As you know from this post here, we had a pretty nifty Minnie Mouse birthday party for our KennaBoo. One of our greatest achievements (yes, we’re proud, lol) was her Minnie Mouse car! I originally got the idea from Kristin over at the Hunted Interior blog. Check her blog out. She’s amazing!
So here we go. Be prepared for lots of pictures =)
So, this is a pic of the hubby finding our free car at the garbage dump (yes, I know, we were essentially dumpster diving minus the dumpster, lol). He assessed the car’s value, then stuffed it in my truck. Then it stayed in my yard for months, lol, until I realized what I wanted to do with it.
After creativity struck, Travis dismantled the car for me which was surprisingly easy. However there were some washers and those little cap things that pretty much disintegrated when he pulled them off with the pliers but our local hardware store had some pretty silver ones =) We spent $6 on the hardware.
I didn’t get a picture of
Using my Cricut, I cut the polka dots out with vinyl and I added her name on the back. The font I used is called Waltograph.
In the meantime, I pondered on what I was going to make the bow and ears out of. I settled on 1/2” plywood and used craft foam for the ears. If you’re going to keep the car outside, I would definitely use something other than craft foam. We keep her toys like this in the shed so I’m not too worried about it. Oh, and the extra one was for a coworker. Her husband had cut the bow for me and while he was cutting, his 3-year-old grandson wanted one to give to his little girlfriend at school so I painted it for him. UPDATE: He ended up not giving it to his “girlfriend” but kept it for himself, lol.
I ended up gluing the ears to the back of the bow with some E-6000 glue. Then Trav affixed the whole shebang to the car by screwing from the underside of the roof into the bow.
And here we are! Ta-dah!
It was fun and easy and Kenna LOVED it. Mission accomplished =)
And for the details, I used Universal Rustoleum that has paint + primer for the black and used Rustoleum Plastic spray paint for the red (spent $14 at Lowes). The white dots and black outlines on the bow were from a Valspar paint sample and craft paint that I had on hand. So with the spray paint and hardware mentioned above, we spent about $20! To check out the rest of the birthday party, head over here!
Updated 2/16/2013: I've had a lot of requests and questions asking if I make these cars for people to order. Unfortunately, I do not. We found this car in a very "thrifty" way ;) and went from there. I highly encourage everyone to try to make one. It would mean so much more as a gift and it was so much fun! It was the first big project my husband and I did together and was so much fun! Feel free to email me pictures if you decide to make one. I've had a few pictures sent and have loved that you all are sharing with me =)
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Looks great, might just have to redo ours. Love Lisa x
ReplyDeleteOh my word, that turned out SUPER cute! I have a car in my backyard that is in serious need of a makeover! Thanks for the inspiration. We are now following you via the Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteBrooke from babblingsandmore.com
Amazing job on the car - everyone in the neighborhood will be admiring it. Found you on the Sunday Blog Hop :)
ReplyDeleteThis is adorable--great job!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh - that is the cutest little car ever!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that I'm following you! What a brilliant idea, and it's so cute. Wow! Thanks so much for sharing on Sundae Scoop:)
ReplyDeleteKatie
www.funhomethings.com
Love love love! That is the most adorable car!
ReplyDeleteThat is so adorable! I wish I would have snagged the one for $2 at the yard sale the other day to make a transformation too.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. What an absolutely fantastic idea! I am so tempted to give my $1 cars a makeover! I just saw this on A Bowl Full of Lemons, and I love it! If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll visit "One Creative Weekend" on OneCreativeMommy.com today (or any time Fri-Wed) and link up!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh i love this!! So cute! I am def going to have to go yard sale hunting for one of those little cars now to make for my husbands little cousin, she loves Minnie Mouse! Adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteOh how cute! My son loves Mickey Mouse and would flip for this car! So creative! I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn! A Mickey car would be cute too! You could just put the ears on and instead of polka dots all over, you could just put two on the front that look like Mickey's buttons.
DeleteThis is ADORABLE! We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party for our daughter's last birthday and I know she would have FLIPPED with something like this! I'm now following your blog-can't wait to see what else you're up to :)
ReplyDeletehttp://mommysordinarymagic.blogspot.com
Thank you, Monica! And thanks for the follow =)
DeleteYou have GOT to be kidding me! This is one of the cutest things I've seen in a LONG time! I'm obsessed. Too bad I have a little boy, not a girl.
ReplyDeleteThis is so so adorable! I absolutely love it! Makes me wish my little ones were a bit younger:)
ReplyDeleteNew Follower, Hugs, Jen @ frazzled5
So unbelievably clever....what a great way to vamp up a used one that you could get cheap or free. I really liked the extra touch of the bow on top.
ReplyDeleteThank ya! We were pretty lucky to find one for free but I've seen them all over at garage sales too so it's the perfect craft to do on the cheap side =) And fun too!
DeleteThanks for linking up at One Creative Weekend. I'll be featuring this idea later today! Please come grab a featured button and come back tomorrow to link up anything new you'd like to share at OneCreativeMommy.com.
ReplyDeleteI am visiting from 36th avenue link party! That is probably one of the cutest most original ideas I have ever seen! I love it! I bet your little girl does too. I am your newest follower, Gumballsandcottoncandy.com
ReplyDeleteDeena
Oh my goodness! That is the cutest little car ever! It makes me wish my girls were still little! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my! I love this! You did a perfect job on it and the ears/bow is the best part! My little one would adore a car like this!
ReplyDeleteThis is adorable! I love how you used a walt disney-esque font too - so cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Crystal! =)
DeleteWhat a lucky kiddo!I am pinning this! New follower!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely adorable! Sending this to my friend who's daughter LOVES Minnie!
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, this is the most adorable transformation I've seen lately ! My little granddaughter has a pink one, but it's starting to fade.... might have to ask if we can transform hers soon ;-)
ReplyDeletethat is the cutest car ever. i love it. i'm your newest follower. come check out my blog when you have a minute at http://sister-number-5.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteOH MY!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I found this a few months ago when i was planning my daighters Mickey Mouse House party! What a creative idea! I am in love with this!!!!
I saw you were featured on Sew Can Do today! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea!! So crafty. Is there anyway you can tell me what exactly your husband used to attach the ears to the car and the dimensions of the ears? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey there, Elizabeth! I actually glued the ears to the back of the bow. Then my husband screwed the whole piece on. He screwed from the inside of the roof up into the wooden bow. The ear dimensions I just traced around a cereal bow that I thought was a good size/proportion next to the ears. On the Hunted Interior blog though, they used a high adhesion glue which we probably would have used if we would have had some on hand. Hope that helps =)
DeleteThis is so cute! and I just bought a car just like this one for $5 for this very project! What kind of paint did you guys use? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
This is so cute! I just bought one of these cars today for $5 for this very project. What kind of paint did you guys use? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Hi, Rebecca! For the red color, we used spray paint for plastic surfaces. The black was Rustoleum's Universal spray paint that's good for any surfaces and also has a primer built in.
DeleteHi, I'm also making one of these for my little girl's birthday which is in Dec. Could you tell me the size and measurments of the bow and how did you draw the bow or used a stencile? thanks so much.
DeleteHi, What is the measurements of the bow?
DeleteWhat were the dimensions for the ears? :) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy! I actually just traced around a cereal bow that I thought was a good size/proportion next to the bow.
Deletewhat size did you do the vinyl polka dots?
ReplyDeleteHi, Amber! The polka dots were 2 inches in diameter
DeleteCan I have you guys make one for my daughters 1st birthday?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Ashley, we aren't making any right now.
DeleteHi! Such a cute idea!!! do you mind telling me how you use the Waltograph using your cricut. I'm new to the cricut world and would like to make a car for my little one :)
ReplyDeletethanks in Advance,
Jackie
Hi, Georgina! I actually can use fonts like that with my Cricut because I have an old version of Sure Cuts A Lot before they stopped selling it. I have heard that you can you use the Cricut Craftroom and possibly use fonts from your computer.
DeleteHey I love this and am planning on doing it for my daughters first birthday. I was wondering how good the paint is sticking my husband says its not going to last. thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had too much damage to the paint yet and that's with her playing with it inside and out. We do keep it put in the shed though when she's not playing with it so it's not out in the elements. I used spray paint for plastic which I think makes it adhere a bit better but I know it won't last forever. I've often wondered if I should have used primer, then spray paint but that's just me pondering. As long as it will get us through her younger years, lol
DeleteThis is the cutest thing ever,great job and thank for sharing
ReplyDelete