Artist Sherri Madison created a mini Japanese town out of cardboard for her daughter’s birthday

A crafty mum turned her living room into a tiny town for her daughter’s birthday sleepover using recycled cardboard boxes and gouache paint.

Sherri Madison, from Southern California, grew up with military parents who had to move around a lot and left a pile of boxes in their wake – hence she now cannot stand to see cardboard go to waste, and regularly creates art out of Amazon boxes.

She recently spent 10 days creating a large cardboard Tokyo-inspired ‘alley market’ complete with sliding doors, mini shops, and windows between each room.

Sherri also focused on minute details for the project, including: tiled roofs, hanging paper lanterns, faux bubble teas.

The market was big enough to fit six adult sleeping bags so that every child had enough space of their own. 

A crafty mum turned her living room into a tiny town for her daughter’s birthday sleepover using only recycled cardboard boxes and gouache paint

The mum posted several videos of her project on social media. 

‘This is my Little Tokyo cardboard alley market for my daughter’s sleepover birthday party,’ she said. ‘I’ve been pretty busy lately, but it felt great to do a big build.’

Sherri also joked that she thought she might be made out of cardboard. 

‘Each girl at my daughter’s birthday slumber party got their own shop to sleep in, so I cut little windows inside, between each one, so they could see each other.’

The artist used cardboard rivets and hot glue to hold the boxes together. 

‘But I ended up removing most of the inside walls because they all wanted to be together!’

The artist exclusively spoke to FEMAIL about her thought process when creating such large pieces of art.

‘I generally don’t work with any sort of plan. I just start with large boxes for a basic shape, then work my way up to the details,’ she said.

‘This had to house six adult-sized sleeping bags, so each girl had her own space. The girls had a ton of fun but I also love that they all got to see what can be done with reuse!’

‘My mission is to teach people the amazing things that can be done with reusing cardboard that is typically discarded.’

All of Sherri’s work is made from 100% recycled cardboard.

Sherri does not usually work with a concrete plan – she simply creates a vague outline and then focuses on the details as the project comes together

Sherri also focused on minute details for the project, including: tiled roofs, hanging paper lanterns, faux bubble teas

Thousands were blown away by Sherri’s creation and flocked to her comments in awe.

‘Imagine all the stories your kids are gonna tell their own kids someday about the next level fun they had with their mom and her creations.’ 

‘This is absolutely ridiculous for your child! I’m much better suited! Can you be my mum,’ a woman joked.

‘Definitely one of the most amazing things I’ve seen! The beautiful detail and handiwork! You’re so talented!’

‘Your kids will grow up understanding that they can achieve awesome things if they commit to the mission,’ another added. 

‘The craftsmanship, the detail, the paint, the props! This is where core memories are made.’