Stacy Risenmay

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Cardboard Cars for a Homemade Drive-In Theater

By Stacy 63 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 63 Comments

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  1. Amanda Rose says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:07 am

    This is such a cute idea!

    Reply
  2. HouseTalkN says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:19 am

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

    Reply
  3. Megan says

    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 says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:32 am

    How incredibly fun!

    Reply
  5. Noreen says

    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 says

    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 says

    July 24, 2012 at 7:05 am

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

    Reply
  8. Jamie says

    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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    July 24, 2012 at 9:15 am

    OMG…my son would love that!!

    Reply
  13. Lisa says

    July 24, 2012 at 9:57 am

    So clever! Such a cute idea!

    Reply
  14. MaryAnn says

    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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    July 24, 2012 at 11:22 am

    That is a SUPER cute idea!

    Reply
  18. Katie @ Something To Be Found says

    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 says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:33 pm

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

    Reply
  20. Pam the Goatherd says

    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 says

    July 26, 2012 at 11:31 pm

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

    Reply
  22. Clara says

    August 1, 2012 at 5:14 pm

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

    Reply
  23. Katie says

    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 says

    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 says

    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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    July 19, 2013 at 6:59 pm

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  27. Gerardo says

    October 6, 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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    November 8, 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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    November 3, 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 says

    August 6, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    Loved the idea! Super funny

    Reply

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stacyWelcome! I'm sharing our adventures as we fix up our 1938 cottage. Whether it is big or small, I think everyone should love their home and I don't think it takes a lot of money to make a space your own.
 

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