I found this refrigerator box on the sidewalk and just knew it would be fun to paint!   I hauled it into our basement and got to work.  I remember our fellow condo owner complaining that my painting was making too much noise. Yes, the loud sound of a paintbrush swishing across cardboard. Oh, the joys of condo living! So I hurried through and didn’t ‘finish’ it perfectly, but the kids didn’t care.  I glued on flowers and doorknobs from A.C. Moore, and used an exacto knife to cut the shapes out.  I used simple craft paint for the colors.  There is nothing fancy about this box and materials cost less than $10, but it was a huge hit.

These large boxes are becoming increasingly hard to find, but these are so useful it’s worth the effort. I called around to appliance stores in our area and found one that still had boxes.  I like to keep several folded-up (unpainted) in the garage.  If we have a group of kids over, it’s fun to drag these out and let them create.  I let them draw the lines for doors and windows and I do the cutting.  The kids like to use duct tape to connect several houses together and markers to color their creations. We built a spectacular wooden playhouse with a loft in the backyard, and the plain boxes often get more use.

Speaking of cardboard boxes, have you heard what one little boy in California did with his? If you have ten minutes, watch this video about Caine’s Arcade. It’s fantastic.