US Mail Box
You Will Need:
shoebox,
carboard tube one the size of a roll of kitchen foil is just the right size,
disposable polystyrene cup,
green paper od card,
water bottle,
strong card,
kitchen foil,
hook and loop fastners,
cocktail stirrer
To make the mailbox itself you'll need a shoe box and a cardboard tube.
But start by making the stand. Get a disposable polystyrene cup and fill it with sand to weigh it down.
Pop the lid on, and wrap a big piece of sticky tape all the way around the rim, so that the lid is securely stuck on to the the cup.
Put another piece of tape across the top, covering the hole. Tip the cup upside down.
Next you need a cardboard tube. One from a roll of kitchen foil is just the right size. Paint it a wood brown colour.
Add on some wood detail with a black pen or marker for added effect
Now you need an empty water bottle.Take off the plastic top and push it inside one end of the cardboard tube
Push the other end of the cardboard tube -
The one without the plastic top embedded inside it -
Straight into the end of the polystyrene cup,
So that it pierces the polystyrene and stands upright, supported by the sand inside
Cut out a grass shape from a piece of green paper
Or card and curl the ends of the grass by running a ruler edge along them.
Wrap the grass around the base, so that the cup is neatly hidden.
Now for the mailbox itself. Start by painting the inside of the shoe box any colour that you fancy.
Using a sharp pencil and a ball of modelling clay, pierce a hole through the middle of the base of the shoebox.
Now take the body of the water bottle and paint it a bright colour.Squeeze the neck of the bottle through the hole you made in the base of the shoe box.
Now you can test the connection of the body of the mailbox to the stand by screwing the neck of the bottle in the box into the open end of the cardboard tube.
To make the roof of the mailbox, take a strong piece of card and cover it with kitchen foil, shiny side down.
To make the roof of the mailbox, take a strong piece of card and cover it with kitchen foil, shiny side down. Stick it in place like this - in an arc.
The front and the back are made by drawing around the body of the mailbox onto some cardboard box card, twice.
Cut the shapes out and cover them in more kitchen foil. Again, shiny side down will give you a realistic metal effect.Stick the back to the end of the shoebox.
At the front, make two slits down the seams of the shoebox, so that you create a hinged flap.
Stick the front onto the flap of the shoebox to create a door.
The door catch is made from two pieces of hook and loop fastener. Stick one onto a piece of card just on the inside roof of the mailbox.
Then stick the other to the back of the front of the mailbox. Now you can lock the door!
To show that you have mail, you need to make a flag. Do this by getting a cocktail stirrer. Pop it inside a bendy straw, attached to the side of the mailbox.
Add a square of foil covered card to keep the straw in place.
Make a handle for the front from more foil covered card, bent into shape so that there's a loop for your Finger Tips to pull the door open with.
Re-attach the mailbox to the base, and screw it in place.Finished!
If you like, you could make a British mailbox like this, it's an upright shoebox with a slot cut into it for posting cards through.
It's attached to the same type of stand used for making the US Mailbox and has a flap cut into the back so that you can retrieve your cards whenever you like!
US Mail Box
