It’s Spring break here and the kids are into their second week off school. Seeing as I work from home I’ve put my daughter to work coming up with project ideas for me, and she’s more than happy to oblige.
Learn more: 50 activities for kids when there is no school
Being a blogger there’s always a constant supply of packages being delivered for future projects and this means lots of empty boxes laying around which delights my daughter to no end because she has a small cardboard box obsession. She just loves turning them into new things; from dog kennels to castles, to tables and chairs for her dolls, and she even has a car for when her and the other girls play ‘shop’.
This is her latest project.
I was allowed to help with this just a little, but this really is a project for kids – parents you will need to help with the cutting of the box though.
Learn more: 15 ways to keep kids busy in the house
What you need:
- Empty box
- X-ACTO knife
- Paint
- Glue
- Duck tape
How To Make A Lap Tray
To make this cardboard box lap tray the first thing you want to do is cut the flaps that open and close the box off.
Don’t throw all of the pieces away though. Keep the two longer sides. Tip the box over on it’s side and using glue, secure the two long pieces into the bottom of the box. We were able to lift up the flaps and, glue them underneath, fold the flaps back down and duck tape them into place. This adds more support to the tray top so that if the child presses down on it the top doesn’t collapse.
Turn the box over so that the opening is on the floor or counter. Carefully mark with a pencil where the opening for the legs will go and using an X-ACTO knife cut it out.
Then you are ready to paint the lap tray. Once the paint is dry put strips of Duck tape across the top of the tray, this allows you to wipe it clean if the kids get any pencil or marker on it when drawing.
Learn more: 5 frugal & fun activities for rainy days
My daughter loves her tray, she’s been dragging it around the house and using it on the couch, on her bed, on the floor and has even taken it in the car.
Tonya
Find more of our frugal crafts and DIY projects here.
[…] Centsible LifeI used to work for a company that would get large supplies ordered into the office and these supplies would always come in these huge, oversized boxes. I had the great idea to bring some of these large boxes home so that my daughter and I could make a huge castle, and that we did. It was a lot of fun, but eventually, the castle got ruined. I knew it wasn’t going to last forever, and I was also kind of tired of having a giant cardboard castle in the middle of my living room. I was thinking about this memory the other day, and that got me thinking about cardboard boxes. It seems like we just toss away cardboard without even thinking twice. I have compiled this list to change that! Take a look at these amazing DIYs that you can make with cardboard, and let me know which one of these will have you digging a cardboard box out of the recycling bin. For me, #12 had me heading to the recycling bin! […]