mollymoo

DIY Cardboard Pirate Ship

Inspired by a recent trip to the cinema to see the latest Tinkerbell & The Pirate Fairy story I decided to make another pirate ship – a ship that was possible to make within one hour, with no papier mache or painting…… and this is how it turned out!

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All you need to replicate is:
Cardboard box
Glue gun
Ruler, pencil and black marker
Craft Knife
Twine
Twigs for the mast and horizontal spreaders (the sticks that hold the sail)
Fabric for the sail

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How to make a Cardboard Pirate Ship

First draw one side of the ship on a flat piece of cardboard – I kept my shape quite ‘boxy’ so as to give it a good solid resilient base to sit on while Miss7 was pushing it around the floor, on the many adventures to come – and selfishly to avoid having to curve the cardboard base around any tricky corners.
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This is a plan of what pieces you need to make your pirate ship – two sides, a back and a base.
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Start by gluing the back piece onto the sides. The joy of using a glue gun is that everything is locked together in a matter of seconds.
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Next glue on the base by running your glue gun up along each side.
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Continue gluing the base piece right up to the front of the boat. If you score the base along where the base meets the front so you get a nice straight edge at the front of your ship.
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Now you have your solid ships hull.

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Fitting out your ship

For this stage you need an L-shaped piece of cardboard, a strong stick for the mast and a piece of styrofoam to hold the mast in position.
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Glue the L-shaped card inside the back of the boat for the cabin – the ‘poop deck’ as it’s fondly called among seafaring folk :)? (I will never let my husband read this post – he’s a sailor and all the non-boaty terms would have him out in hives!!)

Glue the piece of styrofoam to the base of the ship up against the ‘poop deck’ and glue the mast/stick into the hole and for extra resilience glue the back of the stick to the poop deck too.
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Glue two smaller horizontal spreader sticks to the mast to hold the sail.

For authenticity and strength I wrapped some twine around the joints.
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Nearly there…..

For the sail I used a square of black felt and glued on some burlap stars – you can of course add whatever sail design you desire – the conventional skull and crossbones, stripes or better still give your little one(s) some paint markers and let them design the sail.
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Punch holes along the top and lower edges of the felt and loop twine around the spreader sticks to tie on the sail.

Finally – the plank!!! no pirate ship is complete without one :) oh and the marker drawn circles are of course the cannon hole…. you gotta have those two, according to Molly!!
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Crafts That Inspire Play

This pirate ship is the perfect handmade toy to inspire hours of imaginative play. Being that this one was inspired by pirate fairies it was only fitting for Molly to take out the blue glitter and sprinkle it on the boat to make it fly through the living room sky – all aboard….. next stop Pixie Hollow :)

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Cardboard Box to Pirate Ship in less than 1 hour!! – why not give it a go.

Happy Crafting
Michelle
xx

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