Today’s contributor is Sara from The Aqua House. All posts written by Sara for Make It and Love It can be found HERE.
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Hi again! Its Sara from The Aqua House! Today I’m here with a fun little project that is sure to add to your little one’s Captain America costume.
My little boys have become obsessed with The Avengers and each of them are dressing up as a different Avenger for Halloween. When it came to Captain America, I knew that the plastic shield I could buy at the store just wouldn’t cut it. I have four boys that are rough and tumble and love to play dress up (shhh! don’t let the girls know that, ha!) so I knew I needed something sturdy that could withstand quite a few “battles”.
This shield is sure to survive lots of avenging because it is made of metal! The best part is that all you need is some paint, tape, a few tools, and an IKEA KNODD garbage can lid.
You know that you want to make one, right?
For this project you will need:
First off, it is important that you use the IKEA KNODD lid and get the white one. The amount of grooves that is has works out perfect for the Captain America shield! IKEA does not sell the lids separately so you will have to grab the garbage can too. Bonus! You get an extra garbage can, and when (or if!) your little one is done with the shield you can have a cool Captain America garbage can, ha!
To start out, you will need to separate the lid hardware (a handle, two screws, and two nuts) from the package that contains all the hardware for the garbage can. Set it aside. Then take the lid and cover the center with painters tape. Press firmly and make sure to slightly overlap the tape.
Now take the 5 inch star you printed out and tape it to the center of the garbage can. I made sure that the two side points of the star were horizontal with the two holes in the lid. This is mainly so that when the shield is being held the star looks right side up.
Using the razor blade, slowly cut along the outside of the paper star. If your blade is sharp, you won’t need to push very hard at all. Peel away the extra tape and pull off the paper star. You should now have a star made of tape. 
Now you are going to take 1 inch strips of the painters tape and slowly and carefully tape around the bottom of the groove around the center. Once it is taped, take the razor blade and cut along the bottom of the groove to make sure that the center area is perfectly round.
After you have rounded out the tape, continue taping the outer area of the lid, making sure to overlap so no paint leaks through.
Once all the tape is securely placed, grab your blue spray paint and paint the center of the lid. You will also need to paint the screws and nuts for the handle blue.
Wait for the paint to dry and then remove all of the tape. You should have a nice white star in the middle of the lid!
Next, we are going to tape the ridge of the lid using about 1 inch strips of tape.
After you have taped, slide the razor blade along the bottom of the ridge to cut off the extra tape and make a nice clean line.
We will be painting this outer edge red, but how are we going to cover up the center part we already painted? Instead of taping over the center and risking the blue paint peeling off with the tape, I decided to grab a plain file folder and curve it around the center. You may need an extra set of hands to do this: one to hold the folder and one to paint. Paint slowly and carefully making sure not to get runs!
Once the red paint is dry, peel back the tape and viola! It looks like Captain America’s shield!
Normally the handle for the lid goes on the top of the lid, but in order to make it a shield, we are going to put it on backwards…meaning on the underside of the lid. Following package instructions, and using a screwdriver and wrench, attach the handle.
With the screws and nuts painted blue they blend in well on the front!
Now round up your Captain America costume and admire your work!
Dress your little Avenger up and he’s ready to go battle some bad guys (or his little brothers…or the other Trick or Treaters, ha!).
And even though the shield isn’t made from Vibranium, it should withstand some pretty “deadly” blows!
Hope you enjoy!
-Sara
Check out Sara’s blog HERE, her Facebook page HERE, her Instagram account HERE, and her Pinterest Boards HERE.
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If you’re looking for more inspiration, you can find all sorts of DIY Halloween Costume Ideas HERE.
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
