h a l f b a k e r yBirth of a Notion.
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Mundane cardboard boxes housing large
appliances . . . washing machines,
television sets, dishwashers, desktop
computers . . . (well you get the idea) are
often kids' favorite playthings. They
imaginatively turn them into forts,
castles,
playhouses, buses, etc. Sometimes,
when
a parent
can be bothered, a drawbridge,
murder holes and other castle essentials
can be cut into the box, heightening the
experience. Of course, sometimes a door
and a couple of windows will do.
To help recycle the box as a toy, to make
the play more realistic and fun, to trigger
imaginative play, why not include box
side
size decals which can be stuck onto the
box once its original purpose as packing
has been fulfilled? The decals can
represent, in full detailed color, the front
and sides of a mini mansion playhouse
or
an impregnable fort, a school bus or
racing car. Some designs could of
course
include "dotted" lines (for inept parents)
indicating the correct areas to be cut out
for windows, etc.
A variation would be decals sold
separately and not actually within the
box.
They would either be trimable for fit, or
could be sold point of purchase at a
location where similar size boxes are
sold
. . . e.g. moving boxes.
[link]
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Thanks for the reasonably positive
comments ... I feel like I disappeared
pretty quickly. New idea: let newbie
bakers' ideas stay in the oven until they
continue to rise or fall flat . . . . I must
continue to contribute. |
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Very good idea. Oddly, I bet you could also sell "blank" boxes of different sizes for use with the decals! |
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The blank box is baked. I got one for my nephew and I mention it because it had the lines drawn, but not the colors, so kids could draw them in themselves. |
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I was wondering if there wasn't a cheaper way...has anyone ever seen those hoiday projectors? That way you get a slide of a snowman and it projects onto your garage door. |
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If you took a cheap flashlight with a stand, it could project the "castle" pattern on the box and kids/parents could draw it out themselves. The nice thing is it could be sized to fit the box. |
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It's a good idea, but for those people who don't have children, such boxes and decals could be donated to children's charities, nursery schools, kids hospitals etc. |
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Could the box perhaps be adapted to have an inviting child-sized hole in the top and whrring red-hot blades in the bottom ? if so, [+]. |
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Good idea... and patentable I believe? |
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Now we need a box "nibbler" that works
like a jigsaw so you don't cut yourself with
that utility knife. |
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Accessory items could include a roll of brick stickers you can use for smaller areas which need coverage (for engineering types), and picture-frame stickers to paste on the inside and draw on with crayons/markers (for interior decorator types). |
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Little punch-out doll house furniture in
the window cut-out scraps (some
assembly required) |
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