Art and design has been part of my life forever; I truly can't remember a time that I wasn't drawing or crafting or creating. Therefore, I just know that my little-girl self would have adored a cardboard dwelling that I could "decorate" myself. The Italian-designed Nume house, top photo (available stateside at Pomme), with its whitewashed interior and exterior, just begs to be customized. In fact, an event called Crea il tuo spazio, or "design your own space", showcases kids' creative playhouse interpretations of the Nume structures. An alternative house design can be found at Paperpod in traditional kraft, along with other paper play spaces like rockets, teepees and a very cool-looking "den". Both companies' structures are made of recycled materials and are recyclable after use.

Interior of a Nume house from Crea il tuo spazio.

From Bluelines editor Jodi Levine comes this fun idea for younger kids: writing and illustrating blank board books (available at Romp, only $3 - $5 each). I just love the title of the book her son created, Friday Brothers!. A stack of blank board books would even make a great baby shower gift, so that creative parents could put together volumes about the baby's family history.

Images from Nume, Kidsmodern, and Paperpod.