Extreme Cardboarding: The Superman Snow Shovel

Craft & Design Fun & Games Paper Crafts
Extreme Cardboarding: The Superman Snow Shovel

Oh, the joys of winter! Regardless if you live in North America, Europe, East Asia or even The Middle East, this winter has been extreme and annoying!

Use whatever hyperbole you want to describe the unforgiving weather: “snowpocalypse,” “snowmageddon,” “snowtastrophe,” “blizzaster” or my favorite “Keyser Snowz.” I think we can all collectively agree that the winter of 2015 is one for the record books and spring can’t get here fast enough!

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the news about the constant snowbliteration endured by Boston, Massachusetts. While watching the depressing news, I was also intermittently looking out my window at the snow bank engulfing my backyard while reading a Justice League graphic novel. The mental culmination of Boston’s weather woes mixed with my own cabin-fever winter reality and images of Superman beating up alien invaders converged into one crazy thought and call to creativity!

“What would Superman do against an all-out snowmageddon storm?” I thought to myself.

That nerdesque internal question instantly became an invention idea. Since I had to inevitably dig out my car from a week’s worth mound of snow, why not create a Superman shovel worthy of The Man of Steel to complete the task?

Create a shovel big enough to conquer a snow bank with one scoop! Make it able to displace slush with a single flick of the wrist! Clear a driveway faster than a speeding bullet…OK, now I’m going overboard but you get the idea.

5 feet tall body plus 1.5 foot long blade
5 foot long body plus 2 foot long blade. Note: the shovel is pushing down the fence just by leaning on it!

Using multiple layers of premium double-wall cardboard, a patchwork of photocopied photos resulting in a connected 5ft. long Superman image and a special varnish mixture to ensure water-resistance, after two days the cardboard Superman shovel was born!

What the shovel looks like prior to gluing together.
What the shovel looked like prior to gluing together.

The shovel was designed to provide ergonomic back support for proper lifting via Superman’s outstretched arm and the shovel’s blade is in the form of Superman’s logo. The blade was made wide enough to collect upwards of 10 lbs. of snow. Only construction glue holds the shovel together.

Now when I go outside, Jack Frost cringes in fear like Lex Luthor! The shovel works beautifully and Snowmageddon has met its match. Winter better tag in springtime soon because Superman and I won’t have mercy!

I’m so looking forward to making warm weather outdoor crafts soon! Winter is driving me crazy – even more crazy than usual!

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As a fanatic crafting fan, inventor, author and designer, I just enjoy making new things for the fun of it! I operate an award-winning how-to You Tube channel called The Homemade Game Guru to share my love of creation with people worldwide. Utilizing cardboard in grandiose ways is my specialty.

I also run an unique online design class to help anyone create a Personal Family Tree Board Game. You can sign up for that class here.

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