DIY Cardboard Castle

This DIY Cardboard Castle is the answer to your "I'm bored" dilemma! How much fun would your kids have playing in this beauty? The best part? You can get them involved in the building process.

Materials

Wardrobe Boxes
Flat shipping boxes
Square box
Small shipping boxes
Paint
Paint roller
Felt
Yarn
Hot glue

Directions

THE DRAWBRIDGE, WINDOWS AND DOORS Start with cutting out door and window shapes, with a utility or X-acto knife.To add some extra fantasy/medieval touch to the windows, create a frame out of foam core and glue on to box

FOR THE DRAWBRIGE Cut the main door out of foam core board about 2” larger than the door. Then tape it down to the bottom of tower to create a hinge. Create holes in the top of the drawbridge, then thread string long enough to go through the tower and out on the other side. This way kids can pull the strings to make the drawbridge go up and down.

THE CASTLE PEAK Using a square 2’x2’ box, draw triangles (peaks) on your box then cut. You should have four points or flaps. Bring the four flaps together and tape.

ASSEMBLY Each tower is a wardrobe box with a slot cut out of sides the same size of the width and height of the flat box. The flat boxes get inserted into tower slots to create the wall. The flat boxes have the smaller shipping boxes glued to the top. The tower tops are flat boxes with holes cut out the size of the wardrobe box, so it can fit on the wardrobe box like a hat. Then place the peak on top of center tower.

BANNERS AND FLAGS The flag and banner poles are length 1/2 dowel cut to size with wood balls glued on ends. The banner is a cut piece of purple felt embellished with pieces of yellow felt. The top of banner is simply rolled over pole and glued. To hang make a 3’ length of braid and two tassels from yarn. This is looped over pole ends and hung from a wall brick. The flag is a piece of craft foam cut into a medieval shape. Accordion fold it and let sit aside wrapped by rubber band or under a book for 15 minutes so the folds set in. Once unfolded the flag has a wavy blowing in the wind illusion. This was glued onto a dowel pole. A small hole was cut into peak top (big enough to slide in but small enough to be snug)