Craftsy Kids Craft Ideas: Miniature Cardboard Box Barn

Red Barn is happy to present the crafts of Vanessa Rodriguez Coppola for our Craftsy Kids feature. Every second Tuesday of the month, she’ll stop by to share her latest kid-friendly craft with you. If you’re not familiar with her blog, See Vanessa Craft, you should check it out for some wonderful fun and fantastic craft ideas for the whole family.

What better way to premiere this Red Barn craft feature than with a craft of a miniature red barn! We ♥ it! Lots of friends for Mabel the Sheep to play with!

By Vanessa Rodriguez Coppola

It’s true that kids would much rather play with a cardboard box than a fancy toy. This miniature cardboard box barn was easy to make and worth hours of fun for my toddler. I made a much larger version for him awhile back and it’s still one of his favorite “toys.” He couldn’t have been more thrilled to see a matching miniature barn for his farm animal figurines! Leave the cutting steps to the grownups, but the little ones can help with the painting. A little paint and creativity goes a long way!

Materials

• Small Cardboard Box (I used a 8″ x 8″ x 7″ box from The Container Store)
• Small Piece of Cardboard (I used a piece of a pizza box)
• Masking Tape
• Scissors
• Knife or Razor Blade
• Red Paint (I bought the cheapest latex based paint I could find at Lowes)
• Pencil
• Sponge Brush
• White Acrylic Paint
• Black Adhesive Felt
• Small Flower Stickers

Instructions

Step 1: Using a razor blade or knife, carefully cut the top flaps to look like a barn shape as shown in the photo. Tape the flaps together using masking tape.

Step 2: Cut the extra piece of cardboard to cover the hole at the top of the barn and tape in place.

Step 3: Using a pencil, make markings on the barn for a door in the front and a window the side. Using a razor blade or knife, carefully cut out the door and window. Make sure to leave one side of the door uncut. Tape down the bottom flaps.

Step 4: Paint the entire barn red, leaving the roof unpainted. You will need to give it 3-4 coats, drying in between coats. Allow to dry.

Step 5: Use masking tape or painters tape to tape off an “X” on the door, a boarder under the roof, a boarder around the door and a boarder around the window. Using white acrylic paint, fill in the lines, coating 3-4 times. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the tape.

Step 6: Cut the adhesive felt to fit the roof of the barn. Peel off the backing and stick the felt to the roof.

Step 7: Decorate the barn with flower stickers.

Brought to you by Vanessa Rodriguez Coppola of See Vanessa Craft