Pink Valentine Mailbox

Okay, I have to admit that I did do a little corrosion with this one.  My daughter is in preschool, and this was her first year to have a Valentine box.  She didn’t even know what she needed a box for, but she knew that she wanted it pink.  It was Mommy that saw the cute mailbox on Pinterest and showed it to her.  A little, “Oh! Wouldn’t this be so pretty!! Do you want one like this?” and it was done, Mommy was making a mailbox. 

So first thing’s first, I needed a mailbox.  I saw where Hobby Lobby had a cardboard one, but we don’t have a craft store close by, so I can only make it to one once in a blue moon.  I was just contemplating how to construct one out of cardboard, when I saw that Walmart had these cute little themed mailboxes for Valentine’s Day.  They were perfect!

I grabbed one that my daughter wouldn’t mind me painting over, because the world would stop spinning if I painted over princesses or puppies.

We went with Star Wars.  Plus, the Valentines inside were perfect for my son.  It was a win-win here!

So, here’s where I made my mistake.  I wanted to save time and spray paint the box instead of painting it all with my acrylics.  First, I spray painted it white as a primer to cover the dark design.  At the same time, I painted a glass candle holder that I found at Dollar Tree for only $1.

Then I spray painted the box pink.

 

However, it was cold and I was in a hurry, so I went too fast and put too much on.  Plus, the mailbox I bought was a finished product and the outside was shiny and slick before I started painting.  Put together that equation…  Yep, it started to run, and I was kicking myself for not hand painting it instead.

Once it was all dry, I had to do some major cover up.  Taking wadded up plastic wrap and some dark pink paint, I went around and blotted color over the entire box.

Afterward, I thought it was a little too bold, so I took a light pink and went over the top of the brighter pink in a few spots.  This helped to tone it down some.

 

Next, it was time to decorate.  I drew and cut out a large flower from white paper and gave it to her to color while I cut out the green leaves that it was going to lay on.  Then we glued the flower to the back of the mailbox.  I then glued on a big B to the front that was cut out of pink paper, along with white strips to give it some depth. 

Then there was the flag.  What’s a mailbox without a flag?  I cut hers out of extra cardboard and glued it to the side.

**I also thought to connect it using a brass fastener.  It would have made it so cool if she could have actually moved it up and down, but time and supplies were not on my side.**

Next, I measured and found the middle of the mailbox on the bottom, and glued the spray painted candle holder onto the spot.

Then we needed a handle to open and shut the box.  I dug through my craft box, and came out with a handful of marbles.  I used my hot glue gun and stuck the marble to the top of the door. 

The mailbox was SO cute, however my daughter wanted to put her own little flare on the box.  What better way to jazz something up then with shiny sequins? 

She picked out all the ones she wanted, told me where to put them, and I used my glue gun to attach them. 

**In hindsight, the sequins could have more than likely been glued on with Elmer’s, but I wanted to make sure they held.  The glue gun melted them some, and burned my fingers a lot.  Next time, I’ll probably use Elmer’s.**

There, everything was done.  With this mailbox, I think the box was too big for such a small candle holder, and so the proportions were somewhat off.  However, she was happy, and that’s all that matters.  It was big enough that her Valentines could fit into, but small enough to where she had no problem holding it.

Overall, I think it was a wonderful first Valentines box for her.  With her, you never know what next year will bring, but I can bet money it will be pink.

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!