"The only thing better than being a superhero is being a big brother!!!"

So my son has outgrown his baby room and I've kind of been dragging it out as much as possible, partly because i wasn't ready to accept it and partly because i was indecisive as to what i wanted to do for his big boy room! I got my inspiration from this quote i saw "The only thing better than being a superhero is being a big brother!!!" What a great idea i thought, he's such an energetic vibrant little boy i knew this would be perfect! In the next few weeks ill be posting pics and tutorials on his room remodel. I'm having my talented father build his bed and ill be doing some online shopping to create the decor for his room. I'm on the search for some "superhero" themed scrapbook paper and i really love the vintage comic styles as well, so as soon as i find the right one i will be making a custom lampshade for him. The color scheme is red, yellow and blue! 


The first thing i created for his new room is this really cool bat-mobile and it also doubles as a book storage/reading area!

The best part about this is it's made entirely out of cardboard boxes! That's right this entire project is not only super-cool looking and budget friendly but also eco friendly!! I had soo many unused boxes leftover from my last move and lately its been driving me nuts to have "stuff" just cluttering my house unnecessarily and even though they were neatly stored i just couldn't take it anymore, i don't want every inch of my house to be housing something!

Here's what i used:

10 cardboard boxes (the bigger the better)

Hot glue gun

Jig Saw

Plastic roll (the kind used to line cupboards)

Sheet of silver tagboard

Spray adhesive

Wooden Letter (optional)

Black acrylic paint

Small paint roller

metallic silver paint

Black duct tape

Open up 6 boxes and lay them out, then start by drawing out the side of your car. You'll need about 3 layers on each side of the car. Next you'll need about 2 ppl for this part and two glue guns. Get as much glue as you can especially near the edges and attach the boxes together. Attach each layer on top of each other with as much glue as possible and press until dry. Next use your jigsaw to cut out the shape of the car you have drawn! Do the same for the other side of the car!

You should have two sides that look like the pic on the right! If you're using old used boxes, try to use the nicest one on the outside, the paint will cover over the writing but you want to avoid spots where tape has been torn or there are uneven textures! For the next art you'll need to use two identical boxes that are a good width for the car! One of them can be used for the seat and you can use both of them as a gauge to make sure youre gluing both sides perfectly parallel. Next PLACE, DONT GLUE your boxes inside the car, measure the width and cut a long strip to run up the front of the car. As you hold it up on the car mark where the car bends and score (that means to cut but not all the way through) the box so it will lay flat up the front. I recommend using two layers for the top, glue them one by one. 

Next cut a shape to match the front of the car and make it two layers thick. Glue this under the hood to act as a brace and support the top. Next measure the inside width of the car and cut two pieces to be 4" wider than that. These pieces will go under (where the red arrow is pointing) forming a "T" with the other brace. Score each piece 2" from the edge on both sides. This will serve as the tab and give you a place to glue the brace better. The tabs where the yellow arrows are, are 2 layers thick One piece has tabs going towards the front and the other going towards the back. Make sure you also glue where the pieces meet (blue arrows). I also created some bracing with the seat by making an "X" since that's pretty strong. The back of the seat is much like the other brace.  Cut a piece to span from the floor up to the top of the car and give it tabs to glue it in place.  (The tabs won't run the full length of the piece because the seat will get in the way.  Just make them stretch from the top down to the seat.)  Cut another piece with tabs to go behind it.  Glue these pieces in. Use the box that matches the seat for the bookshelf and reinforce it the same way you did with the seat.  Glue it in place. 

The windshield has two layers and the inside layer has tabs to secure it.  The windshield is all one piece with the sides scored.  It's pretty much trial and error here.  Draw it out, cut it, try it on, and make necessary adjustments until it looks right.
 Next is the best part, the decorating and finishing touches! Cover the whole thing with black acrylic paint. I used a small roller to speed up the process. I used metallic silver paint for the windshield. Now to clean up all the lines i used a roll of black duct tape. Run the tape along all the seams.  Where there are curves you'll have to make slits along the way just like you would when sewing.  Later you can cover the slits with another layer of tape. The tape will give the car a cleaner look and strengthen all your seams.

For the tires I cut circles out of the textured, rubbery stuff they sell to line your cupboards.  It was a translucent gray and gave the car some texture. For the rims I bought a sheet of silver tag board 
and cut circles out.I cut out the black shapes to go over the top of the rims for more detail.When applying the tires and bumper, i used spray adhesive. I'm also making an emblem "M" for my son's name to go on the front of the car. The flames are stickers that i had lying around but don't remember where they re from, possibly a toy. I cant wait to finish the room and see it all pulled together!