You can make this twig house using a cardboard box, twigs, and hot glue.
Make a small log cabin that you can play with for years. This project takes a lot of time and effort to make, but it’s worth it. It also uses a lot of glue and a lot of twigs. We worked for about an hour or two a day for 5 days to make two cabins. This project requires adult help and supervision (adults should cut the cardboard, use the hot glue gun, and cut the twigs).
- A small cardboard box (we used ones about 9 inches by 12 inches by 9 inches)
- A sheet of cardboard (for the roof)
- Hot glue (you'll need a lot)
- Craft knife (to cut the cardboard)
- Garden shears (to cut the twigs)
- A lot of twigs (choose the straightest ones you can find)
- Pencil
- Optional – Acetate (for the windows)
- Optional – Tiny pebbles and a tiny box (for a chimney)
Instructions
Mark the cardboard box so that it looks like a house. For a traditional-style house, make the shorter sides have triangle tops, and cut the longer sides to meet the short ends.
Cut the cardboard along your markings, making a house shape.
Mark the doors and windows. Cut out the windows. Cut only three sides of each door (leave one long side to act as the door’s hinge).
Optional - Cut small squares of acetate that fit around each window. Glue the acetate on each window to look like glass.
Measure, cut and glue twigs to the box. Use hot glue - liquid glue does not work well in this project. The only tricky part is by the hinge of the doors - don’t glue twigs too close to the door hinge or the door won’t open all the way.
To finish the doors, glue on smaller twigs. For a doorknob, use a very short twig.
For the roof, cut a rectangle of cardboard that is about an inch longer and wider than the top of the house. Fold the rectangle in half. Place the roof on the house.
Optional: If you want a chimney on your cabin, find a small box (like a macaroni mix box). Cut it in half and cut off the ends of the box. Cut out a triangle on each of the short sides (this is where the chimney will fit along the top of the roof). Glue the box to the top of the roof.
Glue tiny pebbles to the box.
Glue twigs to the roof.
You now have a fantastic log cabin! You can decorate the inside of the cabin, and even make tiny twig furniture.
