In this era of readymade products, making a mailbox with cardstock will probably not be a wise option. Still, arts and crafts in any format showcase personal taste and aristocracy to everyone visiting the perimeter of our houses.
Creating a mailbox requires planning and execution, which we will show you step by step. If you are just a beginner, read this article until the end; we believe you can make one for yourself.
Table of Contents
What is a Mailbox
The mailbox is usually a metal box with a rectangular dome design, placed in front of your house for the safekeeping, easy dropping, and collection of letters.
Why is the metal used? Well, it is for durability and safety, but if you place it on the sidewall of the front door, you can make it on your own by using cardstock. In that case, a suitable flashing of the house will ensure durability for sure.
What is Cardstock
Cardstock is a heavy paper, sometimes also called pasteboard or cover stock. It is longer-lasting, stronger, and more durable than any other writing paper. That’s why business cards, postcards, and greeting cards are made of cardstock.
It is a more suitable option than paperboard due to its flexibility. In this regard, 12pt card stock can be considered unique due to its thickness and strength. When looking for better frame making, you cannot but go for cardstock, and as the mailbox is a more considerable structure, you had better go for cardstock.
Can You Make a Mailbox With Cardstock
Of course, you can do it. Your work will be a hundred times easier if you choose cardstock other than ordinary paper. The framework will be more robust, and work will go smoother and more manageable. If you look at the reeds used in the African villages or army camps, you will realize that people make exquisite and durable objects from local reeds cheaper than bamboo.
Similar is the case with cardstock; you may think cardstock will be quite a wrong choice. Still, we know from experience that beautiful objects are typically made from very ordinary and readily available things.
How to Make a Mailbox With Cardstock
The process is simple, which we will describe one by one. But, it would be useful if you had certain things beforehand to have a good-looking and aesthetic mailbox.
What Will You Need
To make a mailbox, you’ll need the following things:
- Card stock (color depends on your choice)
- Color paper
- Ruler
- Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Sharp knife
What Will Be the Best glue for This Job?
There are a lot of glues that can be used to make a mailbox, but you must consider the fact that glue must be clear drying. So, it would help if you were a bit cautious. However, crafters usually do not bother much about it as most of the PVA craft glue is suitable.
Besides, you can go for papercraft glue gel too. You can even use quick-dry wood glue or contact cement.
The Making Process
Now it’s time to create the mailbox. Follow the steps mentioned below.
Cutting the cardstock to the proper measurement
- Cut a piece of card stock based on your desired size, as the letterboxes can be smaller or bigger. So, cut the cardstock according to the expected size. For example, you can go with 12″ x 9″ for a smaller box.
- Make a small card stock sheet of approximately 8″ x 5″, create an upward boundary on each edge, which can be around 50-60% of an inch; then, at that point, overlay the paper along the border.
Gluing and overlapping
- Overlap the larger card stock over the smaller one to frame it like a vault shape that automatically creates the hole for the front door of the post box.
- Apply glue on the external boundary side of the smaller cardstock and secure it within the arch shape. It will be like an arched-shaped tunnel at this point, and you need to cover one side entirely.
Making the door and the wall of the tunnel
- Put the arch-shaped vault on another piece of cardstock and use a pencil to draw the external bent shape of the exact size. Make a point to leave an inch around the body to finish the next stage.
- Lift the vault shape and draw a figure about a quarter of an inch bigger around your recently drawn arch shape.
- Make one more shape similar to the inside part of your first inner drawing on the first little card stock. It is going to be the same size as your vault.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the outer side of the bent shape (the second line, to be exact), and cut out the second cardstock, which you shaped according to the size of the bent arch (it will be smaller than the first one).
Folding and Gluing (Second Phase)
- Fold the edge of the first arched shape you drew with the pencil. Maintain the pencil mark properly to get a half-inch high boundary.
- Do not cut the base edge you just folded over; cut along the arch shape that goes parallel with it; make cuts isolated by half an inch.
- Now, glue the edge from its base side and secure it within the letterbox.
- Then paste the cut’s border and gradually overlay them into the letterbox to get them cautiously inside the vault shape beyond the cuts. This part will be the back end of your letterbox with the goal that it won’t drop out when you put mail in.
- Next, overlap the base edge of the other vault shape and put some paste along the beyond the base edge; fasten it to within the letterbox. It will be the edge that, once dried and set, you will use to embed and eliminate mail.
Making the mail banner
- Use leftover cardstock to cut a strip of around 6″ in length and 2.5″ in width and fold it into three sections.
- Next, cut an L-shaped piece of card stock – approximately 5″ long and 2.5″ wide.
- Now, take colored paper, draw and cut out one huge heart or any other shape that you think suits your purpose, and put it away.
- Save a piece of red paper to cut into an enormous square shape to cover the thicker piece of the L-shape and attach it with the glue. This L will act as your mail banner. When the flag is set up, a mail carrier would be aware to stop at your letterbox and accumulate your mail to convey it.
Finishing the job
- Now, glue the colored paper to the front of your post box. Glue the accordion-style strip within your cover to stand out toward the front so it acts as a handle. Glue and put the mail banner at the edge of the letterbox.
- Finally, paste the little red heart below the banner as a natural beautification! And it’s done.
Where to Place Your Mailbox
Now that you have made your mailbox, you do not know what to do with it or where to place it. This kind of mailbox is best suited inside your drawing room, where you can keep your gift cards. But if you want, you can still place it in front of your house. However, make sure to protect it from exposure to the weather.
FAQs
Can You Mail Cardstock as a Postcard?
Why not? Of course, you can. Cardstock is an excellent choice and the most widely used paper for postcards. You can even send wooden postcards or handmade, colored postcards by mail as long as you use the proper stamp, follow the appropriate size, and pay the price.
A postcard is a rectangular-shaped uncovered letter sent without an envelope. The measurements of the paper should be 5 inches long and 3 ½ inches high, with a thickness of 0.007 inches (approximately the thickness of an index card). However, it should not exceed 6 inches in length and 4 ¼ inches in height, with a breadth of 0.016 inches. In this regard, card stocks are helpful due to their robustness and durability.
Can you build your own mailbox?
Yes, you can make your own mailbox. There is no restriction on building a mailbox as long as you can maintain PMG standards or Postmaster General’s standards. If you want to maintain standard procedures, you can contact your country’s postal service engineering department.
It is pretty good if you keep your mailbox 41 to 45 inches from the surface of the road to the base of the letterbox or entry point. Besides, keep the mailbox entry point 6 to 8 inches away from the roadside. You can use a raised curb, but if you do not have any, do not hesitate to contact the postmaster for guidance. You also need to put your house or apartment number in the mailbox.
Final Words
Any sort of art and crafts is suitable for the kids’ mental development. And the making is a source of joy for everyone. If you liked the process we mentioned, we would be happy. We believe that you will be able to make one by yourself quite easily.