Transform a basic brown box into a community full of color, patterns, and fun! This simple project was inspired by the true story of a neighborhood in San Diego’s East Village!

We read Maybe Something Beautiful, written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, and illustrated by Rafael López (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016). Mira lives in a gray city, but her heart and mind are full of color and joy. When she meets a muralist with a pocketful of paintbrushes, they launch a mission to bring bright, bold, and inspiring colors to walls, benches, and sidewalks. A true story, this book describes how the Urban Art Trail initiative transformed a community. It’s an amazing, heartfelt read, and the illustrations are next level gorgeous. Don’t miss the note from the authors in the back of the book, or the fact that the original community muralist, Rafael López, is also the book’s illustrator!

All you need for this project is a box and some markers and/or art supplies! We used leftover craft box houses from our Gingerbread Architecture event…

And then we brought out markers, paper, stickers, feathers, foam beads, pipe cleaners and our good ‘ol Bling Bin. When everyone was finished, we put the houses together for a little neighborhood walk!