You've seen 'lil buggers mail party, now here's a closer look at how we crafted this working mail box out of cardboard. The whole project took about an hour and cost a total of $3. I shared this DIY tutorial over at ediTORIal yesterday and am thrilled to share it here as well...
Need a super hero telephone booth, pirate ship, or princess castle? With a little imagination and lots of tape all of these can be made from cardboard. Yes, even a working mailbox.
My youngest son just celebrated his 4th birthday with a First Class Mail Party. No mail party is complete without a mailbox, so we got crafting. I did the cutting and my kids did the painting and decorating. Today I am going to show you how to make your own mailbox. The kids will enjoy crafting with you and you will enjoy the countless {hopefully quiet} hours of mail centered play!
Materials Needed:
2 large boxes of the same widths, they can be different heights
scissors or box cutters
masking tape or duck tape
blue paint (a sample size from the hardware store)
paint brush
pencil
ruler
stickers if desired
Directions:
1. Find 2 boxes that are the same width, they do not have to be the same height. The first box will act as the base of the mail box. The second box will be cut apart for pieces.
2. Use the the smaller flaps from the second box to cut out 2 semi-circle pieces.
3. Turn up the top flaps on your base box and tape the 4 sides together. Then tape a semi-circle to each side of the mailbox.
4. The box should now look like this. Using a ruler, trace 2 lines (stop at the crease of the flap) on the front of the mailbox to create area for a mail slot.
5. Cut 2 slits for the front mail slot
6. Cut out a large piece of the second box to fit the top of the mail box. Bend and mold the piece of cardboard until it begins to form an arc.
7. Cover the top of the mailbox with the molded top piece, secure to the box with tape.
8. Since you are adding another layer of cardboard over the slits we just cut for the mail slot, line up the cut slits and cut 2 more slits, tape the extra flap up. You will not need that layer showing.
9. Cut a handle out of the extra card board. Wrap in tape.
10. Mark where you would like the handles to be on the mail slot.
11. Cut small slits and push handles through, leave an inch extra on the back of the mail slot to tape down and secure handle.
12. Trace out a door at the bottom of the mail box, then cut 3 sides (top, right side, bottom). Do not cut the left side, this is where the door will swing open and closed.
13. Trace a rectangular opening at the top for a second mail slot.
14. Cut out and line opening with tape.
15. Cut out 2 triangles and attach with tape to the sides of the front mail slot.
16. Leave as is, or paint and embellish as desired.
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