Ever had cartons left over that you didn’t know what to do with? Here is a great idea and lots of fun for your little ones. Just turn it into a prop based on your child’s favorite character. Great for birthday parties! My son loves fairy tales so I made a “Jack and the Beanstalk” and a “Red Riding Hood” for him.
What you will need:
1 big carton
Oil pastels
Box cutter
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Some felt and accessories like buttons, ribbon
Cut along the edge of the carton so you can open it out. Lay it out flat. Now one side will be used to make the main drawing and the rest for the stand. Cut the one piece for the main drawing leaving the piece for the stand in tact. The main piece should be the height of your child. Make sure the cardboard is thick enough for the piece to remain upright.
Measure the size of your child’s face and draw the face towards the top of the cardboard. You don’t have to draw in the features as this piece will be cut away. Using a box cutter cut carefully the face you drew and then check that your child can fit his/her face easily.

Face cut away from main drawing
Draw the rest of the character and the scene.
Color in the drawing. Oil pastels work well on cardboard. Make sure you cover the entire cardboard. Use felt and other accessories like buttons and ribbon to add some details. Make the hair of the character using felt. It looks great. It should come over the piece you cut on the hair line to look natural.
Now for the stand. First reinforce the piece of cardboard you have colored by gluing with the hot glue gun some pieces of cardboard on any bends. This will keep it straight. Next check the height of your child and estimate at what height you will glue the cardboard to the stand.
Take the piece shown in white in the first drawing and fold the bottom flaps inward (like the carton was originally) gluing together the bottom flaps. Now glue the colored cardboard piece to the stand at the correct height. You can add extra pieces of cardboard at the back to reinforce.

Let the fun begin!
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