How-to: House of Cards and Other 3D Structures Built with Upcycled Playing Cards

by Julie Finn August 14, 2011, 8:30 am 4 Comments

Of course, if you’re going to use hot glue, why stick to the conventional laws of gravity when building your house of cards? It’s no harder to glue your playing cards together in all kinds of improbable relationships than it is to stack them together properly.

In our homeschool, especially, I often give my girls a stack of old playing cards and the hot glue gun and assign them to create various geometrical forms, from simple shapes like squares and triangles to more complex ones like hexagons and interlinking figures.

The best creations, however, come when we set aside all the rules and simply use the playing cards as materials for 3D sculptures. And one day, if we ever have to choose between a sewing machine and a rowboat, or a new color TV, perhaps we’ll make a contest out of it, too.

Written by Julie Finn

I'm a writer, crafter, Zombie Preparedness Planner, and homeschooling momma of two kids who will hopefully someday transition into using their genius for good, not the evil machinations and mess-making in which they currently indulge. I'm interested in recycling and nature crafts, food security, STEM education, and the DIY lifestyle, however it's manifested--making myself some underwear out of T-shirts? Done it. Teaching myself guitar? Doing it right now.

Visit my blog Craft Knife for a peek at our very weird handmade homeschool life; my etsy shop Pumpkin+Bear for a truly odd number of rainbow-themed beeswax pretties; and my Google + for links to articles about poverty, educational politics, and this famous cat who lives in my neighborhood.