Missy's Playhouse

• Cardboard boxes of all sizes
• Various other recycle-able items
• Tape (or hot glue & glue gun)
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Paper plate (for a paint palette)
• Paper cup (for paint water)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Scrap fabric/felt
• Exacto knife (optional)

1. Spread out your boxes and recycle-ables in front of you and experiment with different ways of putting them together. Do you want your house to have one level? Or multiple levels?
2. Use a large piece of cardboard as a base. Tape/glue the boxes in the order you like. I made a 2 level house that is open on the back.
3. Cut off extra flaps or parts you don’t need. You can use these to create a room or save them to the side for later.
4. Decide where you’d like the doors and windows on your house. Draw them first with your pencil, then use your scissors to cut them out (or have an adult use an Exacto knife).
5. Put paint on your palette and use your paint brush to paint the inside of the house and the outside of the house. Make sure to rinse your brush in the water cup before moving on to another color.
6. While you let your paint dry, you can use the smaller pieces of cardboard you cut off to make beds, tables, chairs and other furniture for your house.
7. You can also make blankets, pillows and rugs with scrap fabric/felt.
8. I decided to cut a toilet paper roll in half length-wise and glue it to my house to create a slide.
9. Once your house and furniture are dry, you can find toys that can live in the house: Lego mini figures, small dolls, action figures, small stuffed animals, etc.

There are endless possibilities when creating your own playhouse. It could take the form of a castle, a boat, a store or a school. You can paint the rooms with polka dots or stripes. You could even use very large boxes to make a small playhouse for yourself. Be creative and have fun!