Before & After: a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe makeover!

Last week I mentioned that I had a before/after that you just HAD to see to believe!  Here's the back story behind why this project was so special to me!

Nearly twenty-seven years ago, my sister gave me the best gift - that of becoming an aunt!  My sister had been married for six years by the time she got pregnant the first time and apparently I thought that was more than enough time to make me an aunt!  (I was only fifteen at the time - I was clueless!) Three days before my sixteenth birthday Christian Camille was born and I was smitten! From the time she was 6 weeks old, I was taking her everywhere!  So many of my memories from that time period revolve around her.  She was the best baby!

I'm sure you're wondering, "what the heck does this have to do with a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe car makeover?!"  Well, for Christian's 1st birthday, we gifted her a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe.  Many miles were pedaled on that Cozy Coupe - and not just by Christian!  This little car made it through Collyn, Kylie, Loren, Sydney, and finally our three kiddos.  For the longest time, we kept it at my parent's house but Holden loved it so much that we brought it home (all the other cousins had far outgrown the Cozy Coupe).  So, for the last ten years or so, we've held onto it.

At first I had no clue why we were hanging onto this old faded car but then a few years ago on Pinterest (of course!), I saw that someone had re-painted a Little Tykes house and knew that we just HAD to hold onto this car till Christian had a baby of her own.  Well, surprise, surprise last fall Christian told us she was pregnant and I couldn't wait to get started on this project!!!  After she was gifted with this little coupe over 25 years ago...it was about to get a makeover - just in time for her daughter to be born!!!

See below for the awesome transformation!

I wish I had a before-before pic but Mike was eager to get started and cleaned the car up before I could snap a picture.  This picture was taken after some major scrubbing!  Even though it was faded, the car was still in great shape considering it was 25+ years old and had gone through 8 grandkids!

After Mike thoroughly cleaned it, we took it apart and prepped it for painting.

We used painters tape for the emblems and covered the wheels with zip locks.

For a variety of reasons, we chose red and black as our color scheme - 1) We knew that Elliott was a girl but we didn't want to paint the car in feminine colors just in case she has a brother one day and 2) the school colors for their town are red and black. :) #Texasforever

We used Valspar Outdoor Plastic all-weather spray paint and were very pleased with how well it did!  I would definitely recommend!

We took a deep breath, crossed our fingers, and got started.  And by "we" I mean Mike - I think up all these fun projects, he makes them happen!  

We let the top dry and then turned our attention to the main car part.  It was a bit trickier with the doors but we managed to get it done!

We used Valspar project perfect top coat as a sealer and then I used my Cricut to cut out new vinyl "lights" and Elliott's name for the front of the car.  And while I loved everything about the car makeover, the license plate was my FAVORITE!!!  I used Picmonkey to create the design and then printed it on vinyl sticker paper.  (EAP are Elliott's initials and 711 is her birthday.)

We left some original pieces (wheels, gas tank, etc.) because, honestly, it would have cost more to replace the parts than to buy a new car.  But, it wasn't about the cost at all.  I wanted Elliott to have something that belonged to her mom and that was made with lots of love.

She's still tiny but she'll be pedaling around in her personalized car before we know it - and I can't wait to see her in it!!!

Here are a few side by sides to see just how far this little car has come! 

It truly was a labor of love but we had so much fun making my vision become a reality!

So, the next time you are about to get rid of a plastic toy because it's faded - don't toss it, make it over!!!

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