Image Map

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Minnie Mouse Car

Update: At the request of many, I've opened up an Etsy shop so I can help people with their Cozy Coupes =) As of right now, I only offer the polka dots and the name to put on the back of the car. To view my shop, check it out HERE

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!
minnie mouse car preview
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.
cozy coupe car
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.
141766EF-D55C-417D-8CDC-C68BBE18BDAB
AF00F0A6-D99F-4812-92D7-7809EF26B201
FCE20EDA-B69C-44F9-AD06-16A60B3CDC88
I didn’t get a picture of us Trav spraying the bottom part red since I ran inside because Kenna woke from her nap. Thank goodness for baby monitors or we would have never got this done! Then we put it back together and stuffed it in my craft shed.
minnie mouse car 2
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.
minnie mouse car 1
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.
minnie mouse bows 4
minnie mouse bows 3
minnie mouse bows
minnie mouse bow 2
minnie mouse ears
minnie mouse bows ears 3
minnie mouse bow ears 2
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!
minnie mouse car
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 =)

Linked up at:















48 comments:

  1. Looks great, might just have to redo ours. Love Lisa x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh 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!
    Brooke from babblingsandmore.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing job on the car - everyone in the neighborhood will be admiring it. Found you on the Sunday Blog Hop :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh - that is the cutest little car ever!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'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:)

    Katie
    www.funhomethings.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love love love! That is the most adorable car!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That 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.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, 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!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh 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!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh how cute! My son loves Mickey Mouse and would flip for this car! So creative! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, 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.

      Delete
  11. This 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 :)
    http://mommysordinarymagic.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Monica! And thanks for the follow =)

      Delete
  12. You 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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is so so adorable! I absolutely love it! Makes me wish my little ones were a bit younger:)
    New Follower, Hugs, Jen @ frazzled5

    ReplyDelete
  14. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank 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!

      Delete
  15. Thanks 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I 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
    Deena

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh my goodness! That is the cutest little car ever! It makes me wish my girls were still little! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh 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!

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is adorable! I love how you used a walt disney-esque font too - so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a lucky kiddo!I am pinning this! New follower!

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is absolutely adorable! Sending this to my friend who's daughter LOVES Minnie!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I 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 ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. that 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

    ReplyDelete
  24. OH MY!!!
    I 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!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I saw you were featured on Sew Can Do today! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Love 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey 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 =)

      Delete
  27. This 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!



    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  28. 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!

    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
    2. Hi, 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.

      Delete
    3. Hi, What is the measurements of the bow?

      Delete
  29. What were the dimensions for the ears? :) Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Amy! I actually just traced around a cereal bow that I thought was a good size/proportion next to the bow.

      Delete
  30. what size did you do the vinyl polka dots?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Amber! The polka dots were 2 inches in diameter

      Delete
  31. Can I have you guys make one for my daughters 1st birthday?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, Ashley, we aren't making any right now.

      Delete
  32. Hi! 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 :)
    thanks in Advance,
    Jackie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
  33. Hey 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We 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

      Delete
  34. This is the cutest thing ever,great job and thank for sharing

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments!