujira Yama
When: Friday, October 24th, 2014 from 2pm - 4:30pm
Please bring some light weight cardboard, a stapler and scissors (with your name on them) and okashi/snacks to fill our pinata!
Newspaper Witch's Hat
in Uncategorized, Make
Pop-Up Cardboard Play Day #7
Another cardboard adventure out in the park!
This time I learned something important.
I love DEconstruction,
but
not destruction.
The kids that came out to play built a fun labyrinth of houses/caves and then slowly took the whole thing apart. It was really great just watching them. I saw a two year old saw cardboard for about an hour straight. In the same groove. I loved it.
Later in the week I took just the Windballs to another park to play, and a few teenage boys kicked them around a bit. It was good, I was glad to see them enjoying them, but then they just stomped on them, shattering the MakeDos to bits before running off. I didn't love it. My teacher voice came out.
Did you see the adorable pink cardboard kitchen that I found at the grocery store where I sourced all the cardboard?
My Wolf Twin in Coll d'en Rabassa
My wolf twin lives in Mallorca, Coll d'en Rabassa! He's having the same trouble scaring Japanese commuters, children and beagles as me...
Pep sent some great process shots as well. I love the eye balls.
Wolf Mask by Pep Riutord
Wolf head pictures courtesy of Pep Ruitord at http://www.paparra.tumblr.com/
Cardboard Christmas Star
This has been my first experience decorating a Christmas tree as an adult. After university, I always lived overseas and traveled on my holiday break. Once we moved to Japan and started our family, the girls were always so little and then there was the question of space, storage and living or artificial tree.
I ended up finding a little artificial tree at the recycling center and the girls have fallen in love with it. They made pomanders, threaded glass beads and popcorn, and covered it with the 100 tiny paper cranes that one of my husband's students gave to him several years ago.
We were missing a star though, and although the one I made for the top is a little serious for our kid- decorated tree, I hope we will grow into it over time.
Simple Steps:
I used recycled gold cardboard that I've collected, but you can use thin cardboard and gold paint to get a similar effect.
Cut out two cardboard circles, a little larger than a spool of thread, and then trace the spool in the center of both circles to use as a guide for gluing the spindles.
Cut spindles to measure: about .25cm x 6.5cm (about 75-100 pieces.)
Glue the pieces onto the circle.
Cut out your stars (2) and score. The original idea for this project came from the tutorial by grey luster girl. I changed the size and shape of my star to fit this project. To make the star, I made a paper template by folding it up like a snowflake and then cutting it until I got the size and shape that I wanted.
Glue your stars onto the spindles.
To make the base of the star, fold a piece of cardboard in half to make an ice-cream cone shape. (Simpler and more effective than the pyramid one I made.) and glue your stars and spindles to both sides.
Cardboard & Button Christmas Tree
in Uncategorized, Make
I made this little table top Christmas tree for the girls. They are really into stringing beads and buttons these days. They love the act of decorating (and redecorating) a tiny tree.
This is also the perfect little something to send to someone who doesn't decorate much for the holidays ...... you can stuff it in an envelope.
We collected some of our orphan buttons from the ground around train stations and parks we frequent here in Tokyo and some are from our old clothes.
To make the tree:
You will need a chopstick, scissors, cardboard and a rubber band.
Trace around the mouth of a drinking glass and add 1cm to the diameter to make the largest section of the tree. Cut it out.
Continue tracing and cutting out the circles, making each one about 1cm smaller than the last. I ended up with 7 layers.
Poke a hole with the chopstick through each circle and thread it onto the tree, starting with the largest. Be careful not to push the circles down too far.
Draw and cut out a star by lining up the corrugations so that you can thread it onto the top of the chopstick.
Cut a long strip of cardboard (about 2-3cm wide) and roll it up with a rubber band to make the base.
Decorate with your favorite orphan buttons or disassemble and send to a friend.
Cardboard Turn-taking Cube
This cardboard die was made in an attempt to settle disputes in our house. My youngest had just turned two, and well, no dice, it didn't work at all. The two of them actually fought over who got to play with the cube, so I just put it on my shelf, and chalked it up to a failed experiment.
At two and a half though, things have changed for the better, and the "turn cube" is doing me some justice.
Just a cardboard cube, six photos and assorted washi tape is all that you need. If you have an odd number of children in your family, you'll need to put a "roll again" message on one face of the cube, and if you have more than 6 kids, well, I'm sure you've figured out a better system than this for maintaining your sanity!
For instructions on how to make the cube, you can find them here, in the book I sell in my Etsy shop. The pattern also explains how to make large cardboard blocks that you can take apart and store flat, a really cool design.
Otherwise, try a plain cube-shaped cardboard box, often the ones that ornaments come in at this time of year are perfect!
Although it's already Mid November, I just wanted to say thanks again to all of you who took the Cardboard Costume Challenge this year.
Whether you sent in pictures or just got thinking about the idea for the future, thanks for following us on this year's Halloween adventure. I had so much fun working on our insect family costumes as well as the other costume tutorials.
I hope to see you again next year, and please visit the Pinterest Board now and then as you start scheming and dreaming for 2014. (I already have a request for a Humback Whale costume from the littlest one and a year might be just enough time to figure it out!)
Luna Moth Costume
AmberLuna Moth, 2013 Found cardboard and paper, egg and apple cartons, paper cord, watercolor, pastel chalk, white glue
Last in the series:
"Insect Family"
Blue Butterfly Wings
AmberLittle Blue Butterfly, 2013 Found cardboard and paper, melon and apple cartons, paper cord, watercolor, pastel chalk, white glue
part of the series:
"Insect Family"
(Inspired by this butterfly puppet by Octodrone that my daughter fell in love with.)