Milk carton craft - DIY toy Ambulance - Emergency Vehicles toy craft

At our house, we love to make our own toys using items like milk cartons, cardboard boxes, and other recyclable items. My son goes through a phase of liking a particular truck for a few weeks and the liking keeps shifting. It was fire trucks a few weeks ago and now it has shifted to ambulances. We are even reading books on ambulances and making stories with ambulances. So, We together made this ambulance toy from a milk carton and learning how great EMTs and doctors are when people need help. Now, Let's see how to make an ambulance toy. 

 Materials Used :

• Milk Carton-1
• Straws -2
• Bottle caps/ milk jug caps -4
• Wooden skewers -2
• Popsicle stick - 1
• E6000 glue
• Black and white spray paint
• Paint markers
• Velcro dot - 1 pair
• Duck tape - red & blue (Optional)
• Glue gun & glue sticks
• Scissors
• Cardboard 

Step 1: Cut two pieces of straw to the width of the milk carton box and use E6000 to secure it as shown in the picture. 

Step 2: Use a marker and ruler to draw the windshield, windows at the front and also at back. Cut them using a craft knife.  Cutting the top portion of the milk carton was difficult, be patient and go slow layer by layer. I got two flaps while cutting the windshield which I secured with glue. 

My son wanted the ambulance doors to open at the back for him to play with his people's toys, so I cut the bottom of the milk carton, in this case, the back of the ambulance to act as doors.

Step 3: Spray paint the milk carton in white. Take the milk jug caps and spray paint them black to act as wheels. Allow them to dry. It takes two to three coats of paint to completely cover the carton. 

Step 4: Cut a piece of cardboard to separate the front and back of the ambulance. This piece should fit snug so you don't need any glue to attach them. 

Step 5: Cover the cardboard piece with duck tape of any paint of your choice. I chose duck tape as it is an easy and quick fix. 

Step 6: Cut two small pieces of cardboard to act as seats for the EMTs(Emergency Medical Technicians). Cover it with the tape and use hot glue to glue the seats. Then, I used a black marker to add the seat details. Keep this piece aside. 

Step 7: To make the steering wheel, use the bottle cap of the milk carton. Draw and cut the parts using a craft knife. Be careful while doing this step. Paint the whole cap black. 

Step 8: Add a piece of straw to the bottom and secure it to the inside of the milk carton. 

I wanted to add a little interactive touch, so I made the steering wheel movable. To do this, first, add a piece of a wooden skewer(approx 1") to the base of the steering wheel using hot glue. then cut a piece of straw in an angle as shown and secure it to the milk carton, now insert the steering wheel with a skewer into the straw to make it rotate. 

Step 9: Take a popsicle stick and cut the sides to fit on the top of the milk carton. Add blue and red paint or tape on either side to act as a siren. Use hot-glue to secure it. 

Step 10: Once the bottle cap is dry, use E6000, and secure a wooden skewer to the center of the cap. Ues book on either side to hold it in place. This takes some time to dry. Once it is dry add more hot glue for added security. 

Step 11: Insert the caps with the wooden skewer into the straws, trim the extra. Add E6000 to the tip of the skewer and then add the cap positioned it at the center, once it is dry add more hot glue carefully. 

Step 12: Add the paint details like stripes, words, front grill using paint markers.

Step 13: Fold a piece of tape leaving a little sticky end to attach it to the back door, then add one part of Velcro dot to it and then add another part on to the other door to act as door closures. Now open the door to add the separation part that you made it step 5 & 6 to complete the ambulance. The toy ambulance is now ready to rescue people who are in need of help. 

What do you think about this? I love how this turned out except for the windshield. I could have made it simpler but as my son wants to pretend to play with people toys by placing them on the seats I decided to cut open the front part instead of making doors. Other than that love how the rotating steering wheel and wheels turned out. Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

I made a fire truck using a milk carton a few months ago for another blog (The post is not live yet) and we enjoyed making it and absolutely loved how it turned out with the removable ladder using magnets. I am sharing it here for your inspiration. 

 

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DIY Cardboard kids play kitchen

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