How to Turn Cereal Boxes into a Lift-the-Flap Toy

Breakfast is my favorite meal and I make hot breakfasts several times a week. Still, we manage to go through quite a bit of boxed cereal at my house. Enough to make me want to do something useful with the cereal boxes before they hit the recycling bin. When I noticed by chance that the boxes of several of our favorite cereals perfectly nested inside each other, I just knew there must be something they would be useful for. Eventually, I came up with the perfect upcycling project, thanks to my middle child's love of lift-the-flap books (which she calls "peek-a-boo books").

Here's how to turn two ordinary cereal boxes into a fun crafty project that your kids will love making and playing with. We call them peek-a-boo houses at my house.

How to Upcycle Cereal Boxes into a Peek-a-Boo (Lift-the-Flap) House

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Repurpose Your Duplo Blocks into Word Builders

The results of my second, more systematic approach.

Do you have some Duplo blocks in the garage that your kids have outgrown?  Or would you like to acquire a word or sentence building activity for your young child, but don't want to buy anything?  Look no further.  In this post I'll show you how to turn your ordinary Duplo blocks into word builders with nothing more than return address label stickers and a Sharpie marker.

First, let us give credit where credit is due.  I got this idea from Filth Wizardry.  But I made a few changes (some might even say improvements) and learned a few tricks that I would like to pass along to others.

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Upcycled Toys: Boxes with Slots

What can you do with that shoe box, tissue box, or produce box before recycling it?  Let your kids use it as a toy!

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Green Phone Booth: Eco-friendly (and FREE) Party Decorations

This week's post at The Green Phone Booth: Eco-friendly Party Decor.  Click HERE to find out how a non-crafty person (me) made my own party decorations without spending a dime using materials destined for the recycling bin.

This post is part of

Frugal Friday

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Upcycled Toys: Frozen OJ Lids

OJ Lids can be used for a dump-and-fill game,
as pretend cookies, for spinning, or a memory game.

I'm not that crafty, but I am cheap, and I've noticed that kids love to play with many things that are not toys.  Some of my kids' favorite play items, in fact, have not been store-bought toys, but disposable items (often packaging) that was destined for the recycling bin or trash before discovered by the preschooler or toddler.  In the next few weeks, I'll feature some of our favorite toys made from free stuff that would otherwise have been discarded.  Stay tuned for more ideas!

We drink a lot of orange juice from frozen concentrate at my house.  We like to save the metal lids for all kinds of fun.

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Upcycled Toys: Tissue Box Car City

Empty tissue box turned into car garage

I'm not that crafty, but I am cheap, and I've noticed that kids love to play with many things that are not toys.  Some of my kids' favorite play items, in fact, have not been store-bought toys, but disposable items (often packaging) that was destined for the recycling bin or trash before discovered by the preschooler or toddler.  In the next few weeks, I'll feature some of our favorite toys made from free stuff that would otherwise have been discarded.  Stay tuned for more ideas!

Our newest favorite toy at my house are some pretend play structures created from empty tissue boxes (from Target, if you must know).  I told my husband about the idea, and he ran with it.

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Appliance Boxes - Free Summer Entertainment

What do you do with bored kids in the summer?

Give them boxes!  If you can, pick up huge cardboard boxes from Sears or other appliance sellers, and let your kids use them as tunnels, forts, etc.  Decorate them with crayons, markers, paint and cut out windows and doors.  My sister-in-law once picked up several fridge boxes and decorated them to look like a giant train for a birthday party. Take photos and then be sure to recycle your boxes once you are done with them.

This green and frugal activity reuses before recycling!

So the next time you are looking for a safe and eco-friendly toy for your child, check the recycling bin first!

More Upcycled Toy Ideas

• Boxes with Slots
• Car City made of Tissue Boxes
• Frozen OJ Lids
• Repurpose Your Duplo Blocks into Word Builders

How do you deal with bored kids in the summer?


This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday!  Follow the link to find more ideas to keep kids busy in the summer.

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