I love visiting the Reverse Art Truck and picking up scraps of anything and everything, especially scrap cardboard. I find when you get odd shaped things and objects, it makes you think of different ways of using them which therefor means you create things you wouldn't normally think of. A while back I picked up a heap of 2mm thick long strips of cardboard sheets (heaps of them). I was using them for making masks and Lego men then thought I could probably use it to make a little inside cubby for the boys.
Chops had been asking for a igloo for a while. It was just a matter of thinking through how to make it with what I already had, so this is the design I came up with.
I started with one little igloo and then two. Then to save on space the two became one, two roomed igloo with a chimney. The chimney has a little opening at the bottom which is more of a shoot (for fast deliveries) than a make believe fireplace.
You can also scar down the design and make an igloo for a pet.I made this mini cardboard igloo for my brothers cat.
The igloo is sooooo easy to make and doesn't take much time at all. And if you live in Melbourne (Australia) and you can get to the Reverse Art Truck they have heaps of these cardboard strips. I picked what I needed up with spare change. However I dare you to walk out of there with
just the cardboard strips.
You'll need:
Between 60 -70 long 2mm thick cardboard strips
Large sheet of cardboard any thickness (I used an old ikea box, wasn't perfect but did the job)
Thick short skew
Pen
The dimensions are flexible.You can really just see how you go. I didn't calculate the measurements before hand but this is what the two igloos' measurements are.
The SMALL igloo was 115cm base circle with 56 strips of cardboard 14cmx95cm.
The LARGE igloo was 110cm base circle with 70 strips of cardboard 17cmx105cm.
You'll notice that cardboard amount, width, length and circle size vary with the igloo shape and style.
Steps:
Draw a large circle on the large sheet of cardboard Tie a piece of string low down around a pencil and low down around your sharp pointy thing (the length of string should be half the size of your desired circle size) . Stick your sharp pointy thing into the middle of your cardboard and draw your circle while keeping the string tight and the pencil upright.
Place an object (I used a toy basket) in the middle of the cardboard for your strips to lean up against.
Using the glue gun, glue your first strip of cardboard down along the circle line you drew.
Glue the next cardboard strip down about 5-7cm along the circle, overlapping the previous strip.
Repeat over and over again till you complete the circle. Remember to take out your object holding up the cardboard before you complete the circle.
Trim around the excess cardboard from around the base.
Hole punch the top left hand corner of every cardboard strip (c.1.5 cm in and down)
Hole punch the top right hand corner of every cardboard strip (c.1.5 cm in and down)
Thread a length of thick string or rope through every top left hand corner of every cardboard strip.
Pull as tightly as possible and tie a knot to secure it.
Thread a length of thick string or rope through every top right hand corner of every cardboard strip.
Pull as firm as possible and tie a knot to secure it.
Using another strip of cardboard sheet, arch it over and place where you roughly want the door. Sketch out the outline of the arch onto the igloo.
Using a sharp blade or scissors or both, cut out the door hole and pull the excess cardboard off.
Glue the arch of cardboard into place, you'll have to re-glue each strip of cardboard to the door arch to secure them down again.
You're done!
I had a little fun with a short video this time. It's very amateurish but you get the idea how easy it is to make one of these igloos (Thank you to Bensound for the music for the clip).
Tips
Have fun, don't get caught up with the exactness of the dimensions, it will be fine.
You can also put a window in your igloo using the same arch and sketch method as you use for the door. However you'll need the arch to fold over at the bottom and make a ledge of the window.
Careful you don't burn yourself on the glue gun (like I always do). Plus you'll find that thin cardboard strips like these will give you some lovely nice big paper cuts. So take care when having fun.
