Cardboard Playhouse Makeover

I don't know if anyone remembers this cardboard playhouse that I made for Bijou and Zion a while back.  While incredibly economical (it cost me next to nothing to make) and easy to move, it did not get used as often as I would have liked.  It get HOT here in Mississippi and playing out in a cardboard house that's been sitting in the heat was no one's idea of a fun afternoon.  So the playhouse got retired to the garage and there it sat for awhile.  I decided that all was not lost for our little playhouse and with some tweaking, it could still be a really awesome toy.  So, I scaled the size down a bit and attached some Velcro (to stand up to rough play a little better) and brought it in the house.  I have this strange obsession with paint chips from the hardware store, so I literally have every singe one that Home Depot has (thanks to a very patient cousin who helped me collect all of them one afternoon).  I used one stack (of many, many) paint chips to cut apart and make "bricks" for the outside of the house.  I also added a little chalkboard (actually just a rectangle of chalkboard spray paint framed with wood grain contact paper) for them the draw or write little messages.  Now it's cheery and colorful and when I want to free up the floor space, I can just take it apart and store it under their bed.

Cardboard Playhouse: Day 2

I added some fun details to the playhouse today. I decided against making curtains because I want to make sure enough light gets inside, but I did use some tulle to make a screen on one window. I was going to screen the openings at the top, but it just didn't look nice (so we will have to just deal with the bugs). I will, more than likely, make a little mail box over the weekend to put next to the front door. So, here's the playhouse at 99% finished (and the cutest residents EVER).

The lovely red door for good luck!

My fairly crappy version of some cherry blossoms on a tree. It's not that I can't make cherry blossoms, but I had an impatient toddler helping out. So they just became random blossoms on a naked tree.

I wanted to add something fun to one side of the house. It is a little minimalist without the bakery and post office. I personally enjoy a little minimalism but...

...look how cute it is when there's a little postal employee hanging out the window!

And how could anyone pass up the sweetest thing I've ever seen in any bakery EVER!?

Cardboard Playhouse

I feel like I haven't made anything for a long time. Maybe I just needed a break from the constant mess that seems to follow me when I make things. Whatever the reason, I felt the need to make something today. It just felt like a project kind of day. We started the morning with the girls bedazzling a couple of pairs of jeans. When I was a kid, I used to LOVE to cut daisies from fabric and sew them to my jeans. So, it was like life came full circle today watching my girls embellish their first pair of jeans. After they were sufficiently fancified, they headed out to transfer some of their plant into real pots and I sat down to design a little playhouse for Zion.


(I still haven't made the fabric playhouse for the big girls, but I feel like my sewing machine and I have such an on again, off again relationship that we are not ready to take on a large task together. Maybe we should consider counseling.) I make a lot of different things for the older girls, but haven't really had the chance to make anything special for Zion. My plan was to make a small playhouse for her that was just big enough for her (to keep her older sisters from taking over). Thanks to our local Sears appliance store, I acquired 5 very large, very sturdy pieces of cardboard. They were about an inch thick had a honeycomb type core, which makes them VERY sturdy.


I like the way it turned out and Zion LOVES it. It is definitely bigger than I originally anticipated, so technically, the bigger girls can play in it (but I think I will make it three years old and under area). The plan is to be able to move it from the garage, to the backyard or front yard depending on where the rest of us are. It weighs almost nothing, so it's very easy to move. I will keep a blanket to spread beneath it in the grass (to prevent the backyard itchies). I will add some details to the outside of the house, attach the front door and probably make some curtains.




I made just some simple line drawings on the inside for the different rooms of the house. I may do something a little more detailed later on, but this works for now.

Playhouse Plans

I mentioned a few days ago that we are building a portable playhouse in the spring. We are making small preparations for construction. We got a few sets of second hand sheets from City Thrift in Tupelo (which were 50% off - so, SUPER cheap). Hopefully we will be shopping for PVC in the next couple of weeks.


My complete playhouse shopping list includes:

• sheets
• 2 vinyl shower curtains
• indoor/outdoor carpet (in faux grass)
• Velcro
• large buttons
• PVC (of course)

Oh and here are my very technical playhouse blueprints.

New project for spring

After seeing this post over at Ohdeedoh and popping over to sweetest littles to check it out further, I just couldn't get the idea of a lightweight, collapsible playhouse out of my mind. I've been planning to build a teepee with the girls, but this is SO much more awesome! So my plan for spring is to build a playhouse for the girls using PVC. Unlike their playhouse, ours will be built for outdoors. The fame will be PVC and the plan for the walls will be either second hand sheets or some other large inexpensive fabric. I plan to use vinyl shower curtains for the roofing (to at least give them time to pack up their stuff and head inside if it starts to rain) and probably tulle for window screens to keep the mosquito out. I like the idea of a fabric playhouse because it is portable (we rent our house and are planning to move in a couple of years) and washable. I found some indoor/outdoor carpet at Home Depot that resembles astro-turf and the girls loved it, so that will more than likely end up as the flooring. I will post pictures of our progress once construction is underway (but first I have to get artwork done for this exhibit in 3 weeks before I can think of anything else).