This Instructable will show you how to make a supersized Echo Dot coffee table (or side table). You can put your real Echo Dot in the hole in the middle, plug it in and use it! "Alexa, what's the weather?"

Supplies

1. very large corrugated cardboard box

2. piece of thinner corrugated cardboard (at least 10.25" x 1.25")

3. two large chunks of styrofoam (at least 12" long) (optional)

4. craft paint--black multi-surface, medium blue and light blue (doesn't need to be multi-surface)

5. one 12" x 12" sheet of white adhesive vinyl OR two 8.5 x 11" sheets of white cardstock

6. small paintbrushes

7. painters masking tape

8. box cutter

9. scissors

10. wide clear tape

11. hot glue gun & glue sticks

12. glue sticks (school glue style)

12. tape measure and ruler

13. rolling pin

14. electronic cutting machine, such as Silhouette Cameo (optional) OR printer

15. Mod Podge (matte and glossy) or another type of clear sealant or varnish

Step 1: Cut the Large Cardboard Pieces

You are making a cylinder of cardboard, so you will need two circles and one long piece that will wrap around and form the sides of the cylinder. My supersized Echo Dot is 30" in diameter.

Determine where you will cut your circles. Mark a dot where the center will be and measure out from the dot 15" all around the circle, making marks with a pen. Use a good sharp box cutter to cut out the first circle, which will be 30" in diameter. Tip: use a sawing motion.
Use the first circle as a pattern to trace the second circle. Cut out the second circle with your box cutter.
Measure and mark a 12" wide rectangular piece. The length will need to be 95". Don't worry if you don't have a piece of cardboard that long--you can connect several pieces together later. Mark the lengths and cut with your box cutter. Tip: for the long pieces, make sure the "lines" inside the corrugated cardboard run the "short" way--in other words, you will later be bending the long piece into a circle and there is a way that corrugated cardboard likes to bend and a way it does NOT. Make your life easier!
If you have several pieces making up the 95" strip, connect them together with wide clear tape on both sides of each joint.

Step 2: Cut a Hole for the Real Echo Dot

In this step, you will be cutting a hole in the top of the supersized Echo Dot so that a real Echo Dot can be put in the middle of the coffee table! You will also construct the holder for the real Echo Dot.

On the first large circle you cut (the one with the dot), find the dot you marked earlier. From the dot, measure out 1 5/8" all around. Cut out this circle with your box cutter.
Get your real Echo Dot and set it in the hole you created. Make sure it will fit through (it's ok if it's a little snug). If it doesn't, cut the hole a little bigger until the Dot fits. The hole should be about 3.25" in diameter.

Step 3: Make a Holder for the Real Echo Dot

Next, you are going to make a cardboard holder for the real Echo Dot in the center of your coffee table.

Find a spot on your large cardboard box that is at least 4" x 4". In the center, mark a dot. Measure out from the dot 2" in all directions. Cut with your box cutter.
Get your scrap of THINNER corrugated cardboard. Mark and cut a strip that is 10.25" x 1.25" using your box cutter or scissors.
Form the strip of cardboard into a ring and tape it closed with wide clear tape on the inside and outside where the ends join.
Get your real Echo Dot and check that it fits inside the ring. Also, check that the ring fits onto the 4" circle that you cut earlier.
On the cardboard ring (on the opposite side from the tape), cut out a small rectangle. This is where the cord of the real Echo Dot will come out. Check that your Echo Dot can be plugged in through the hole you have made.
Hot glue the ring onto the circle.

Step 4: Paint the Cardboard Black

In this step, you will be using your craft paint to paint the supersized Echo Dot!

On the large circle where you cut the center hole for the real Echo Dot, lay the cardboard plain (tan) side up.
Measure in 1/2" from the outside edge and mark with a pen.
Use small pieces (approximately 6") of painters masking tape to cover up the outer 1/2" ring that you marked. This is where you will paint the Echo Dot "light" later.
Using black multi-surface craft paint, paint the large circle you just taped as well as the other large circle (again, if one side is "shiny" printed, paint the other side) and the long 95" strip. Also, paint the edges of the circles, pushing paint into the little holes.
Paint the inside and outside of the holder for the real Echo Dot.
Allow paint to fully dry.

Step 5: Paint the "light" on the Echo Dot

In this step, you will be painting the "light" on the Echo Dot--the way the Echo Dot lights up when it responds to someone speaking to it. See picture of a real Echo Dot for reference.

Remove the painters masking tape.
Using your turquoise (or whatever color you chose) craft paint, paint a ring around the edge of the circle that had been taped earlier. Paint the edge of the cardboard circle, too, pushing paint into the holes.
After the first color dries, mark a section (approximately 20") of the turquoise ring to be painted with the lighter blue color. It doesn't matter where on the edge you choose. Apply light blue paint and allow to dry.
Touch up black paint as needed so that no bare cardboard is showing. Allow to dry.

Step 6: Make the Buttons and Speaker Holes on the Top

In this step, you will be creating the buttons on the top of your supersized Echo Dot.

Cut a 6" circle from cardstock (make a dot, measure out 3" all around and cut).
Choose where to put your buttons (refer to a real Echo Dot). My buttons were placed 2" in from the blue ring, approximately equal distance from each other. With a pen or pencil, trace around the 6" cardstock circle where you have chosen to place your buttons.
Using your box cutter, cut on the circles you have traced, but DO NOT cut all the way through, only through the top layer of the cardboard.
Next, to represent the holes where the sound comes out, cut slits (about 1" long) with your box cutter all around the edge, about 1" apart, just inside the blue painted ring.

Step 7: Bend the Side Wall and Attach to the Top

In this step, you will be bending the flat 95" strip of cardboard so that it forms a ring (the sides of the Echo Dot) and attaching it to the base.

Lay the 95" long strip of cardboard paint side down. Using your rolling pin, slowly roll up the cardboard all the way to the end. Allow to unroll and remove the rolling pin.
Lay the "top" of the supersized Echo Dot paint side down. Stand your 95" strip up on a side edge and have it ready beside the top.
Using your hot glue gun, apply a line of glue (one small section at a time so that the glue doesn't get cold) to the outside perimeter of the circle--NOT the side edge of the circle, but actually ON the circle--and, section by section, attach the 95" strip to the base, letting each section cool before moving onto the next. You want the side "wall" of the supersized Echo Dot to line up at the very edge of the top. If you end up having too much side wall for the circle, just cut some off.
Once the edges of the wall meet perfectly, apply wide clear tape to both side of the seam.

Step 8: Make an Access and Cord Flap

In this step, you will be making a flap in the side so that you can access the real Echo Dot to plug it in and so that the cord can exit the supersized Echo Dot.

Decide which side of the supersized Echo Dot you want to be the side where the cord comes out.
Once you have chosen this, with the supersized Echo Dot upside down make two marks at the top of the side wall about 5 inches apart. At each mark, cut into the wall vertically, about 5" down. You have now created an access flap.
In the center of the access flap, mark two slits about 1" apart. Cut these about 1" deep. You have now created a flap for the cord to exit the oversized Echo Dot.

Step 9: Attach Inner Support and the Holder for the Real Echo Dot

In this step, you will be attaching some styrofoam blocks (or cardboard supports) to add support to your Echo Dot coffee table and you will be attaching the holder for the real Echo Dot.

Decide where you want your styrofoam support blocks to go. They should be exactly the height of the wall. If they are too tall, trim to fit. Note: if you don't have any styrofoam, you could also use some cardboard pieces or boxes to create support.
Apply hot glue on the underside of the top (the same surface you glued the wall to) and press the styrofoam blocks onto the hot glue.
Next, lay your real Echo Dot (unplugged) upside down in the center hole WITH THE HOLE FOR THE CORD FACING THE 5" FLAP YOU CUT EARLIER. Push it "down" (since everything is now "upside down") through the hole a little bit so that, when the supersized Echo Dot is completed, the real Echo Dot will "poke up" a bit above the surface of the coffee table.
Find the holder for the real Echo Dot which you made in a previous step. Apply hot glue around the rim of the "wall" of the holder. Lay it "upside down" over the real Echo Dot MAKING SURE THAT THE CARDBOARD HOLE FOR THE CORD LINES UP WITH THE CORD PORT ON THE REAL ECHO DOT.

Step 10: Attach Base and Touch Up the Paint

In this step, you will attach the base of the supersized Echo Dot and touch up the paint.

With your supersized Echo Dot still "upside down," have the base ready.
Working with a section at a time, apply hot glue on the rim of the wall and press the base onto it, lining up the edge of the wall right at the edge of the base. Note: you want the base to set ON the wall, not inside of it. You might also want to reach inside of the Echo Dot through the access flap to assist with this. If it doesn't line up exactly, but is still close, that is ok. The main thing is to have of the wall glued UNDER the edge of the circle.
Once you have the entire circle glued, you may see a few spots where the circle overlaps the wall a little bit. This is ok. Simply take your box cutter or scissors and trim off the edge to match. You can also squeeze in a little extra hot glue if any spots seem loose.
When you are satisfied, use your black multi-surface craft paint to touch up your Echo Dot. Make sure to paint over the seam where you used wide clear tape to join the edges of the ring together. Also, paint the edges of the access flap. Allow all paint to dry thoroughly.

Step 11: Cut Out Graphics for the Buttons and Side

In this step, you will cut out the graphics that go on the supersized Echo Dot's button and on the side wall. I used a Silhouette Cameo machine to cut out the graphics on vinyl, but if you don't have an electronic cutting machine, you can still do this step (see second method).

METHOD ONE (preferred): Silhouette Cameo (using vinyl or cardstock)

Click on the photo that is part of this step that shows the graphics (Amazon logo, a plus, a minus and a dot). Right click on it and save it to your computer.
Open Silhouette studio and open the picture file when you are in the program.
Under Page Setup, set your canvas side to be 8.5" wide and 11" high.
Drag the image onto the work area and resize it so that it is the same size as the the canvas.
Open the trace window, click on Select Trace Area, highlight the image and click on Trace. Red cutting lines should appear. Drag the picture off the canvas, leaving only the cut lines.
Next, choose your material. I used white adhesive-backed vinyl (preferred), but you could also use white cardstock if you don't have vinyl. Set your machine to material you are using and adjust the blade as needed.
Press the vinyl or cardstock onto your cutting mat and load it into the machine.
Send the design to be cut. Unload the material from the machine.
If you used paper, remove the cardstock from the cutting mat and lift out the graphics.
If you used vinyl, remove the the vinyl from the cutting mat and cut each graphic apart BUT KEEP THE AMAZON LETTERS AND ARROW ALL TOGETHER AS ONE PIECE!

METHOD TWO: Printer (using cardstock)

Download the .pdf file from this step of the Instructable. It is called "GraphicsForSupersizedEchoDot.pdf."
Open the .pdf file on your computer.
Load cardstock into your printer.
Print the .pdf graphics file onto the cardstock.
Cut out the graphics with scissors.

graphics for supersized Echo Dot.pdf
Download

Step 12: Apply Graphics to Your Echo Dot

In this step, you will apply the graphics you just cut out to your supersized Echo Dot. The first method is for vinyl. the second method is for cardstock.

METHOD ONE: applying vinyl graphics

Decide which direction you want your oversized Echo Dot to face (which is the "front).
For the smaller graphics (the dot, the plus, the minus and the microphone), you can simply peel the vinyl cutouts off the backing, line them up in the center of the corresponding button and apply the vinyl graphic to the painted cardboard, smoothing them out once applied.
For the larger Amazon graphic, you will use your painters masking tape. Lay the Amazon graphic face-up on a flat surface. Carefully apply slightly-overlapping strips of painters masking tape to the vinyl graphic.
Turn the taped vinyl over and peel off the paper backing. Also, peel off the excess vinyl in between the graphic (that are not part of the graphic). When you are finished, you will see the Amazon graphic stuck to the tape "backwards."
Find the "front" of your supersized Echo Dot. Hold the Amazon graphic up to the Echo Dot. Once the graphic is in position, carefully press it onto the side wall of the Echo Dot. Apply pressure and smooth it out.
Slowly, one strip at a time, remove the painters masking tape. If the graphic sticks to the painters masking tape a little bit, carefully pull it off. Once all the painters masking tape is off, smooth the graphic with your hand.

METHOD TWO: applying cardstock graphics

Decide which direction you want your oversized Echo Dot to face. In other words, which is the "front."Look at a real Echo Dot (or a picture of one) to see where the graphics go.
Apply glue (such as school glue sticks) to the back of each button graphic and press them onto the buttons.
Line up the individual parts of the Amazon logo. Measure and mark where you want the top of the graphic to go. Apply glue to the back of each piece of the graphic and press them onto the Echo Dot. Allow to dry fully.

Step 13: Apply Clear Sealant

With a paintbrush, apply matte Mod Podge to the top of the supersized Echo Dot (including over the button graphics).
With a paintbrush, apply glossy Mod Podge to the side wall of the supersized Echo Dot (including over the Amazon graphic).
With the top is completely dry, turn the supersized Echo Dot upside down and apply glossy Mod Podge to the base.

Step 14: Plug It in and Enjoy!

You're almost finished!

Take your supersized Echo Dot to the room where you want to use it.
You may need an extension cord.
Set your real Echo Dot into the holder in the center of your supersized Echo Dot.
Open the access flap and, holding the Echo Dot's cord, reach inside and plug the cord into the port on the Echo Dot. Close the access flap.
Plug everything in. Try using your new supersized Echo Dot.

Congratulations! You did it!

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable!