Whew! Did you guys have a great Christmas? I had all the expected chaos and cuteness when you have littles, and my house has almost recovered. So I’m tackling a few projects to help it stay that way, and the first thing on my list was some Hot Wheels storage solutions that didn’t break the bank. I mean, Hot Wheels cars (and Matchbox cars, whichever you’re into) are awesome for kids because cars are classic toys, and they are a nice price point. But then buying a storage carrier suddenly doubles the price – or more! So, in true DIY form, I made my own, and personalized it for my son. This case holds at least 48 cars (up to 96, actually, because you can fit two into a divider) or a few larger sized cars, too. And, it cost me $8 and 10 minutes of my time. This will cover his Hot Wheels storage for quite a while!
I can’t take ALL the credit here, I followed the advice I saw in an Amazon review to try this case for Hot Wheels storage. But I am also going to show you how easy it is to make it personal, so you can give this as a gift to the car-loving kid in your life.
I’ll leave affiliate links below so that you can find the exact supplies I used in creating mine!
- 14 x 10 x 3 Creative Options Thread Organizer
- Two 6 x 12 sheets Permanent Angel Crafts Vinyl (you can get away with one if you don’t need duplicate letters)
- Sizzix Big Shot with Extended Platform
- Sizzix Extended Cutting Pads
- Sizzix Bigz XL Block Talk die
First, die-cut your letters. Because I didn’t want to invest too much time in the project, I used my Sizzix Big Shot and the Block Talk XL Alphabet die. I love my manual Big Shot – I placed the vinyl sheet face down on the die, created my Sizzix “sandwich” by placing extended cutting pads on top of and underneath the die and vinyl, and rolled it through. In seconds, I had two alphabet sets (which I needed because I have repeating letters). You can also conserve vinyl by cutting it into smaller pieces and only placing it over the letters you need.
Peel the backing from the letters, and place them on the smooth front of the carrier.
I aligned my letters on the right, so I worked from right to left. If you’re left-aligning, then work from left to right. If you’re centering letters, place the center letter first and work outward.
Here’s a quick look at the storage in the container I found. Nice little parking spots for individual cars, and you can even fit two into a divider if necessary. One of the slots is longer, which can accommodate other size cars. Seriously, this little organizer is awesome. I’m so glad I found it!
So that’s a quick way to make a special DIY Hot Wheels Storage container that doesn’t require building, mounting, or even assembling anything. Just die-cut some vinyl with your Sizzix machine to make it special, and don’t step on any more cars! ;)
As a 2015 Sizzix Design team member, I receive certain Sizzix products free of charge in order to share inspiration projects and tutorials. Select dies were provided by Sizzix in order to create this post. My designs and opinions are, of course, all my own.
What a fantastic idea! I love how you’ve combined creativity with functionality for storing matchbox cars. The step-by-step instructions make it so easy to follow. I can’t wait to try this out with my kids – they’ll definitely enjoy customizing their own carrier! Thanks for sharing such a fun DIY project!
What a fantastic idea! I love how creative and functional this storage carrier is for matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. It’s such a fun way to keep everything organized while also making it easy for kids to play. I can’t wait to try this DIY project!
Where can i buy the box itself please?
I’n in Bogota, Colombia, I’d like to buy Romans Cars or DYY Matchbox – Hotwhhels,
How much is it? and delivery?
i like it
nice post
wow looking good
Hi, I just stumbled onto your fabulous blog and can’t wait to dig in and check out your great ideas and inspiration! Also wanted to say….I just love your sons name! My son is a Roman as well but a little older…he just turned 23.
Great idea. We have 2 cases that are full- I’m sure he’s be surprised if I made him a new one!
This turned out really cute. My son loves cars (not has much as he did when he was 3 though lol) and used to carry them around all the time.
We have those toy cars all over the house and really need to do something to keep them organized and stored when the kids aren’t playing with them. Nice suggestion.
You are SO crafty! I wish I could come up with these kinds of ideas.
I wonder what I did with my boxes like that. That’s a great storage idea.
Such a good idea! I wish this post was around when my son was younger and into Hot Wheels.
I love this! Good thinking. I could have used this idea back when my girls were young.
JoAnn’s online had this box for 8.99 but they are all out of them…maybe the local Joann’s will have one? At least you could use the 40% off coupon on it….
If you have a Big Shot Plus machine, (thinking about buying one) do you need the extended cutting pads? thank you for a great idea! Hope that price comes down on the box!
Sometimes you do. For the larger Bigz XL dies like what I used for this project, you will need the extended pads for large cutouts. In this case – if you didn’t have the extended pads, it would probably still work out all right because you could trim down your vinyl and just place it over the letters you need to die cut, and move the pads to whichever area you’re using on the die. But if you were using a die for, say, a gift box or something, you would definitely need that pads.
I would wait to buy the extended pads until you actually buy a large die that requires it. I use my standard size cutting pads for at least 90% of my projects. You’ll figure out which dies are your favorites, and you’ll want different accessories depending on what you like to make!
I know just the little boy who needs this! What a fantastic idea, I will be sharing it with his mom!
This is how I store my re-inkers for my ink pads. This thread organizer has a lid on both sides so you get double storage. They are a great price, too! =)
where did u buy it? thx!
How did it cost you $8 if the storage container you link to on Amazon is $28.99?
Holy cow! I only paid $6.75 and it was available with Prime shipping. If you’re looking to buy one then put it on your wish list and keep an eye on it. I know Amazon prices fluctuate all the time based in stock, but that is a huge swing. I am sure it will come back down as the stock is replenished. they were WAY cheap when I was Christmas shopping!
Check them out on Etsy.com – they are about $9 on there. Great project Adrianne, we just ordered two to get started!
Great idea! My daughter has a ton of matchbox cars that are always around. This would be a great way to organize things!