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    Cardboard Cars for a Homemade Drive-In Theater

    By Stacy 64 Comments

    When I posted about these cardboard cars originally it was for a giveaway. I had not planned on doing a tutorial, but when I saw how many times it had been pinned and when I was getting emails asking how I made them, I decided to take a second and show you :)

    We made these cars back in May and they are still in mint condition. THAT is saying something when I have 4 little boys and they have been in the play room this whole time.  It is all because instead of just painting them, I covered them in colorful duct tape.

    I figured if I was going to go to all the effort of making them, I wanted them to hold up longer than one movie.

    They were flattened so I folded and taped them together.

    The I just started going around and around with the 
    Scotch Duct Tape

    I made sure to start and stop at the same place so I had one seam. This way it looked much cleaner.

    The yellow car (or should I say bus) has a shoe box that has been covered in tape on the front. It ended up being a great place for my 2 year old to set his popcorn and I am thinking of added them to the other cars as well.

    I was amazed at how much more durable the duct tape made them!

    Using black party plates would have been easier and they would have been smaller and probably looked better. I believe in using what you have on hand so I happened to have regular paper plates and black spray paint.

    I attached the wheels using regular brass brads. That way they could really turn.

    Here is the projector we have and love:

    (affiliate link)

    It is funny to me that the simple things and sometimes the things you do on a whim, become so popular with your kids and create such awesome memories.

    This post is a collaboration with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape.  Take the Style that Sticks quiz to find your personal style and for the chance to win free samples.

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    Filed Under: DIY & Tutorials 64 Comments

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amanda Rose

      July 24, 2012 at 6:07 am

      This is such a cute idea!

      Reply
    2. HouseTalkN

      July 24, 2012 at 6:19 am

      I love this, Stacy! What fun!
      Thank you for hosting!
      Kerry at HouseTalkN

      Reply
    3. Megan

      July 24, 2012 at 6:25 am

      Those are so much fun! I wish I had seen this last week. We borrowed a projector to have a movie night and my son would have loved this!

      Reply
    4. Hollie

      July 24, 2012 at 6:32 am

      How incredibly fun!

      Reply
    5. Noreen

      July 24, 2012 at 6:38 am

      This is such a fun idea! There's one other thing you could do to make those boxes even sturdier. Buy lots of Elmers School Glue while it's on sale at Walmart during back to school sales coming up. Spread glue all over the inside of each flap and glue it to the inside of the box. I usually do it one side at a time: glue one flap, lay that side against the floor & put some heavy cans inside on the flap for a half hour or so, then move on to the next flap. After they're all done, let dry overnight before using. And if you can still pull the bottom flaps up enough - spread some glue there, too. You'll be amazed how strong that makes those boxes.

      And here's one more use for all that white glue you're going to get, that your boys will LOVE: http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/07/make-glow-in-dark-slime.html

      Reply
    6. Jen O'Brien

      July 24, 2012 at 6:40 am

      Great idea! I think we tried this many, many years ago but your are so much cuter. Thank you for hosting this week:)Jen

      Reply
    7. Maury @ Life on Mars

      July 24, 2012 at 7:05 am

      Those "cars" are so much fun! What a great idea. Thanks for hosting!

      Reply
    8. Jamie

      July 24, 2012 at 7:38 am

      These are SO cute! We're moving next month so I can't wait to have another use for the boxes! Thanks for a great idea :)

      Reply
    9. Lisa

      July 24, 2012 at 7:50 am

      Those cars are by far the CUTEST things I have seen in a long time! I got such a kick out of this post. I wish I had small kids to make them for. Wonderfully creative!

      Reply
    10. kimber

      July 24, 2012 at 8:44 am

      Not just a housewife; a genius. Thank you. Not sure who will enjoy this more, my girls or me! Haha.

      Reply
    11. Peg Odenthal

      July 24, 2012 at 9:03 am

      Not sure what i like better .. picture of 4 boys sitting quietly together or those great vehicles they are in!

      Reply
    12. Lyuba

      July 24, 2012 at 9:15 am

      OMG...my son would love that!!

      Reply
    13. Lisa

      July 24, 2012 at 9:57 am

      So clever! Such a cute idea!

      Reply
    14. MaryAnn

      July 24, 2012 at 10:05 am

      What a darling idea. . . I am a pre-school teacher and this would be so fun to do with the kids and then have a movie day. . . So going to use this. Thanks.

      Reply
    15. Dusti

      July 24, 2012 at 10:39 am

      My girls would love this - I just pinned it to hopefully do this soon.
      Dusti

      Reply
    16. wendy vides

      July 24, 2012 at 11:13 am

      oh i just love it. my boys would have so much fun with this. you are so awesome

      Reply
    17. Lauren

      July 24, 2012 at 11:22 am

      That is a SUPER cute idea!

      Reply
    18. Katie @ Something To Be Found

      July 24, 2012 at 1:00 pm

      4 Boys!!?!? Wowzers. These are so cute and something I definitely want to do with my two little guys. Thanks for the idea!!

      Reply
    19. JoAnn

      July 24, 2012 at 6:33 pm

      Now how cute is this?? very clever idea for The Boys!
      JoAnn

      Reply
    20. Pam the Goatherd

      July 25, 2012 at 10:26 pm

      This is definitely going in my "stuff to do with my future grandkids" file! And I want ALL the colors of duct tape! Such fun!

      Reply
    21. Suzan

      July 26, 2012 at 11:31 pm

      These have to be the cutest things ever - what a brilliant idea!!!

      Reply
    22. Clara

      August 01, 2012 at 5:14 pm

      This is such a cute idea, Stacy. So fun for the boys!

      Reply
    23. Katie

      January 18, 2013 at 11:16 am

      I'm seeing your images on Pinterest and Facebook with the watermark cut off :-( Trying to link people back to your page when I can, this is fabulous!

      Reply
    24. Teresa

      February 19, 2013 at 8:45 pm

      Why is there no Pinterest link at the end of your post? You mentioned Pinterest and I would like to pin it to my board.

      Reply
    25. pooneh

      April 24, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      This was such a cool idea and I just did it for my 4 year old he loved it :) thank u

      Reply
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    27. Gerardo

      October 06, 2013 at 11:31 pm

      My brother recommended I might like this blog.
      He was totally right. This post actually made my day.
      You can not imagine just how much time I had spent ffor this info!
      Thanks!

      Reply
    28. travel bag

      October 11, 2013 at 12:31 pm

      Hi thesre friends, its wonderful poset concernimg educationand completely explained, keep it
      up all the time.

      Reply
    29. Laura

      October 19, 2013 at 6:25 am

      Thanks for this post! I found you on pinterest and did this with my little 3 year old boy yesterday and then we watched the Disney Movie " Cars" from his car! ha He loved it!

      Reply
    30. Tessa

      November 08, 2013 at 1:50 am

      I would like to thank you for the efforts you've put in penning this website.

      I am hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts by you later on
      as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my
      very own website now ;)

      Reply
    31. Emarita

      December 28, 2013 at 10:43 am

      Love it love it love it!!! Can't wait to try it. I was about to recycle some boxes now I'll re purpose them.

      Reply
    32. Kerry

      February 13, 2014 at 3:20 pm

      I love love love this idea. Just think..How much did all that duct tape cost for one car let alone 4 cars for my grandkids.?

      Reply
    33. Maria

      November 03, 2015 at 11:58 am

      For the screen do you have a very large screen or is it a projector screen?

      Reply
    34. Ministério Infantil Evangélico

      August 06, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      Loved the idea! Super funny

      Reply

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