How to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing: Cardboard Helmet Workshop for Kids
Making a helmet might seem like a straightforward task for any cardboard-creative child or adult. However, if you want to create a truly unique and intricate design, it can involve a lot more than just slapping a box on your head and painting it a bright color. Depending on the complexity of the design, it may require careful planning, precise measurements, and advanced techniques. In some cases, mathematical calculations may even come into play, as well as a scientific understanding of art.
Recently, our team had the opportunity to attend a helmet-making workshop hosted by our friends from New Zealand. The workshop was a game-changer for us, as it completely changed our perception of cardboard as a crafting material. With the help of a pattern gifted to them by a cosplay expert, our New Zealand counterparts demonstrated how cardboard sculpting can be elevated to a level of sophistication that is consistent and accessible. They showed us how to use only a few basic tools — pencils, cardboard, masking tape, and a craft knife — to trace, cut, curl, and join the cardboard pieces in a way that fits snugly around the head, providing protection from imaginary battles and other fantastical foes.
The workshop was a flurry of activity, with everyone getting their hands dirty and their creative juices flowing. The process involved lots of adjusting, detaching, reattaching, and perfecting until everyone was satisfied with the shape and form of their next-party costume. It was truly impressive to see how quickly everyone was able to make the base of their helmets. What normally takes hours of work for some, only took two to three hours for these guys. The energy in the room was high, and tape was flying everywhere, until the point where no more tape could be added to the beautifully crafted headpieces.
Once the base of the helmets was complete, it was time to move on to the fun part — decorating! Ears, horns, and other exciting ornaments were attached to the helmets, and then we mixed flour and water to create the paste of our childhoods — papier-mache! The end result was a collection of unique and beautiful helmets that were both functional and fashionable. We couldn’t have been more proud of the work we accomplished in just a few short hours, and we left the workshop feeling inspired and invigorated to take our cardboard crafting skills to the next level.
Text: Vivita Aotearoa
Photos: Vivita Estonia
March 2023
