I just want to say first that I was going to title this post “Mailbox Makeover” but since it is Valentines Day, I thought that this title – which also doubles as a cheesy 90s romantic comedy – would be much better.
So this Saturday my friend and coworker Billie and I did some recon work in Ames. Billie is in the process of making an Iowa State t-shirt quilt (which I think will be pretty cool) and was looking for a particular shirt from the Insight Bowl to complete her t-shirt squares. She got a hot tip that this particular shirt was spotted at the Goodwill in Ames. Knowing my love for Goodwill, she asked me to go along with her. Of course I would. After successfully finding the shirt she sought after (and some other great ISU finds) we browsed around the rest of the store.
That’s when this lovely number caught my eye. Here she is.
It’s a wooden mailbox. I think the shape drew me to it at first. I loved the kind of vintage look. Second, was the fact that it’s a mailbox. That is one thing that I can’t seem to keep under control at my apartment. I get my mail from the mailbox in the hallway. I open it if it’s important (or sometimes don’t) and then set it conveniently on the side table next to my door. Then it just sits there. And I hate looking at it. Also, now that my brother is living with me, I thought this would be a good way for him to see when he gets mail as well as keep it organized for mine. You’ll notice that this box has two slots for organization.
Letters and Royal Mail. What the heck is Royal Mail? I don’t know. But I knew I could do something cool with those wooden tabs. My mind raced when I thought of all the opportunities this mailbox had, so I bought it, for just under five bucks! Also, the original price tag was on it, and it had been priced at one point for $29.99. Now, that’s a good deal.
I went home and immediately went to work on my mailbox. I knew the colors I wanted to use. I used a “bahama blue” for the overall color, with accents of royal blue, red, and white. I thought I would continue the look of the vintage style of the box by using some retro-ish looking mail graphics. I designed the graphics first, printed them out, and transferred them with graphite paper on the box. Then I painted them.
After I painted the graphics on, I painted over the words “Letters” and “Royal Mail” with white paint. Then I transferred the words “yours” and “mine” again with graphite paper. I knew I wouldn’t always be living with Jacob so I didn’t want to specifically put our names on it, but rather something that could stand the test of time.
When all that was done, I did several coats of varnish spray to keep the paint from chipping off. I really love this mailbox now, and I can’t wait to get mail and keep it organized! I’d say this 5 dollar mailbox makeover really delivered. Ha ha ha, that was terrible!
