Martha Stewart picks Box Play for Kids of Phoenix

Milk carton to fire truck: The Fire Truck is one of seven ways to turn milk cartons into toys. It contains 4 separate stickers. Price: $7.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Mac n' Cheese box into camera: Say cheese! The Camera sticker contains 1 sticker per package. Price: $5.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Egg carton into Piano. Price: $5.00. One of several ways to turn these into toys, which also act as storage bins. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Toilet paper roll into octopus: The Octopus sticker contains 1 sticker per package. Fits most standard size toilet paper roll. Price: $3.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Egg carton into mini zoo: The Zookeeper sticker contains 1 sticker per package. It can also store small toy animals. Price: $5.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Milk carton into cow: The Cow contains 4 separate stickers - top sticker has diecut hole to fit pour spout, 2 sides and a back per package. Price: $7.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Toilet and paper towel rolls into buildings: The Buildings sticker collection (set of 3) fits around most standard paper towel and toilet paper rolls. Price: $7.00. (Photo: Boxplayforkids.com)

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Toilet paper roll and craft stick into airplanes: Sold individually or in a party pack, the pack comes with 10 individually wrapped stickers. Price for a pack: $20.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Milk carton into pig: The piggy is a multi-panel design. It comes with 4 separate stickers - top, 2 sides and a back. Price: $7.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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Shoe box into turtle: he turtle is a multi-panel design. It comes with 5 separate stickers - top and 4 sides. Price: $7.00. (Photo: boxplayforkids.com)

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What started with an "aha" moment for Phoenix mom Janette Harwell has progressed into her own toy business, Box Play for Kids.

Today, three years after Harwell observed Chloe, then 2 1/2, putting stickers on old boxes, Box Play for Kids is sold at museums and stores nationwide.

And recently, it was named a finalist on the Martha Stewart American Made contest.

"When Chloe was 2 1/12, she was obsessed with two things: stickers and boxes," Harwell, 46, said in an interview. "The 'aha' moment happened when she was playing with the stickers, and going to the recycling bin and pulling out boxes.

"The egg carton looked like a piano. The macaroni and cheese box looked like a camera. The milk carton, with the white plastic spout, looked like a pig. The toilet paper roll looked like a rocket."

Shortly thereafter, Box Play for Kids was born. Harwell, a graphic artist, designed stickers that turn boxes into toys -- including a milk carton pig, an egg carton piano and mac 'n cheese camera.

But she went beyond her original ideas to include a broad range of stickers. She sells stickers that turn milk cartons not just into pigs but also into cows, fire trucks and school buses. Others turn paper towel rolls into buildings, baseball bats and giraffes. Egg cartons can become mini-zoos and car garages, storing plastic animals and toy cars.

Her stickers can be found on boxplayforkids.com starting at $3. They are also sold at many Whole Foods, and the 911 Memorial Museum recently ordered 1,000 fire truck stickers to sell, Harwell said.

The stickers are printed on recycled, uncoated paper with vegetable-based inks. Kids can customize using crayons, pencils and markers.

They "promote creative play by repurposing old cardboard boxes, cartons and tubes into new, wonderfully simple toys that stimulate children's imagination, enthusiasm and learning," Harwell says on her website.

Harwell also has a design and advertising own company, Stir Often. But she said husband, Greg, is also starting a separate design and advertising company on Sept. 12 in Phoenix.

The Box Play for Kids idea has been published in a number of places, including Raising Arizona Kids, the Chicago Tribune and Food Network, Harwell said.

But she is particularly excited about Martha Stewart American Made selecting the business as a finalist, she said. She hopes her friends and customers will click on the "vote" tab on the site. Popular voting begins Sept. 15.