DIY Cardboard Playhouse

I pinned this idea a long time ago from A Beautiful Mess but I came across it recently
and it was just too fun to pass up when I realized we had the perfect boxes for it from moving!
What You Need: Cardboard Box & Scraps 100 Pack of Hot Glue Sticks Hot Glue Gun Masking Tape Exacto Knife Scissors Wrapping Paper, it will depend how many rolls you need depending on how much space you need to cover. Door Knob
Directions:
1. Find a Large Cardboard Box & a couple of other boxes for roof & scraps for shingles.
Luckily we had a perfect tall one from when we moved. Which inspired this little project!
(It looks like it was a refrigerator box or something, so maybe check with stores to see if they have extras)

2. Cut Out Windows & Door!
Have your child stand up against the box and figure out where you want to cut out the door and windows. I wanted Lexi's head to be around where the windows would be. Use an exacto knife to cut out the holes... my measurements weren't perfect, but thats ok!

3. Get your hot glue gun & sticks ready and start wall papering the outside!
I used wrapping paper from World Market because they had some fun designs... the downside was that they were small rolls so I needed about 8 rolls to cover the house. I used a lot of glue sticks for this so make sure to grab a 100 pack and the glue seemed to stick really well to my paper and cardboard. I chose to do the door in a different pattern to give it some contrast! This is also the step to add on your door knob. I grabbed mine from World Market for about $1.99. Hobby Lobby also has a huge selection for hardware or you can even check out Target, Lowes, or WalMart.

4. Now it's time for the roof!
This one was tricky for me because the site I was using for reference didn't mention how they made the roof stand up. So I used the hard cardboard rolls from the wrapping paper and cut it down to the size I thought looked appropriate for height with an exacto knife. I then used the masking tape to tape the rolls down to the top of the box to help hold up the roofs highest point. I then put the extra cardboard and laid it on top - I used a piece of cardboard that was probably used for a corner.. because it had a good flexible bend to it. I just laid that on top and had to trim a bit off the sides and then went underneath the roof and used the masking tape to make sure everything was taped together (sides, top, & bottom) After the foundation of the roof is done then I used the scraps and cut shingles. I had 6 rows of 8 shingles the same exact size and it did not fill to the top so then I had to cut another row of smaller shingles to finish off the top. This will totally be different for you because our roof & shingle size may be different. I just played it by ear.

Lexi literally could not wait for her house to be finished!
She kept climbing in and out of it as i was working on it and it's so fun to see
her life size cardboard doll house finally finished!!