My little 2 year old nephew loves matchbox cars. Store bought raceways are soo expensive and on a fixed income sometimes you just have to come up with an innovative way to make things fun and creative. My nephew thought this was the best thing since sliced butter. We would sit for house playing cars and riding them up and down the inclines on the bridges.
Supplies:
- Glue gun (I use the large gun and large glue sticks)
- Glue sticks
- 5 Foam boards
- Acrylic paint
- Popsicle sticks (large bag)
- Soda, milk lids for the signs
- A utility knife
- Artificial leaves for trees
- Twigs (6-7)
- Heavy duty tape
- Clear contact paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Paint brushes
- Compass
- Marbleized contact paper for the parking lots and sidewalks
Directions: Begin by gluing and taping 2 foam boards together to use as the base. Once you glue them together, design how you want you road to be. I forgot to measure the road but I measured a matchbox car and then allowed an extra 1/4 of a inch so that the car could ride on the road. Paint the road in black acrylic paint and after it thoroughly dries cover the entire board in clear contact paper. This will help the track to last longer, extend the useage for your child and keep the paint from messing up.
I apologize for not taking step by step pictures. I forgot and it was already done when I realized I should have added it to the website.
The tunnels were made out of foam board and then I placed popsicle sticks on top with the glue gun thus making it very sturdy. My nephew kind of destroyed the first one when he leaned on the tunnel to stand up---so I knew I had to come up with something more sturdy. I made all the houses and buildings out of foam board and then glued popsicle sticks over to help make them very sturdy. You can paint your buildings any color you wish. I made Nan's Sweet Shop, An auto/tire shop, a gas station etc...
One thing that I did---my little nephew would get very agitated when the cars wouldn't stay in the lanes so I measure a 1/4 inch foam board and glued them all the way around each roadway. Once I completed that I added popsicle sticks to help make it sturdy. By doing this it helped keep the cars in their lanes and on the road. The yellow strips in the middle of the road are thin popsicle sticks that I split and painted yellow.
ENJOY!!
One thing that I did---my little nephew would get very agitated when the cars wouldn't stay in the lanes so I measure a 1/4 inch foam board and glued them all the way around each roadway. Once I completed that I added popsicle sticks to help make it sturdy. By doing this it helped keep the cars in their lanes and on the road. The yellow strips in the middle of the road are thin popsicle sticks that I split and painted yellow.
ENJOY!!
