Fun With Popsicle Sticks: Homemade Fort and Castle!

I had some popsicle sticks that a friend gave me (Thanks, Rich!) and I was trying to come up with a great use for them. I had already made a Tic Tac Toe board and a Catapult from popsicle sticks. Finally, I decided to make a fort.

FORT
For this craft you will need:

• Hot glue and hot glue gun or craft glue
• Popsicle sticks (Here's a link if you don't have friends willing to donate.)
• Cardboard box
• Felt, ribbon, or foam sheets
• Craft knife

Directions:
1. Cut the flaps off the top of the box.
2. Cut out a door. I cut a flap type of door so the kids could close it if they wanted
    (Alternatively, they could pretend it was the drawbridge for the castle version--
    see below for castle).
3. Start at either the top or the bottom of the box and hot glue the sticks on around
    the box. (I started at the bottom). Make sure you don't glue your door shut!
4. Next, measure the sticks and cut to finish the remainder of the box (my top of the
    box is the cut pieces).
5. Glue on sticks around the castle to cover
    where the two pieces of popsicle sticks
    meet.
6. Cut out triangular pieces for your flag. I
    used foam sheets.
7. Glue flag onto popsicle stick.
8. Next, glue the popsicle stick to the inside
    of the fort.
9. Add on any other embellishments! I added
    on some decoration to the front of the door.


CASTLE 
The castle is easy to make once you have the fort done!

1. Find two smaller boxes, about the same height or a little taller than the fort.
2. Cut out doors from the front of the boxes.
3. Glue popsicle sticks around the boxes.
4. Cut out banners (I used the foam sheets) and glue to the front of the castle
    on either side of the drawbridge.
5. Glue a box on either side of the fort. Make sure to have the doors facing outward!

The castle is under Peeps attack!