Decorative Cardboard Building With Soft Light

Hello friends! Today i want to share with you a project where i turned a basic cardboard box into a beautiful decorative building with soft light that can be used to decorate any room in the house, as i mentioned in my previous instructables here on my blog Sarrella Blog that i really enjoy recycling, i like taking old stuff and turning them into something new and different just like i turned a bunch of broken fans into a shoes storage stand, here: Shoes Storage Stand Out of Old Fans.
So if you love recycling and want to make this cool building, follow these steps that i'm going to share with you and i hope you enjoy.

Step 1: Tools and Supplies:

You will need:

- Cardboard boxes

- Pencil: https://amzn.to/2VPABvm

- Ruler: https://amzn.to/2VSv6wf

- Sharp knife: https://amzn.to/2oIaV86

- White Paint: https://amzn.to/33Fb4rt

- Paint brush: https://amzn.to/2OV3ZPp

- Transparent paper: https://amzn.to/2oQHQY1

- Colored paper:

- Scissors: https://amzn.to/2MoyICK

- Super glue: https://amzn.to/2VRsjDc

- Flashlight bulb: https://amzn.to/35M7KN1

- Screwdriver: https://amzn.to/2qjNUZj

- Electrical wires: https://amzn.to/2VPYJyd

- Electrical tape: https://amzn.to/35LIMgK

- Batteries: https://amzn.to/32qwclf

- Light switch:

- Small box: https://amzn.to/2Biso9M

Step 2: Cardboard Box

To make the building, I chose a rectangular cardboard box of 12,5 cm in length,12 cm in width and 27,5 cm in height that is preferably not too hard so it's easy to cut, also don't cut the bottom part (the 4 small cardboard pieces) because we're going to use them later.

Step 3: Drawing Windows and Doors

I took a pencil, a ruler and started drawing the windows and the doors on the cardboard, i made 4 floors with 4 windows on each floor and 2 doors on the ground floor.

Step 4: Measurements

Windows height is 4 cm, length is 2 cm, the space between windows is 1 cm, the space between floors is 1,5 cm.

Doors height is 5 cm, length is 3 cm, the space between doors is 3 cm.

Step 5: Cutting

After i finished drawing the windows and the doors, it was time to cut them so i took a sharp knife and started carefully cutting them, and as i said before it's better to get a cardboard box that is not very hard, the one i used was pretty hard and it took me some time and effort to finish them all, the windows came out a little bit uneven but it's ok we won't judge her.

Step 6: Painting

It's painting time! I grabbed a bucket of matte white paint and a painting brush then i covered the table with newspaper to avoid mess, if you are clumsy or not used to painting i suggest you wear gloves and an old shirt. I dipped the brush into the paint and started painting the front of the cardboard, the top, the sides and the back. After i finished painting i left it to completely dry.

Step 7: Making Doors and Windows Glass

To make the glass i took a transparent paper, a blue paper for the windows and a white paper for the doors, the paper should be thin and not opaque, if you hold it in front of light you should kinda see the light through it, the color of the paper that you choose is going to be the color of the light of the building so i recommend using pastel colors like blue, pink, violet or white because these colors are relaxing and very pretty to look at, avoid using red, green, orange, yellow. I placed the papers on top of the windows, measured how much i need to cover the windows and the doors then i cut the excess with scissors. The transparent paper should cover all the windows and the doors, the blue paper should cover only the windows and the white paper should cover only the doors.

Step 8: Gluing the Papers

I brought a super glue tube and started gluing the blue paper to the transparent paper then i applied the glue inside the cardboard box on the parts that separate the windows and the doors, took the papers and put them inside the box and pressed on them until everything sticks, after that i took the white paper and glued it on top of the transparent paper to cover the doors.

Step 9: Old Flashlight

I put the building aside then i brought a piece of cardboard that i cut from another box to use as a base for the building. I brought my old flashlight that is broken but the bulb works perfectly, i placed it on the table and cut the 2 wires that connect the bulb to the flashlight, i discarded the camouflage part because i only need the bulb.

Step 10: Removing Unnecessary Parts

The bulb was fixed at the bottom of this bell shaped thing with screws, so to remove it i took a screwdriver and started unscrewing the screws one by one.

Step 11: Making the Base

Now i'm going to make the base of the building, i took the pencil, the ruler and made 2 perpendicular lines to find the center of the square then i glued the bulb at the center.

Step 12: Making Holes

I took the screwdriver and made 4 holes, 2 close to the bulb and 2 close to the end of the cardboard.

Step 13: Electrical Wires

I took 2 electrical wires, passed the ends of each wire thought the holes i made earlier then i connected the ends of the wires that are close to the bulb with the wires of the bulb, red with red and blue with black, after that i covered the areas with electrical tape.

Step 14: Covering Wires

I flipped over the cardboard and applied electrical tape on the wires at the bottom to protect them from any damage.

Step 15: Installing the Building

I took the building and placed it on the cardboard over the bulb then i made 2 holes on the bottom part at the back of the building and passed the wires through the new holes.

Step 16: Gluing

I took the super glue and started gluing the building to the cardboard then i cut the excess of the cardboard at the front and the back.

Step 17: Making a Cover

I took a light gray cardboard to use it to cover those cardboard pieces at the bottom of the building, i measured the length and the height of the top of the building then i marked the center on the gray cardboard, made a square with the building measurements and cut it with scissors.

Step 18: Gluing the Cover

I took the gray cardboard and slid it carefully on the building all the way to the bottom, made 2 extra holes for the wires, then glued the gray cardboard on the one under it with pressing with my hand.

Step 19: Batteries

I brought 2 batteries like the kind that you find in your TV remote, each one is 1,5v so both are 3v, you can use a small rectangular battery instead but nothing with high voltage to avoid burning out the bulb, i joined the batteries together using the electrical tape in the order: positive negative positive negative, so the top should be a positive terminal and the bottom should be a negative terminal.

Step 20: Connecting the Wires

Now it's time to connect the wires to the batteries, i took the red wire and connected it to the positive terminal of the battery then wrapped it with the tape, brought a new wire and connected it to the negative terminal of the battery and fixed it with the tape, after that i took a light switch, inserted the new wire in one of the holes and turned the screw until it's tight, i took the blue wire and inserted it in the other hole of the light switch and turned the screw.

Step 21: Checking the Wires

So this is how it should look like. After fixing the 2 wires in the light switch, pull them just a little bit to make sure they're secure.

Step 22: Box

I took a small box that opens from both sides and cut a square at the bottom.

Step 23: Light Switch Support

I measured the light switch then flipped over the box and made a cut for it, i installed the light switch inside the box then inserted the batteries right under it.

Step 24: Gluing the Box

I took the glue, applied it on the box and glued it to the back of the building.

Step 25: Testing the Light

I pressed on the light switch to test it, works perfectly!

Step 26: Making a Canopy

I decided that i want to make a canopy for my building so i cut the top of a tea bag box, folded both sides and made a small sign with my name on it.

Step 27: Gluing the Canopy

I glued the sign on the canopy then glued the canopy on the building right above the doors.

Step 28: Results

And that's it, this is how it looks like with the light on and off in different lighting. The soft light is relaxing so you can put it in your bedroom or in any room you want.

Step 29: Headphone Stand

I put it on my desk and used it as a headphone stand, it looks really cool especially with the lights on.

I hope you enjoyed this project, Bye Bye ❤️

Step 30: Video

My other Instructables:

https://www.instructables.com/member/Sarrella%20Blog/instructables/

My other blog:

https://medium.com/@ypipijou

CHRISTMAS!
Are you on a Budget, check out these Cool Christmas Gifts Under $50:

https://medium.com/@ypipijou/best-christmas-gifts-under-50-de350a03b7fb

(Sarrella Blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates
Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)