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September 25, 2019
The idea of turning your child’s dollhouse into a haunted house is a little grim, but if you build one out of the hundreds of cardboard boxes that pass through your life on a daily basis, it’s, well, passable and you don’t have to worry about it creeping you out past October 31st.
This DIY cardboard mansion that I made for Parents magazine was a feat of architectural proportions. We saved so many boxes and stacked until we found the perfect shape. The best part of making these is that you don’t have to have the exact cardboard boxes that I have…you can use shoeboxes, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc!
It’s so easy…no witch-craft required!
1.Stack various boxes together until you create the shape you want, then glue to each other with craft or hot glue. If using craft glue, let dry several hours. (The house pictured is 35×25 in. and was made with about ten boxes.)
2. Paint boxes dark gray with acrylic craft paint. At the same time, paint toilet-paper and paper-towel tubes. Let dry.
3. Attach painted tubes as columns and spires. Top the spires with half circles of black paper curled and taped into cones. Roof pieces: Bend a piece of cardboard into a V shape; hold that shape and trace a triangle onto another piece of flat cardboard two times. Then cut out the triangles and glue or tape them to the front and back of the folded cardboard V. Repeat to make more. Paint roof pieces black and let dry. Use orange puffy paint to create a shingled roof pattern. Windows: Glue sets of four yellow squares or rectangles to the boxes to make windowpanes. Cut shutters from cardboard or cardstock and glue on. Doors: Cut doors out of cardboard or yellow paper; glue on beads for doorknobs.
1.Paint 1/3 of another toilet-paper tube green and 2/3 black. Let dry.
2. To make the hair, cut a 2×4-in. piece of black or gray felt and fringe it with scissors. Wrap hair around top of tube, and cut bangs over forehead. Glue into place.
3. Draw or paint eyes, cheeks, and mouth on green section with markers.
4. For the hat, cut a circle of black felt 1/2 in. wider than the diameter of the tube and glue to the top. Roll a half circle of felt into a cone and glue on top.
5. Wrap and glue a piece of black felt around the tube as the witch’s cape.
Photo by Dane Tashima, Styled by Pam Morris.
September 25, 2019| Age, Early Elementary, Grown-Up, Halloween, Holidays, Older Elementary, Preschool, Tween to Teen