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Cardboard Crafts – DIY Steamroller Toy

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We have been on a DIY Toys kick lately. I can't help it, I like to tinker! We been having so much fun with our cardboard crafts, and today's DIY Steamroller toy falls in that category.

DIY Steamroller Toy - Easy Cardboard Construction Crafts for Kids

I think tinkering runs in my family. Both my parents like to make and do. My mom is an electrician and my dad is a tool maker. I remember when my dad would take me to work with him at the factory where he used to work. Hundreds of robots and machines pivoting and sprocketing all around me. I spent a couple years of life thinking I wanted to be a robotics engineer.

I never quite made it to that profession but I still like to tinker and create!

It's been so fun to see my kids displaying some of those qualities as they grow up as well, I'm confident that the tinkering genes have successfully been passed down.

My 4.5 year old daughter has been interested in building “contraptions” lately so I had her help me with this simple toy craft, even though I originally intended the toy to be for my son. I think my daughter really loved see how we took a few items, put them together and make something that moves!

I can see the benefit of creating together and it totally reminded me of the awe I felt as a kid when I got to see my parents do work or fix things. I mean, I get that this wasn't rocket science….but who knows what kind of creativity it will spark in them!

I thought of this toy after seeing how much my son enjoyed playing with his Cardboard Bulldozer Blade, which was also totally simple to make. He loves construction vehicles and it's been fun to engage his interests in ways that get him moving!

DIY Steamroller Toy Cardboard Craft

This truly could not have been easier to make. I gussied it up with the black paper, but it's not required.

Materials:

Empty oats canister
Wire pants hanger
Scissors
Black construction paper (optional)
Glue (optional)
Hot Glue & Glue sticks (optional)

Directions: 

Take the point of one blade of your scissors and poke a small hole in the center of your oats canister lid, and then a small hole in the center of the canister bottom.

Cardboard Crafts Construction Vehicles- Steam Roller Tutorial

Remove the metal wire from one end of the cardboard hanger tube and very carefully straighten the wire hook part out (this part should be done by an adult, the wire can recoil on you while you are twisting and bending it so just be careful). Poke the end of the wire through the hole in the bottom of the canister, through the canister and out the top of the canister, then through the hole in the lid. Slide the lid down the wire until it is placed back on top of the canister.

Put the end of the wire back into the cardboard tube. If you are concerned with the wire ends coming out during play, you can hot glue the two ends of the wire into the cardboard hanger tube. Do NOT hot glue it to the oats canister or else it will not roll.

Glue two pieces of black construction paper onto the canister for appearances if you wish.

That's it! Get to steamrolling!

You can experiment with what items it will push and which it will roll over. For example, in the picture at the top, you can see it will push the Mega Blocks forward, but we found that when we rolled the steamroller over our plastic magnetic letters, the steamroller went right over them.

If you like this idea, please do pin it and be sure to check out my bulldozer blade toy too if you have a construction vehicles lover too!

Cardboard Crafts - Easy Steam Roller Construction Vehicle Toy



Cardboard Crafts- Easy Bulldozer Blade DIY Toy for kids

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