Cardboard Slippers

When I was alone with my two daughters, aged 3 and 1, my 3-year-old insisted on wearing her sandals inside. We had a bit of an argument about why wearing street shoes indoors is not okay, but she didn't want to use her slippers instead. We didn't have the shoes she wanted, which is quite common when playing with little kids – there are often things you simply don't have that they want. Additionally, there are many things you don't want to buy because they won't use them for long. After a little mental meltdown on both sides, we came up with the best solution – if we don't have it, we can build it. Cardboard is perfect for such situations. So we built cardboard slippers for my daughters and their dolls.

• Cardboard (e.g., from a delivery box)
• Toilet paper tube
• Tape (a strong tape like packaging tape is recommended)
• Scissors
• Markers

First, draw the shape of the shoe sole on a piece of cardboard. You can use a shoe in the correct size for this or simply place the foot on the cardboard and trace around it.

Once you have the shape, cut it out to create the shoe sole.

Create a second sole that mirrors the first one.

Create a band from a cardboard strip. First, place the foot on the shoe sole and measure the size of the strap using the cardboard band. You can measure first or directly mark on the cardboard band how long it needs to be. Additionally, mark the shoe sole so you know where to attach the strap.

Alternatively, you can use a toilet paper tube, which is usually big enough for kids' feet. Cut it first along its length to open it up. Then cut it to the width you want the shoe strap to be. After that, use it similarly to the cardboard band to measure how much you need to cut and where to attach it to the shoe sole.

First, fixate the strap to the shoe sole to check if it fits. Once this is done, you need to fix it properly. I used a big packaging tape to secure it. Use as much tape as required to stabilize the strap. I also tucked the tape to the bottom of the shoe sole to ensure it was fixed properly.

My daughter complained that the shoe sole was too flexible and would get a kink. I forgot to consider the direction of the cardboard in my initial design. I used it first from left to right, which made it easily kink in the direction of the step. So, I created a second shoe sole, but this time I took the direction into consideration and made it the other way. This way, both cardboards would stabilize each other, making the shoe sole more stable.

Place the second shoe sole underneath the first. First, fixate it a bit, and then use the stronger tape to attach the second sole to the first sole in both directions.

Additionally, fixate your strap once more to the second shoe sole as well. This will stabilize the fixation even more.

The slippers should now be done and are ready to try and play with. We created various versions for my daughters and for their dolls. After more than a week, our slippers are still functional. With adequate markers or some stickers, you can easily color and personalize them even more.