Creative Guest: Toy Mailbox Tutorial by H is for Handmade

Hello new friends! My name is Amy and I am the author of the blog, H is for Handmade. After working in the fashion and design industry for over a decade, I decided to trade in the measuring tapes and straight pins for diaper changes and lullabies! I am a mother of 1 and I never would have imagined how gratifying motherhood could be and yet that it would be the most challenging career in my life! I started H is for Handmade as not only a creative outlet for myself, but to hopefully inspire and ignite creativity in others, as well. Art is all around us in this world and making time to learn it, appreciate it and create it has been fundamental in our home. I believe that producing handmade items helps to cultivate a sense of confidence and pride - 2 essential traits in any woman's life!

My child loves to help us get the mail! He looks forward to the postman coming each day and delivering envelopes filled with what he believes to be invitations to extravagant parties and letters and pictures from Grandma! I don't dare spoil fun by telling him that what he is looking at are merely utility bills and grocery adds! The thought occurred to me that we could have this kind of fun all day long by making him his own little mailbox! Now I love to drop him a little note and picture and watch him pretend the day away his imagination run wild!

Here is what we are making today!

Materials needed:

1 sheet of poster board
2 sheets of 12X18 stiff felt (a.k.a. Easy Felt)
approx. 1 yard of ribbon (preferably canvas or cotton)
scissors
craft glue or hot glue
the following templates printed

Step 1: After printing the provided patterns, cut 1 set of each piece in both your felt and your poster board. The poster board will provide durability and rigidity to your mailbox. The felt will then be the cover.

Step 2: Cut a strip of ribbon to the length of the side of your back and front piece. Apply glue to the entire area of the ribbon.

Step 3: Glue your 2 pieces of poster board together. Allow glue to dry completely.
The ribbon will act as a hinge and will allow you to fold and bend your pieces more easily.

Step 4: Now apply ribbon to the opposite end of your paper just as you did in step 3. Allow glue to dry completely.

This is what you should have when the 4 steps are complete. The ribbons will be on the INSIDE of your mailbox.

Step 5: Apply glue to the entire exposed area to the back of the ribbon.

Step 5: Fold your front piece over and adhere it to the glue covered ribbon. You will need to hold it down and allow glue to dry completely.

This is what it should look like after all 6 steps are complete.

Step 7: Cut 6 pieces of ribbon measuring 2" in length and glue as shown to the poster board piece labeled "bottom". These will act as tabs and make it possible to adhere the bottom to the mailbox.

Step 8: Begin to glue the tabs to the inside of your mailbox.

This is what it should look like after the 8 steps are complete.

Step 9: Cut a piece of ribbon the length of the top lid of your mailbox and glue to the lid and the back of your mailbox as shown.

Step 10: Now glue all your felt pieces over the poster board for a more finished look.

Now you can add any embellishments you wish! I simply embroidered on a piece of canvas and glued it to the front. I also added a ribbon tab under the lid to make it easier to open and I used it cover my edges to give it a little detail. You can add a hook or loop of ribbon on the back if you want to hang it on the wall or just leave it as is if you are setting in on a flat surface.

Thanks for allowing me to share this project with you! If you would like to see more tutorials like this, you can always take a peek at my blog, H is for Handmade.