I'm pretty sure, if you are throwing a Paris themed birthday party, the expectation is that there will be Eiffel Tower decorations. I mean, who goes to Paris, without even glancing at the Eiffel Tower, right? I have plenty of small Eiffel Tower statues but when I think Eiffel Tower decorations, in my opinion, bigger is better. If you are crazy enough that you'd want to make your own Cardboard Eiffel Tower, keep on reading... Grab a ladder and some large cardboard boxes. With your first piece of cardboard propped or pinned to your ladder, from behind, begin to trace the bottom of your Eiffel Tower. The space between the inside of the ladder legs is perfect for the cut out at the bottom center of the Tower. Trace along the inside using the ladder legs to guide for width. After tracing each section or part onto the cardboard, I'd cut that section out before moving on to the next section, adjusting my design as I went. I used the outside of the ladder to determine the width of the Eiffel Tower, again, tracing from the ladder side to determine the shape I used. At the base, I also kept the flap, folded backwards for the ladder to rest on, providing additional support. I used two pieces of cardboard to construct my Eiffel Tower. At the base the cardboard piece went width-wise and the top {connected with tape from the back} I used length-wise. I would have been happy keeping the Eiffel Tower propped against the ladder but the Mister didn't like the idea of 14 nine year old girls being able to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower so he made a stand. But, really, if you want to save yourself the trouble of making a stand, simply keep it clipped to the ladder...just like the picture below, the Eiffel Tower is propped against the ladder. Once I finished tracing out the shape and cutting it down, I started working on the design. My ruler, pencil, eraser and some Google images of the Eiffel Tower were all that I needed. In pencil, I drew out the design I thought worked best. I started with the bottom, which is why one side looks a little wonky, by the time I got to the middle, I worked out the kinks. The key is to draw lines in sections all the way across the tower and work your Xs {or grid} spaced evenly between the lines. When my design was completed, I painted over my pattern with black paint. I left the cardboard in it's natural state. Once it was finished, I topped it with the French flag. The perfect finishing touch. Then, I let the Mister worry about how we would transport this 7 1/2 foot tall Eiffel Tower to the Paris party. Like any tourist, I was busy on getting the typical tourist pictures...because, if you are going to go to Paris, you need to get a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.