Well, it’s Day Seven of TV-free week here at Amityville, and with ridiculously low temperatures outside, we’ve been going a little stir crazy. I’ll share thoughts about our whole 2014 Resolution Kick-Off Week in my next post, but for tonight, I wanted to share one little activity that kept us busy this afternoon: Building a cardboard fairy castle!
Today I was wracking my brain for something E.V. and I could do post-nap to keep ourselves entertained when I remembered a packing box that I stashed in the garage for a rainy day. I had ordered some canvases for Christmas gifts this year and happened to notice that the unfolded box was relatively flat and stood up well. It was one of those trash items that I envisioned using for a craft, so I held onto it. Thankfully Old Man Winter delivered us freezing temperatures very early in the new year, so I got to put it to good use quickly. (Once again, not a hoarder. ;) )
I decided that the cardboard box would work well as a castle facade, so while E.V. slept blissfully in her crib this afternoon, I set to transforming it into a palace fit for my little lady. I gave myself a 45-minute time limit (because, let’s be honest, otherwise I can get a little OCD), sketched out a rough layout of what I wanted it to look like and set to work. I ended up having to use Ryan’s heavy-duty knife for the cutouts, and although he was gone during my project, I could just hear him anxiously warning me over and over not to cut myself. (Careful! Careful!) Having successfully avoided dismembering myself, I outlined the castle details with a Sharpie, and voila! We had a cardboard castle!
I don’t think I’ve mentioned on the blog before, but Emma Vance is obsessed with Tinkerbell. (Seriously, she could watch an entire movie straight through without blinking, which is the equivalent of toddler crack.) I guess maybe I subconsciously had television on the brain while I was working on this non-TV project, because I thought to myself at some point, “Why can’t this be a fairy castle?” No reason, that’s why! So, somewhere between the not cutting off my fingers and making the final mark of the Sharpie, my cardboard castle became Tinkerbell’s castle. :) I dug out E.V.’s fairy wings and crown (because she had to play fairy princess, of course), filled the castle with girly items, added a “fairy” horse to her kingdom, and called my project done. (And then laid down for a nap myself!) I love when Emma Vance wakes up to surprises because she’s always a little sleepy still and seems to take a moment to discern if she’s dreaming or not. :) Needless to say, we had a fun-filled afternoon playing fairies–and when he came home, even Dada joined in! (Points to the guy for being a good sport, right?)
Now that’s an easy, fun upcycling project. :)
