Learning to Breathe: Carboard DIY Frenzie

We are loving the security Panama offers.
We can take the girls to any public park without fear of getting mugged or killed. I don't wish to give more negative advertisement to my beautiful country, but you simply can't do that in Honduras.
Going to the park after 7 p.m. in Honduras? Unheard of.
Panama City also offers an unparalleled variety of parks with a wide variety of activities and sceneries, but you have to be willing to withstand the heat. This is the reason parks are filled after 5 p.m. and usually even later.
While we were enjoying this new selection and freedom, rainy season put a damp on our park exploration for various weeks.
Apartment living with very confined quarters and two youngsters made this momma get into action.

Here are a few cardboard projects I've embarked since we came here to give the girls more play options. I love that I've been able to use them in our homeschool activities learning names of rooms and their functions, sorting vegetables and fruits, learning vocabulary words of different foods and breads, pretend play, and just plain old fun.

DIY Kitchen

Isn't it lovely? Oven, sink, and fridge! My sister told me to paint it all, and while I grant that it would look much better if I did, the point was to be economical, both in money and time.

I think it looks nice just with the painted accents and bare cardboard. I saved the sticker from some wall decals someone gifted to the girls.

Emmalee painted the blue burners and the pink knobs, and Kaylee painted the purple burners (well, one and then off to keep playing. Mommy painted the small one.)

We use a flower as a faucet and pretend the leaves are the handles. I really need to find another bowl for the sink as I would like my Rubbermaid bowl back.

Front view of the fridge. I made it small so that it would fit in the girls' small bedroom, but I wish I had made it taller.

You can see all the cardboard is recycled inside-out boxes. Would you believe me all the kitchen is one TV box? The back of everything is hollow.

All the tableware, food, drinks, pots and pans came in one single game set for only 15$.

The set even brought the little boxes and play cans.

Just look at the assortment of baked goods.

I always, always wanted to have a play kitchen when I was growing up. I would have been ecstatic to have had this one my girls have. They have a neighbor who they've befriended who is Emmalee's age. She has all sorts of purchased dollhouses and toys, but she went home to ask her mom to make her a kitchen "just like Emmalee's".

Dollhouse #1

Kaylee especially loved this. I just realized the kitchen floor has some water damage. At first all the furniture was glued, but Kaylee changed that pretty quickly and mom finally gave up on re-gluing them.

I had no idea I could find so many options of wallpaper, floors, and decorations online. While browsing, I discovered the intricate world of miniatures and some things people do I would only dream of doing. I could browse for hours watching dollhouse miniatures.

I had planed on having a dining table in this room, but the space was too small and I ended putting it on the attic. Shhh! Don't tell my girls that is not where that goes!

Kaylee loves putting this bed in the living room and the sofa in this room. Mommy finally gave in and just rearranged it for the pictures.

How lovely are my faucets made from juice box straws?! The inside of the tub is an inside-out juice box. Kaylee constantly ripped the faucets out until mommy threaten her she wouldn't let her play with the house again if she ripped it one more time. It worked.

Sorry for the blurry pictures. I had to be quick because Kaylee was standing next to me eager to play.

Dollhouse #2

This second house I did for myself. I had so much fun looking into the world of dollhouse crafting, I just had to give it another try. I have to say, I have not kicked the bug and will probably be making more of these. This one was based on a floor plan and design I saw on Pinterest. I had so much fun with all the little details. Kaylee absolutely loves it. She wouldn't even let me work on a new room because as soon as she saw me working on the house she was on top of me playing with whatever new thing I had done. She has ripped ever furniture piece apart, but, unlike with her dollhouse, she brings everything to me and asks me to put it back together. She went especially nuts for the crib (you can read why in the previous post). It's funny that she would rather play with her ponies on this house than her dolls. She has two dolls that fit perfectly, but she loves to lay her small ponies on the girls' bunk bed and the tall ponies on the grownups bed, and she reserves the crib for her baby teddy or baby rabbit only. Her favorite thing is to walk the dolls or ponies through the doorways; I don't know why. Emmalee plays with it too, but only when Kaylee lets her. It's pretty much Kaylee's thing.

Floor plan view.

The green grass made with foamy and the felt for fabric is the only thing that is not cardboard. Even the paved walk is cardboard.

That patio chair is my favorite furniture piece.

The whole house is made from a single box from our printer.

Can you spot the pasta cooking?

The kitchen was my least favorite room and, after a lot of work, ended up being my favorite. The ketchup and mustard is just rolled construction paper.

The view from the window in the yard is the only good view of the stove and fridge.

This room is the exact replica of my childhood room, even if it was the same room of the original Pinterest design. My sister and I had bunk beds in our room with Sakura Card Captors posters. It's a shame you can't see well the Kero frame on the desk.

I love the sneak peeks through the doors and windows. That desk chair has been the piece re-glued the most. Kaylee just tries and tries to sit her dolls at that laptop.