Recycled Race Car

   This recycled race car will give you hours of enjoyment and will double as a toy box when your kids are done with it!  It was another rainy day when thought of  this old favorite.  Like any boy, my little guy LOVES to 'play cars'.  It doesn't matter how old, beat up or how many missing wheels there are-a car is a car to a two year old.

Materials:

• One cardboard box (usually the grocery or liquor store will give you one, or several, if you just ask!)
• Spray Paint (you only need one color, and any you have on hand is fine.)
•  Two paper plates (Styrofoam works, too.)
• Black sharpie
• Washable markers
• Crayons
• Stickers (we used 'transportation' themed stickers but any kind will do.)
• 4 Brads (if you don't have these, and don't want to make a special trip for them, you can use glue instead.) 
• One excited kid!

   We started our race car by choosing one color for the base coat. I happen to have a plethora of spray paint in my garage (kind of a ridiculous amount) so I let Eli choose which color he wanted for his  'super fast ray-car' as he called it.  He chose bright blue.  I don't know why, but I was worried about him choosing a beigey brown color, but he picked a good one.  He even told me what color it was!
   Take the cardboard box outside or to a well ventilated area and turn it over.  I use an old sheet when I am spray painting anything so I don't color the grass...the hubby doesn't really like that!  Give it a few coats of spray paint (waiting a few minutes in between coats) until you are happy with the overall coverage.
   I recommend letting the box dry overnight but if you can't wait that long, wait at least an hour so no paint will rub off onto little fingers...or carpet! Be careful, many kinds of spray paint are pretty difficult to get out of fabric, someone once told me that :)
   Now that your box is dry you can add any headlights, windows, or buttons you like.  I wrote Eli's name on the front really big so he knew it was his.  I also drilled him about the letters of his name and in a few days he was able to point to the front of his ray-car and spell his name! ---insert proud mommy smile here---

   I also added several button and knob drawings to the inside of the car.  I used sharpie because I have several on hand but marker will also work, especially if your kids are old enough to draw shapes on their own.  By toddler-hood, most kids are all about pushing any button they can get their little hands on, it was nice not to have to correct him when he tried to push his buttons.
  Have your children add more marker/crayon drawings to the inside and outside of the car. Add stickers where they are needed and extra buttons and gadgets to the outside. If you aren't so creative, google it to get more ideas for car gadget drawings.
  The last step is to add the wheels. Grab any 4 paper or styrofoam plates you have on hand.  They don't necessarily have to match, you are going to color them anyway.  Trim the plates if they have any kind of lip or border on them. You want to have a flat wheel in the end. You could even use a jar or vase to trace a circle if you don't want to free hand it.
   Color a small circle in the middle of each wheel, and a few spokes coming off of that. Do this step in sharpie because most markers will not stick to styrofoam plates and will rub off when touched. Now let your child color all 4 wheels (with crayon) before you fasten it to the box with a brad. I actually didn't use a brad in the example picture I used but we have used them in the past. It's much cooler when yours wheels can spin around, but if you don't have any on hand just use Elmer's or hot glue if you want it to dry faster.
   Now you have your very own race car!  Your kids can ride inside, get pushed around the house or drag their toys around in it! So much fun for no extra money :) Now go and enjoy that rainy day inside!