Update: Giveaway is now closed.. See below for winner announcement!
I am SO excited to be hosting this giveaway, for what I consider to be the BEST toy EVER!!! When I first came across makedo, an Australian toy company, I contacted them to see if they would be interested in sponsoring a giveaway. Not only did they agree to sponsor a giveaway (Yay!!), but their distributor in the US also generously sent us three sets. We were thrilled!!
Makedo makes and sells re-useable safe-saws, connectors, and cardboard hinges — allowing kids ages 5 and up to create amazing toys and spaces from recyclables! It’s sort of like our Invention Kit, on steroids. They have a Free Play kit, and also several “find & make” kits that give kids a bit more direction for building. For this review, I received a dollhouse find & make kit (pictured below), a play house find & make kit, and a free play kit. They were all fantastic!!
First up, the girls and I tried the dollhouse kit….
It contains 57 reusable parts, and dollhouse stickers for furniture and accessories. We had several shoeboxes in our Invention Kit, so Emily and I put together this FUN dollhouse in just a few minutes!!
While Emily and I did the building, Clara got to enjoy the finished product almost as much as Emily did — making Emily feel super-proud for making a toy they could both enjoy!
I love how a robot made his way into the kitchen! Who wouldn’t want a robot to do cooking for them??
Next up, we used the Free Play kit to make a super-fun playhouse!!!
It’s hard to say who had more fun with this…. the kids playing with it, or Mark and I while we helped Emily build it! For a couple of engineers like us, we both remarked how incredibly awesome it would have been to have had a toy like this when we were kids. Kids are SO lucky these days!!
We used four large moving boxes, taped together to form one very large box. If you don’t have large cardboard boxes on-hand, they cost around $1.50 each at Home Depot.
The Makedo connectors made the box very sturdy, and the hinges made shutters and doors that really open and close — so much fun!!
So much imaginative play — and all from recyclables!! I love, love, love this product and its potential for creative fun!!!!
Now the fun part — One lucky reader will win a Free Play Makedo kit (pictured below)!!!! Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Kit includes: 1 safe-saw, 6 lock-hinges, 29 pins, and 29 clips — all of which are reusable! You can buy Makedo Free Play kits for $25.00 each, and they ship anywhere in the world with free standard shipping! For those of you in the U.S., they are available through Amazon for just $15.08 and eligible for free shipping on orders over $25! Other makedo kits available through Amazon can be found here. If you shop using my Amazon links, I make a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you, thank you!!
To enter for your chance to win, leave a comment on this post (be sure to include your email address). Easy, peasy!!!
For extra entries, you can blog/Facebook/Tweet about this giveaway, follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and/or subscribe to our feed. Just leave a comment for each one for your extra entry/entries!!
Giveaway ends Saturday, February 26, 2011 @ 6:30pm EST and winner will be chosen by random.org
Good luck!!
Update: Giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Martha (comment #348, chosen by random.org)!!! A big thank you to everyone who entered — another FUN giveaway starts soon!!
















February 19th, 2011 on 4:14 pm
I also subscribe to your RSS feed.
February 21st, 2011 on 7:01 am
wow,ilove this!!!!!!!!!!
February 20th, 2011 on 7:48 am
Great giveaway!
February 20th, 2011 on 7:48 am
I subscribe via Google Reader.
February 20th, 2011 on 7:49 am
I like you on Facebook.
February 20th, 2011 on 8:46 am
What a great toy! I recently bought the robot kit for my nephew, not knowing whether he’d like it. He LOVES it and is apparently even raiding his neighbors’ recycling now
February 20th, 2011 on 11:04 am
Thank you for tippin me off to a GREAT toy!
February 20th, 2011 on 2:26 pm
Always looking for fun new toys! Great give away!
February 20th, 2011 on 3:54 pm
My granddaughter and i would have sooooo much fun building with this amazing toy!
February 20th, 2011 on 10:11 pm
Seeing as they are an Aust company better check out their website!
Steph
QLD,
Australia
February 20th, 2011 on 10:17 pm
I’ve never heard of these before. What a neat idea! We’re moving, so we’ll have TONS of boxes for the kids to use these on.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:17 pm
I “Like” you on FB.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:18 pm
I follow you on twitter (@OurGoatRodeo).
February 20th, 2011 on 10:19 pm
I liked this post on Facebook.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:20 pm
tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/OurGoatRodeo/status/39524504686301184
February 20th, 2011 on 10:22 pm
These look like so much fun! I’m glad you blogged about them and even if I don’t win these are going to find their way into our house
February 20th, 2011 on 10:30 pm
awsome! we’ve tried some cardboard building sets, but this one looks much more intricate. how fun!
vivicais@hotmail.com
February 20th, 2011 on 10:40 pm
These are fantastic
crass.trash.class -at- gmail dot com
February 20th, 2011 on 10:41 pm
This looks awesome!
Ally
February 20th, 2011 on 10:41 pm
Hi! A large portion of our lounge room is currently taken up with two “homes” made of carboard boxes which our two kids made. The makedo looks awesome!! We’d love it!!
February 20th, 2011 on 10:42 pm
I like you on FB
February 20th, 2011 on 10:42 pm
I liked you on FB (Ally Verdone Moll).
February 20th, 2011 on 10:43 pm
I subscribed to your feed via email.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:43 pm
I follow you on twitter
@crunchtastrophe
February 20th, 2011 on 10:44 pm
I’m following you on Twitter.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:44 pm
Tweet
http://www.twitter.com/crunchtastrophe/status/39530709878190080
February 20th, 2011 on 10:45 pm
I facebooked about this giveaway.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:48 pm
I subscribe to feed
February 20th, 2011 on 10:50 pm
I subscribe to feed.
February 20th, 2011 on 10:52 pm
Shared on fb
http://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=204206019595107&id=100000171315714&time_ft=1298259983&refid=7
February 20th, 2011 on 10:52 pm
so so so cool- thanx for the great giveaway!
February 20th, 2011 on 11:17 pm
This looks SO cool! I want one!
February 20th, 2011 on 11:22 pm
Cool—-these look great! I follow you through google reader and fb!
February 20th, 2011 on 11:36 pm
My granddaughters would absolutely love playing with this toy! Thanks for the information!
February 20th, 2011 on 11:40 pm
What an incredibly awesome idea.
my daughter loves to play in boxes… the idea of making a house etc for her is just *SOOOO* neat!
February 21st, 2011 on 12:11 am
Very cool items! Imagination is everything!
February 21st, 2011 on 12:12 am
I liked you on Facebook!
February 21st, 2011 on 12:57 am
love this product!!
February 21st, 2011 on 1:26 am
Love this! Can’t wait to build a cardboard castle!
February 21st, 2011 on 4:35 am
Wow, I had never heard of this company before but those are some awesome sets. I love that the free play one comes with hinges! It takes the plying with boxes to another level , I think. Thanks for sharing this company with us.
February 21st, 2011 on 4:36 am
Just wanted to say that I like you on Facebook.
February 21st, 2011 on 4:38 am
Just tweeted about this contest under @lydsquidmom.
February 21st, 2011 on 6:05 am
This looks like sooooo much fun! I have a class of 17 Pre-K kids who love to create. We are in the midst of a museum unit and are making lots of Recycle/garbage/treasure art! We would love to try this out!
February 21st, 2011 on 6:50 am
Great giveaway! We’ve been eyeing Makedo on Amazon…would love to win!
February 21st, 2011 on 8:57 am
Looks awesome! We’re using a stack of boxes tomorrow for a box building competition here at home. This would be great!
February 21st, 2011 on 8:58 am
Like!
February 21st, 2011 on 9:42 am
This makes fancy cardboard box houses! Great fun!
mysillyeagle (at) gmail (dot) com
February 21st, 2011 on 9:43 am
I like you on facebook!
mysillyeagle (at) gmail (dot) com
February 21st, 2011 on 9:43 am
I subscribe via google reader!
mysillyeagle (at) gmail (dot) com
February 21st, 2011 on 10:16 am
OH.MY.GOSH!!! How clever. If I am not lucky enough to win, I’m buying ‘em. Very cool.
February 21st, 2011 on 10:16 am
I follow on FB =)
February 21st, 2011 on 2:31 pm
How fantastic! Gotta have this for our cold winter and rainy days!
February 21st, 2011 on 6:18 pm
We have so much fun with the projects you post!
February 21st, 2011 on 6:40 pm
Awesome kids toy! I think I might not see my kids for a week if had this!
February 21st, 2011 on 6:41 pm
Follow you on Twitter
February 21st, 2011 on 6:41 pm
Follow you on Facebook
February 21st, 2011 on 6:41 pm
Subscribe to your feed
February 21st, 2011 on 6:59 pm
This looks like some creative fun!
February 21st, 2011 on 8:39 pm
This looks fantastic!
February 21st, 2011 on 9:04 pm
Would love to win!
February 21st, 2011 on 9:09 pm
So fun!
February 21st, 2011 on 10:55 pm
I just found your blog today. It’s great!
February 21st, 2011 on 10:56 pm
I’m subscribed via google reader.
February 21st, 2011 on 10:56 pm
Liker on fb
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:12 am
This is the coolest thing ever! Why do kids have so much fun playing with cardboard?
February 22nd, 2011 on 10:07 am
Would love this!
J
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:17 am
Great toy – so simple, and a great way to re-use/recycle! Hope we win!! Thanks!
iamredeemed_99@yahoo.com
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:18 am
Already liking your Facebook page
iamredeemed_99@yahoo.com
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:19 am
Shared this giveaway on my facebook
iamredeemed_99@yahoo.com
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:20 am
subscribed to your feed
iamredeemed_99@yahoo.com
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:21 am
What a truly creative idea. I love it!
February 22nd, 2011 on 12:48 pm
MY KIDS WOULD LOVE THIS!
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:00 pm
I ADORE this product! Kids will have way more creative fun with this kit ,than any other ‘fancy-schmanzy’ high priced toy out there (that ends up scattered in the toy box).
I have one cocern: why is the one piece that pushes through the cardboard so long and pointy?? Looks a bit dangerous? Are there caps to protect little eyes? Just wondering ….
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:20 pm
This is so fantastic! My boys play with boxes all.the.time. But MakeDo would take it up a notch!
Aleksija at ymail dot com
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:23 pm
I “liked” you on Facebook! (Alexia S.)
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:24 pm
I shared your giveaway on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FamFunBlog?sk=wall#!/alexia.staelens/posts/128143827259460)
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:24 pm
I started following you on Twitter (Aleksija)
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:25 pm
I shared your giveaway on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/Aleksija/status/40114269982957569)
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:36 pm
So cool!!! Boxes make the best toys ever!!
February 22nd, 2011 on 1:39 pm
Just posted about this on facebook!
February 22nd, 2011 on 2:27 pm
This is super cool!
We love battery free toys!!
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:54 pm
Very cool, would love to win!!
tricia_26 (at) hotmail (dot) com
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:55 pm
Also like you on FB
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:55 pm
And….I subscribe to your blog!!
February 22nd, 2011 on 8:08 pm
Love this! Even if I don’t win, I’m going to bookmark the site to remind myself to order a kit one of these days. Thanks! laurenbayles@hotmail.com
February 22nd, 2011 on 8:09 pm
I subscribe to you feed via Google Reader
February 22nd, 2011 on 8:10 pm
I also follow you on Facebook
February 22nd, 2011 on 9:07 pm
My kiddos would love this!!!
February 22nd, 2011 on 9:09 pm
I follow you on FB.
February 22nd, 2011 on 11:35 pm
This is an absolutely amazing set. My girls currently have a box house and we are looking for another large box. My favorite is the doll house out of shoe boxes. So amazing.
February 23rd, 2011 on 11:31 am
Wow! I needed this when I was a kid. Looks like fun. A good family activity.
February 23rd, 2011 on 11:31 am
I Like you on FB
February 23rd, 2011 on 2:13 pm
I Love the Idea of this Kit. I’ve been looking for something like this for years
February 23rd, 2011 on 2:18 pm
These look awesome. They are right up my son’s alley!
February 23rd, 2011 on 2:19 pm
I like you on Facebook too!
February 23rd, 2011 on 2:22 pm
I also subscribed to your feed!
February 23rd, 2011 on 7:37 pm
This is way, way cool! What a fabulous, and simple, idea!
February 23rd, 2011 on 11:50 pm
Oh goodness! We would certainly have a blast with that here in our home – we love creating with cardboard!
Thanks so much for sharing all your wonderful ideas
dnagrl83@gmail.com
February 24th, 2011 on 5:23 pm
I just found your blog from Melissa & Doug’s link on FB. What great ideas you have!!
February 24th, 2011 on 5:24 pm
I “liked” you on Facebook.
February 24th, 2011 on 5:28 pm
I subscribe to your emails.
February 24th, 2011 on 10:05 pm
Facebook fan
We would have SOOOO much fun with this!!
February 24th, 2011 on 10:06 pm
also have you on my Google reader!
February 25th, 2011 on 12:56 pm
What fun! I know all 3 of my children would equally enjoy.
February 25th, 2011 on 6:19 pm
Looks like fun!