How to Make a Cardboard Pirate Ship

This year we were very late with our Valentine's Day preparations.  No big surprise there!  Fortunately, since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, we had the weekend to come up with a fun idea for the Valentine's Day Treat Boxes.  We wanted to come up with something a little different as our Monster Valentine's Day boxes from last year were such a hit. 

The kids love pirates, and have both had pirate parties in the past, and so the consensus was to make pirate ship boxes.  They were really easy to make.  Below is a picture tutorial of the process I used...it may very well be the internet's worst tutorial to date...but after trying a few different approaches, this is the one that worked for us.  And the kid's were able to put them together themselves with a little bit of guidance. 

*these would also work great as party favor boxes for a Pirate Party*


All you need is:
A piece of cardboard (hello, recycle center!)
Scissors
Duct tape
A thin stick or a food skewer for the mast
One sheet of printer paper
Markers and stamps to decorate

1. Cut the following 4 pieces out of the cardboard (see below for enlarged measurements)

2.  Start to assemble the box by bringing up the sides and then bringing the front 2 flaps of the ship together (see hand below).  Make sure the tab is on the inside of the pirate ship and duct tape the seams on the inside and outside of the ship.

3. Once the front is secured with duct tape, place piece C in position.  Duct tape underneath as well as around the top edges.  (I cut my duct tape length wise to make a smaller seam on top.)
As you can see, there will be a rectangular shaped hole at the bottom - you may want to try and address this before you start....we didn't end up losing any candy so it didn't matter too much to us!!
Did I mention that this tutorial leaves a lot to be desired ;)

4.  Next, position piece D as shown.  Secure with Duct tape underneath.
5.  Attach piece B.  Fold in the tabs and duct tape underneath as well as along the outer seams.

6.  Lastly, place a long twig or food skewer through the hole punched in the middle of piece D. 

Now it is time to decorate your pirate ship as well as the sail.
Finish by punching two holes in the paper, one near the top, in the center and another near the bottom in the center of the page.  Thread through the mast, and ye pirate ship is ready to sail over to yer Valentine's Day party to collect lots of Booty, me Hearties.