Milk Carton Boats

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off

Fun Kids Crafts

Milk Carton Boats

The ultimate no prep craft. You can use old cartons and a few simple items like paints, card and a straw, to make these cute milk carton boats.
 
Best of all the kids can have hours of imaginary play fun afterwards as they put their soft toys in the boats and sail away. Bon voyage!

 

Summary

Time: 30 minutes
Age: Little kids to Tweens
Difficulty: Intermediate

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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You will need:

  • Juice or milk carton
  • Scissors
  • Acrylic paints
  • Paint brushes
  • Patterned, thick paper or card
  • Card drinking straw
  • Plasticine or play dough

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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Step 1: Make a cut-out

Wash and dry an old juice or milk carton.

If it has a pouring spout carefully remove it by cutting around it.

Then make the main opening for the top of the boat.

Cut a rectangle shape out of one side of the milk carton. This part is best done by an adult.

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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Step 2: Cover the spout

If you removed the spout you will be left with a hole in the top of the carton.

Glue a piece of card over this section to cover it.

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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Step 3: Paint the boat

Paint the whole milk carton in your base colour using acrylic paints. You may need to apply 2 coats to completely cover your carton in a thick layer.

Here we painted it all white. We then added on blue and red stripes to our two milk carton boats.

Finally, paint some fun designs to make your boat look ship shape.

You could add more stripes, some round circles for port holes or some colourful dots for rivets.

Have fun with different colours, stripes and shapes!

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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Step 4: Make your sail

Cut a triangle of thick patterned paper or card. Fold it around a drinking straw and tape it in place to make the sail.

Check the height of the straw. You may want to cut it back to make your sail shorter.

Place a ball of plasticine or play dough on the bottom of the milk carton boat (inside the opening).

Plant your sail into the ball, so that it stands upright inside the boat.

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Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off
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Step 5: Let their imaginations sail away

Help them put their favourite small soft toys in your milk carton boats and they can go wild with imaginary play.

Where will they sail off to?

Is your milk carton boat ready to sail off? Anchors away!

Milk carton boats - make these milk or juice carton boats as a fun and simple kids craft - watch kids play with them as they sail off

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