Milk Carton Houses With Graffiti Hearts!

I really can’t count the times I’ve planned to make milk carton houses, nor how many milk cartons I have packed away in the basement for those dream projects, but I can report to have taken one tiny step forward with these milk carton heart graffiti wall houses! I realize it sounds like I’ve never made milk carton houses, silly me, I certainly have, twice, milk carton house planter, and doodled millk carton houses. I’ve been all about hearts lately, and while the hearts I’ve been painting haven’t exactly been graffiti hearts, lets just pretend they are, and certainly when painted on a milk carton house they can be! And of course there are many leaves shaped like hearts, so cover a milk carton with green hearts and you’ve got a wall of ivy or a garden. Add a few small house details and a whole row of houses is born! This is such a fun project for any age, and I recommend painting a bunch of milk cartons to have on hand, as in general painting on 3D objects is great for developing a creative eye, and for adding something fresh to your crafting or creative practice!  Ah yes, and with the Jewish new year for the trees coming next week, include a few almond blooms, or a blooming fruit tree and include this in your holiday decor. Either way, it feels like Spring, so it works for Tu B’Shevat! Okay, lets get started, shall we? I almost forgot, check out all of my milk carton crafts for lots more inspiration, and to plan ahead, meaning batch prepare some milk cartons for future crafts!

You’ll Need:

• milk cartons
• sand paper
• acrylic craft paint, or left over house paint (really, it is perfect for this)
• a black permanent marker
• a blue permanent marker
• a white paint pen

How To:

1. Wash out milk cartons well! Prepare milk cartons by sanding them so paint adheres to the surface. In order for the paint to stick do not water it down too much, and use acrylic craft paint, not kid’s gouche, which will not work. While painting that first coat you may opt to paint the roof a different color or half the milk carton a different color, just create a variety for the best results. Also, while painting this first coat, you may opt to scrape designs in the paint to reveal the milk carton colors below, I did this with the botanicals, those black lines are milk carton peaking through! You can also just do stripes or scribbles. Texture of any kind lends an artful first step! Set aside to dry.
2. Now paint your hearts, maybe some as a graffiti wall and some as a garden.
3. Add window and door details with paint markers and permanent markers. Add small details to the hearts or outline some of them.
4. Get creative, but don’t over do it, these milk carton houses look great without too much detail.
5. Make sure to create a bunch of different designs and then have fun arranging them!

Enjoy!