DIY Personalized Little Tikes Car!
Christmas time is upon us!! I have been brainstorming gift ideas for my little niece, who is also my Goddaughter, and just the cutest little thing ever!! I wanted to give her something special as well as something that would encourage her to get outside and play! SO if you have little kids or nephews and nieces like me you’ll like this one!
I decided to get her a Little Tikes Car. She is currently 1.5yrs old but I figured by the time the weather warmed up here in Upstate NY this would be perfect for her! But THEN I thought… I can’t just buy her her first car and not make it the coolest car ever. So, instead of just gifting her the boring red and yellow Little Tikes Car, I turned it into the Rolls-Royce’s of Little Tikes Cars!! DIY style hahah!!
To start, I searched on Facebook marketplace for a used Little Tikes cars, but ultimately decided to buy new. I was happy to have a brand new car that I didn’t need to deep clean. But, totally up to you and the effort/money you want to put into this.
I then unpacked the car and separated the parts…
I picked up some spray paint that was good for outdoors and also adhered to plastic. I had to search pretty hard for the specific colors of spray paint in my area. I untimely found all of what I needed at JoAnn Fabrics, and they were having a 25% off sale on spray paint, so shop around for the best deal! Here are the spray paints I used…
Next I got my set up ready to spray paint outside, I laid everything on cardboard pieces and separated my pieces into groups then started with a very light coat of spray paint. I applied 3 coats of spray paint to everything, allowing each coat to dry for about 30mins in between re-coating.
After 3 coats on everything, I carefully brought everything inside to dry and let everything sit and cure for a few days before assembling.
The gold wheel and rims might be my favorite part!! After a few days of drying, I was ready to assemble. Let me just say, I do not envy any of you parents who have been assembling kids toys for all of these years because it is no joke hahah!! I have a saved highlight with video on my Instagram here if you want to see me assemble the car, but there are also instructions included in the box and plenty of YouTube videos out there if you need help, I know I sure did!!
I added an extra personalized touch with this license plate! I just love it! I had seen little license plates at Walmart but non that had her unique name or the color I wanted. I ended up finding this on Etsy, linked here. It’s the perfect size, 3.5x2in. I am sure you could also make a customized license plate with a Criquet if you have one as well!
And there she is! The Rolls-Royce of Little Tikes Cars, DIY style! The perfect customized gift for my niece! I cannot wait to gift this to her! This would be the perfect gift idea for any little kiddo in your life and was super simple to do! For more DIYs you can follow me on Instagram @abbbclark_homeee . If you give this a try, please tag me, I love hearing from you all! Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays everyone!
Resources for this project:
Comments
Join the conversation
-
Love the big holiday car bow!
-
Adorable great job auntie!
-
Awe thank you!!
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?