Bored during lock-down and you want to be creative but don't have a lot of equipment ? Here is a low-cost project to keep children and adults busy !

If you have kids you can even use this project to create and tell them a story while you're tinkering.

Supplies

Cardboard
Cutting tools
Glue
Colored card-stock paper
Dyeing or paint (optional)

Step 1: Making the Base

Before making the house we need a base to put it on !

The base measures 40x30x5 cm.

I cut the shape of the base then fold the side parts using a ruler so the fold goes precisely along the line.

I reinforce the angles with angle brackets and glue it all.

We now have a base !

Step 2: Adding a Pond

We now have a nice flat surface to work on. Maybe ... too flat. It needs a bit of volume.

I will add volume by creating a pond in the garden.

I draw a potato-shaped pond and cut it off of the base.

I put a piece of cardboard under and draw a second, smaller, potato and cut it off. This will add depth to the pond.

Finally, I glue blue card-stock paper at the bottom of the pond.

Step 3: Making the House

I cut every part according to the given pattern.

You'd better add a door and windows or it will be dark in here !

You can also add shutters, a chimney, a door... you can add as much detail as you want !

For the roof, you can use single face corrugated cardboard, it will look nice and be done quickly.

Or you can choose to make every single tile. Making each tile a different shape and dying it a slightly different color will look way better and give the roof a more cartoon look.

Step 4: Making the Well

Unfortunately the house doesn't have running water. We thus need to put a well in he garden.

I cut the shape of the well, then I do notches so the cardboard will easily wrap. The two pillars need to be aligned and parallels.

The roof structure is a pile of cardboard circles. The bigger one is 7 cm in diameter and the smaller is 3 cm.

To make the tiles i cut a card-stock circle and slice it like a pizza. I glue the slices on the roof with an offset so it doesn't looks too regular.

Don't forget the water ! A bit of blue card-stock paper will do the job.

Step 5: Making Bob

Bob lives here, he is very nice.

Bob is made of card-stock paper rolls. To make the rolls, roll a piece of paper around a pencil, glue it and wait for it to dry.

You can now cut, fold, glue and dye the rolls to create Bob. (Dye/pain parts before assembling them)

Tiny rolls for the arms and legs, bigger rolls for the head, torso and shorts.

You can make him a hat so he doesn't have sunstroke.

His hands are made of wooden pearls, the hole in it will allow Bob to hold objects.

Step 6: Details, Details, Details !

You can spend an infinite amount of time on this project since you can add an infinite amount of details !

The only limit is your imagination, get creative !

I, for example, added a stool for Bob, made him a fishing rod, a campfire to heat him, some bushes, a tree with a swing, a bucket for the well..

Introduction: Cardboard House and Garden