Who Needs This?

Who needs a fancy doll house made of plastic when you could have... your very own, hand made cardboard house?

Notice the attention to details: a book shelf with a bowl of fruit on the top.

A giant flat screen TV with a shiny duct tape couch and be-ribboned coffee table.

The cozy little bed complete with a plastic wrap window.

When Kassie was 2 and a half, the next door neighbor girl, who was about 5 at the time, got one of the aforementioned plastic doll houses. Kassie really wanted one. So for Christmas, we gave her a Fisher Price doll house. Though the perfect size and durability for her little hands, she was not satisfied. It was not the same as Lauren's. When she saw her grandma next, she told her that she would like a doll house like Lauren's for her birthday - five months away in May! She held on to that wish and since she was a spoiled only child at that point, she got it!

Fast forward eight years. Three more little girls have loved that plastic doll house, and it has been inhabited by Little Pet Shops, Little Ponies, and stuffed animals. However, there is something to be said for making it yourself. I remember spending hours as a kid making Barbie Town Houses with elevators out of the shelves in my closet. This card board house took the kids ALL day yesterday! There was NO fighting and EVERYONE contributed! Even though I hate the clutter, I can pay for that peace and happiness with a cardboard box every week - though it might cost me a few scraps from my sewing box that I was not willing to contribute.