Looking for cute yet affordable transportation wall decor for a nursery or kids room? There’s no better way than to do it yourself! With just a few supplies and the instructions below, you can create your own DIY dimensional transportation wall art.
This 3D kids dump truck wall decor can be crafted as an individual piece of art to stand alone or it can be combined with these other DIY kids transportation wall decor projects — excavator, cement mixer, and kids bulldozer — to make a complete set of construction themed vehicles.
supplies:
- scissors
- dump truck pattern — DOWNLOAD HERE
- pencil
- very strong wood glue such as Titebond III
- strong clear adhesive such as J B Weld epoxy or Gorilla clear epoxy
- jigsaw or band saw
- 14 inch x 14 inch wood panel
- paint stir sticks
- wood craft supplies shown in the instructions below (3 wheels, 3 small circles, 1 wood button)
- square wood dowel
- MDF (medium density fiberboard) or smooth birch plywood in 3 different thicknesses (1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, and 3/4 inch thick) Home Depot sells MDF and plywood in small sizes called “handy panels” that are great for small projects like this
- 220 or 320 grit sandpaper
- primer
- paint ( I used 8 ounce paint samples from Home Depot and Lowe’s. They’re inexpensive and available in tons of shades which makes it easy to match your art colors with the rest of your room decor)
step 1: download the patterns & CUT OUT
First download the dump truck pattern. Make sure that your printer is set to print at 100% scale so that the patterns print out at the correct size. Then, cut out the pieces.
Trace the patterns onto MDF (medium density fiberboard) or smooth birch plywood, noting the thickness needed for each piece. If you want vehicles with a smooth surface, go with the MDF. If you want your art to have a wood grain look, go with the birch plywood.
Use a jigsaw or band saw to cut out all the pieces.
STEP 2: GATHER REMAINING SUPPLIES
In addition to the pieces cut from MDF or plywood, you’ll also need these supplies: a 14 inch x 14 inch square birch wood panel , 3 wood wheels, 3 small wood circles to cover the hole in the center of the wheels, wood button for a headlight, 3/4 inch square wood dowel cut to a length of 14 inches, some paint stir sticks and wood glue. You can usually get paint sticks for free if you purchase paint at a home improvement store.
STEP 3: ASSEMBLE BACK OF TRUCK
To construct the back of the dump truck, turn the 1 inch strip of wood (labeled “top of dump truck back”–see pattern) on its side, and glue it so that it extends over the top like a shelf (as shown below). Then use paint stir sticks, cut to size, for the raised rectangular accents on the side.
Everything should now look like this:
Glue the 1 inch small wood circles inside the recessed area of each wheel to cover the hole in the center (see above).
STEP 4: PRIME & PAINT
Prime all the pieces with a good quality primer. Then sand lightly with a 220 or 320 grit sandpaper to create a smooth surface for paint.
Paint with your favorite colors.
STEP 5: ASSEMBLE & HANG
Now assemble all the pieces together on the wood panel using a strong adhesive such as Titebond, J-B Weld clear epoxy or Gorilla epoxy.
All done!
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