Saturday, January 24, 2026
Do you want to build something, but don’t have a hammer and nails handy? Your recycling bin has a versatile and strong building material that you can use for a variety of projects… CARDBOARD! Join us and The Floor Diva™, aka Double Journeyperson Desiree, as we put our home construction hats on, build cardboard bookshelves, and dig into the wide world of the skilled trades!
Time
Ages 7-12: 8 am PT • 9 am MT • 10 am CT • 11 am ET • 12 pm AT
Ages 13-17: 10 am PT • 11 am MT • 12 pm CT • 1 pm ET • 2 pm AT
Materials and Preparation
Materials:
- Cardboard box (at least 15cm wide, 25cm long, and 25cm tall)
- The box MUST be a rectangle
- Extra cardboard
- Ductape (colourful tape if you have it)
- Newspaper or packing paper (6-8 sheets)
- Hot glue gun (more tape will sub here if need be)
- Scissors
- Ruler
Preparation required before the session:
Please Note: Boxes will vary in size; dimensions will not be consistent. For the purposes of these instructions, the box used here is 35cm long, 30cm wide, 35cm tall (35x30x35 cm).
Click here for instructions with images
- On your rectangular box, cut out one of the narrower sides (side with a smaller area) of your box. Save this side – you will use it later.
- Glue down (or tape down) the remaining flaps.
- Take the narrow side you cut from your box and cut it into two pieces at ⅔ of its length. For example, my narrow side is 45cm tall (height of box + height of flap); I cut it at about 30cm, yielding one piece 30cm long and another 15cm long.
- Using your extra cardboard, cut out two rectangles that are the same width as your box and 8 cm tall. For example, because my box is 30 cm wide, my two rectangles are 30 x 8 cm each.
- Finally, using your extra cardboard, cut out a rectangle that is 3cm tall and 6cm wider than the width of your cardboard box. For example, because my box is 30cm wide, my rectangle is 36 x 3cm.
* You should now have your box with one narrow side removed, two uneven pieces (from the removed side), and three additional rectangles of cardboard.
Meet the Expert
Desiree T. Smith
Desiree T. Smith is prominent advocate for women in the trades and has over 13 years of experience in the construction industry as a Double Journeyperson in carpentry and tile setting. Desiree is a skilled trades instructor and the recipient of the UBC Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Award of Excellence in 2024/2025. A founding member of the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen, she is a Champion Mentor of the NEXGEN BUILDERS Award, and a member of the Coalition of the Black Trade Unionist, and the Afro-Canadian Construction Association.
This programming was developed by Mikaela Moore.
