Make: Mardi Gras Mini Float

💛💜💚Happy Mardi Gras! 💛💜💚

If you’ve ever spent time in New Orleans during Carnival Season, you probably have a stash of throws that looks similar to this:

So, what do you do with all of those coveted catches when the parades stop rolling? Reuse them, of course! We took a page out of the Krewe of ‘tit Rex’s playbook and made a mini Mardi Gras float! In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create the base for a shoebox float, but it’s totally up to you how you decorate it!

Supplies:

• Hot Glue Gun

• Scissors

• Shoebox

• Wood Sample (same size as shoebox bottom)

• Duct Tape

• 4 Wheels or Casters

• 2 Dowels or Skewers

Instructions:

1. Gather your supplies

2. Attach the wood sample (or anything else you choose to use as a reinforcement) to the bottom of the shoebox using hot glue

3. Create axels by putting your dowels or skewers through the holes in your wheels (if you’re using casters, you’ll need to drill a hole in each of the 4 corners of your base). Pro tip: I made a small ring of hot glue towards the end of the dowel so the wheels wouldn’t slip off

4. Repeat for remaining 3 wheels. Since I used skewers for my axels, I cut the ends off so they wouldn’t be sharp

5. Attach your axels to the bottom of your base using duct tape

6. Flip your shoebox over and make sure it rolls

7. Poke holes in the front of the box for your handle. This is where you’ll thread a rope, beads, or whatever else you choose to pull your float.

8. Tada! You’ve completed the structure for your mini float!

9. Decorate your float however you like. Go crazy with it! After all, Carnival is all about decadence and excess!