A thrifty mum has upcycled a 10-year-old Little Tikes Cozy Coupe for just over £30, and the result is something to behold.
The popular car was a Christmas gift for Vicki Stringer’s eldest son – now 12 – almost 10 years ago.
After sitting in the garden for years collecting dust and cobwebs, the 40-year-old from Yeovil, Somerset decided to give it a fresh look.
Meanwhile, Vicki’s youngest daughter, who is now 18 months old, wanted to start using the green and yellow car.
So the full-time mum of four set to work to transform the old, outdated vehicle into a mini Volkswagen Campervan.
Finding plastic primer on Amazon and sourcing the VW emblem from Facebook marketplace, she was able to replicate the iconic look.
And within five hours, Vicki had completely transformed the car which her daughter now gets full use of.
‘It used to belong to my eldest child, Ronnie, 12, and it’s been passed down through all the other children and now it’s got to my youngest, Wynne, one, and it’s completely worn out,’ Vicki said.
‘It was in the garden covered in leaves, spiders and cobwebs and I decided I wanted to have a go at upcycling it.
‘I’ve never done any kind of upcycling before so I had a look on Pinterest for inspiration and did an Instagram poll and my friends all voted I should turn it into a VW campervan.
‘My dad initially bought it for my eldest son for Christmas so it has sentimental value and we didn’t want to just throw it away.’
She continued: ‘I started by priming the plastic and then painting over the top – I didn’t need to sand it because it was so battered!
‘Then I just decorated it using the emblem and tape and the final result is amazing.
‘My daughter loves it and my son has loved seeing the transformation.’
All in all, the upcycling cost Vicki a mere £31, with the primer costing £7, the paint £9 from HobbyCraft, the emblem £10 from Facebook Marketplace and tape from Amazon totaling £5.
Vicki’s incredible modification just goes to show what can be done with some graft and economical moves.
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