I was super excited to make this DIY Mack and Mater for a Cars themed party my friend was planning for her son’s third birthday. All it took were some boxes, paint, and a little imagination! Read on to find out how I zoomed my way through this project..
Adrian enjoying his very special day
Mack
I grabbed some boxes from the garage and started putting them together to get my creative juices flowingI decided on three large boxes that were about the same size to make up the tractor portion of Mack’s truck. I taped the bottom rear box shut and left the top rear box open . Then I put the box in the front upside down and used the flaps to add the height I wantedI used painter’s tape on the inside of the front box to hold its shape. I also used painter’s tape and some hot glue to join the three boxes togetherI used these two narrow boxes on either side of Mack to act as wheel wellsI cut the two narrow boxes down to match the size of the front box and cut out a semi circle on either side to reveal the wheel I was going to add later in the projectI used two thin cardboard partitions with slats I found in a beverage box for the side view mirrors. The slat fit right over the corners of the top box Then I cut off the additional slatted piece on either side of the mirrors and rounded the corners. I added aluminum foil on the other side to give the look of a mirrorI hot glued the wheel wells towards the middle of the front box and voilà, a blueprint of mater! Time to add color and detailsI used some red spray paint I had on hand and quickly realized it wasn’t going to work because the black letters on the boxes were still visible. When I sprayed a second coat, the paint started to drip so I went on to plan B, acrylic paint! I used this paint I found on Amazon. It did the trick and was the perfect shade of redI made Mack’s grill out of white foam board that I cut to size, black sticker letters, and thin black painter’s tape for the stripesI used black, white, green, and red card stock for the eyes, headlights, and mouth. I used a glue stick to glue the card stock together and hot glue to adhere them to MackI changed the headlights to grey for a more realistic look and Mack the Truck was born!
Mater
I was not planning on making Mater, but while I was looking at boxes to put Mack together, I saw a small box that resembled Mater and I couldn’t help myselfIt was shaped like a small pizza boxWhen I turned the box upside down I saw Mater, with his front teeth and all! Do you see him too, lol?I used hot glue to keep the top flap of the box upright. I painted the box with brown tempera paint and added foil for the side view mirrors. I added white, black, and green card stock for the eyes and teethThen I added grey card stock for headlights and black card stock for his mouthMy favorite Mater quote: “My name’s Mater. Kinda Like “Tuh-mater”… but without the “tuh””An awesome Cars partyThere you have it, a DIY Mack and Mater perfect for the raciest Cars party this side of Radiator Springs!
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