Lightning McQueen Car Air Freshener

Here's a craft Cars fans will get plenty of mileage out of — a homemade air freshener that resembles the famous race car that put Radiator Springs back on the map. Younger kids may need a little help cutting out the smaller pieces, but they'll have fun gluing the shapes together and drawing on the finishing details.

Total Time: 30 minutes or less Ages: 5 to 8

What you'll need
Lightning McQueen Car Air Freshener template

Scissors

Pencil

Cardstock or heavy weight craft paper (red, black, yellow, light and dark shades of gray, and white)

Glue stick

Black marker

String or thin ribbon (to hang the car freshener)

<p style="font-family:Quicksand,sans-serif;font-size:1.125em;color:rgb(45,45,45);font-weight:400;padding:0px;margin:0.75em0px0.25em;"><span style="line-height:20px;font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">Glue dot

<p style="font-family:Quicksand,sans-serif;font-size:1.125em;color:rgb(45,45,45);font-weight:400;padding:0px;margin:0.75em0px0.25em;"><span style="line-height:20px;font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">Essential oil (sold at craft stores)

<p style="font-family:Quicksand,sans-serif;font-size:1.125em;color:rgb(45,45,45);font-weight:400;padding:0px;margin:0.75em0px0.25em;"><span style="line-height:20px;font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">Small plastic bag

How to make it

 * 1) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Print the template. Cut out the pieces and trace them onto cardstock as specified on the template. Cut out the tracings.
 * 2) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Assemble the tires by gluing the sidewall pieces to the respective tread pieces, as shown. Then glue the hubs to the centers of the sidewalls.
 * 3) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Glue the assembled tires to the red car body. Use a black marker to color in the right front tire shape.
 * 4) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Stick the lightning bolt decal in place between the left tires.
 * 5) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Glue on the windshield and side windows, and then the headlights and smile.
 * 6) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Now your child can use the pencil to draw small circular eyes on the windshield, and curved lines to define the hood, the top of the windshield, the roof, and the corners of the mouth. He can also add details to the hubs. Once he has everything the way he likes, have him fill in the eyes and darken the pencil lines with black marker.
 * 7) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">To create a hanger for the air freshener, fold a length of string or ribbon in half and use a glue dot to stick the ends to the top of the gray car body, as shown.
 * 8) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Glue the red card body atop the gray one, matching up all the edges.
 * 9) <span style="color:rgb(45,45,45);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20.25px;">Scent the back of the air freshener with drops of essential oil. For the best results, put the finished air freshener in a plastic bag overnight to let the paper fully infuse the fragrance. Over time, add more essential oil to the air freshener as needed.