Skateboarding has been a popular activity for decades. Skateboards are available in many designs and sizes. You can make a cardboard skateboard for display or finger play out of a recycled shoebox and other common household items. Miniature skateboards are often quite elaborate in design, and you can use your creativity to decorate your cardboard skateboard. Because you can make a cardboard skateboard in about hour, you might wish to make several at one time.
- Skill level:
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Things you need
- Shoebox or shoebox lid
- Acrylic paint
- Stickers (optional)
- Clear coat
- Styrofoam packing peanut
- Rubber cement
- 4- pencils with unused erasers
- Paper clip (optional)
Measure and draw a 1-inch wide by 3-inches long rectangle onto the bottom of a shoebox, or onto the top of a shoebox lid. Use a ruler to trace to ensure your lines are straight.
Cut out the cardboard rectangle with scissors.
Paint the cardboard rectangle with acrylic paint on both sides. Allow the paint to dry. Decorate the skateboard with stickers or other art if desired. The length of time necessary for the paint to dry is determined by how much paint you use. Typically, a project this size will dry in about fifteen minutes if a single layer of paint was applied.
Paint the skateboard with an acrylic clear coat to protect the paint, stickers or other art. Allow the paint to dry.
Cut the styrofoam packing peanut into two ½-inch wide by ½-inch long rectangles.
Apply a thin coat of rubber cement to the centre of the underside of the skateboard, ½-inch from each outside edge. Press a styrofoam rectangle onto each spot of glue. Rubber cement used in large quantities will melt styrofoam, but not if a light application is used.
Pull the erasers from four pencils. If you have trouble getting the erasers out of the metal grips at the pencil end, straighten a paper clip and stick one of the ends into the centre of the eraser, then pull the eraser from the pencil top diagonally. Most erasers come out easily just by gripping them in your fingers and tugging.
Break a toothpick into two 1-inch pieces. You'll have extra toothpick parts, but you can discard the excess.
Push one toothpick piece, carefully, through each of the styrofoam rectangles glued under the skateboard. These are known as trucks. Your wheels will connect to the toothpick pieces.
Poke the centre of the bottom of each pencil eraser with a straightened paper clip. Twist to make a rounded hole.
Dab the hole in each eraser hole with rubber cement and gently push the hole onto the end of the toothpick piece previously inserted through the styrofoam rectangle glued beneath the skateboard. Allow glue to dry. Wheels will turn slightly, but are generally for display.
Tips and warnings
- According to the How to Draw and Paint website, acrylic paint dries fast and is easily cleaned up with water.
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