The Paper Playhouse Awesome Art Projects for Kids Using Paper, Boxes, and Books

The Paper Playhouse includes a series of how-to art projects that transform cardboard boxes, paper, and found books into imaginative toys, structures, and games for kids!

Artist Katrina Rodabaugh

shares her artistic training and up-cycling sensibility in this unique and inspired book, The Paper Playhouse. With simple techniques including sculpture, printmaking, bookbinding, collage, and even ideas for public art, families work through step-by-step instructions while using imagination and budding aesthetics.

This book goes beyond the typical paper craft project to include

contemporary design references like Mid-Century Modern dollhouses, VW buses, paper monsters, costumes and masks, and the classic lemonade stand--all made with unique style and flair! Focused around surprising and easily accessibly materials like shipping boxes, shoeboxes, junk mail envelopes, newspapers, maps, found books, and other paper ephemera, and with stunning photography by Leslie Sophia Lindell,

The Paper Playhouse has 22 projects AIMED AT INSPIRING CHILDREN TO CREATE AMAZING PAPER CRAFTS. A beautiful gallery provides further project inspirations from Lisa Congdon, Maya Donenfeld, Heather Smith Jones, Courtney Cerutti, Gracia Haby, Mati Rose McDonough, and many more!

About the Author

Katrina Rodabaugh is an artist, crafter, and writer working primarily with textiles, printmaking, and found objects. Straddling the divide between art and contemporary craft--her artwork, writing, and designs have been showcased in numerous galleries, special collections, journals, and theaters across the country while her handmade crafts have appeared at pop-up shops, boutiques, and various juried craft fairs including The San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair, Second Storie Indie Market, and the Patchwork Show among others.

Her blog, “Made by Katrina” recently won the Country Living 2012 Blue Ribbon Blogger Award in the craft category. She received her BA in Environmental Studies from Ithaca College and her MFA in Creative Writing/ Poetry from Mills College where she also taught and trained in the Book Arts Studio.

She’s worked with urban arts organizations for over a decade and continues to create small handmade crafts, large interdisciplinary installations, and collaborate with artists to teach, make, and organize. She currently lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and biggest inspiration to date--their young son. For more information about her upcoming projects, collaborations, and workshops.

Leslie Sophia Lindell is a food, travel, and lifestyle photographer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Natural light, pulling forth the beauty that lies within every subject, and sharing how she interprets this through her lens keeps her filled with wonder.

Her most recent cookbook, The Stone Edge Farm Cookbook, was nominated as a finalist for photography by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and it went on to win the 2014 Cookbook of the Year Award. You can find her regularly on her blog, www.lesliesophialindell.com, Instagram, and Facebook.

Review

“Created by the mother of a toddler who lives in a small apartment, Katrina Rodabaugh assures us that there’s a variety of projects, for toddlers and older, possible even if you’re working on the kitchen table with only material from your recycling bin. Better yet, her book includes patterns that can be used with felt, wood and other materials. The author also has some practical suggestions for storing such materials: for example, by folding smaller boxes flat and tucking them and saved paper in a shallow box under the bed.

The projects range from very simple--star wands for your magician or princess’s costume--to elaborate, like the miniature Airstream trailer and VW bus, and the fold-up playhouse and two-story dollhouse.

Overall, what we at News for Parents like most is the emphasis on re-using materials, whether they are security envelopes, cereal boxes, advertising mail or packing cartons, and the fact that most of these projects can be made simple or sophisticated. - News for Parents

“Fine artist and blogger Rodabaugh takes items that most people have around the house and turns them into whimsical creations in this collection of environmentally friendly craft projects intended to be made by and for children. Each section of the book focuses on a different material--paper, books, or boxes--and there’s also a final chapter full of projects intended for public display (think yarn bombing, only with upcycled crafts).

Most of the projects only require simple supplies such as scissors and glue, making them easily accessible to families on a budget. The simplest of the projects would be appropriate for preschoolers with a parent’s help; some of Rodabaugh’s more sophisticated creations are best attempted by the ten-and-older crowd. An added bonus: many of the projects would also make excellent library craft programs for children and teens. VERDICT Craft projects using recycled or upcycled materials are perennially popular, and the kid-friendly angle adds a fun dimension.” - Library Journal

“The pretty pattern inside security envelopes, big cardboard boxes and even beat-down file folders will be met with new eyes after flipping through “The Paper Playhouse: Awesome Art Projects for Kids Using Paper, Boxes and Books”.

Oakland author and mother to two boys, Katrina Rodabaugh demonstrates the ease of fashioning playful art, decor and interactive toys with scissors, glue, paint and perhaps the box of cereal the kiddos polished off that morning. “Once you turn your attention to the beautiful paper scraps available to you, you will quickly build a hefty stash,” she writes.

Projects work for parties, playrooms and everyday makery, such as simple paper garlands or festive paper crowns decorated with washi tape or triangle block prints. Her budget creations also include a Volkswagen Bus box, a cottage playhouse and pretty much the cutest cardboard dollhouse imaginable, complete with a pitched, fringed roof, modern “wallpaper,” faux bois paper floors and a mini garland to pull it all together.” - San Francisco Chronicle Website

The Paper Playhouse Awesome Art Projects for Kids Using Paper, Boxes, and Books