The Mailbox From Hell And Other Scary Tales

Ok, it's really just the one tale about the mailbox, but I couldn't resist a good title. 

Short Pants' 4th birthday is Wednesday, and since he loves dressing up so much, I thought I'd make him a felt mail carrier set.  Total honesty moment - I hated every single second I spent sewing that damn mailbox.  Ugh!!!  There were some minor issues with the tutorial I used, plus I just couldn't seem to do anything right.  It's *very* lopsided and ugly in the back - I had to resist the urge to stay up all night sewing another one.  The only thing that stopped me was the thought of doing it all again only to possibly come out with ANOTHER lopsided mailbox. 

However...I took it out again tonight, and once I saw it with the entire set I decided that I didn't hate it quite as much and could, indeed, move on.  Here's the mailbox from hell:

The flag can stay up or go down, and the front closes with a wee magnet.  And look, little felt mail!

 
I used this super-easy tutorial to make the letters and envelopes.  I decided against little tiny velcro'd address labels, etc. because I could very picture either a) them getting lost 15 minutes after Short Pants opens it  *or*  b)  Pita Pocket eating them.   

Because this is the One Hook household, I had to include the obligatory red envelopes:

You have Netflix too, right?

 
I think my favorite part of the set is the mail bag I made:

Very simple, using felt so I could do as little sewing as possible.  I used a piece of copy paper for my pattern and just added a triangle to one side for the flap, which velcroes shut.  The strap is extra long so that it can be worn messenger bag style, and the letters were attached with Steam a Seam.  I can't wait to see Short Pants delivering the "mail"!

 

Comments

[Amanda]

That is AMAZING!!! It does not look lopsided at all, it looks perfect! What a lucky boy, I'm sure he will have a lot of fun with it. LOVE the netflix envelopes! Great job mama!

[Rebecca]

Super Cute! I absolutely love the netflix addition!

[Christy]

Adorable!

[Katie]

That's SO cool! I love it!

[GailV]

That is SO FLIPPIN' CUTE!

[Kristi]

I have recently stumbled upon your blog. Love all the Montessori fun! The mailbox, well done.

[One hook wonder]

Awww, thanks for all of the mailbox love. I promise, it is all jacked up in the back where you can't see! I guess Short Pants won't care, though, right? :)

[urban craft]

super super super cool! I have seen other fabric mailboxes but you have taken it to the next level. Hooray for Netflix! Everything is so perfect. THe mailbox is a must have.

[One hook wonder]

Thank you! We don't have cable, so we LOVE our Netflix. ;)

[Montessori Moments]

So, How would one go about trying to make one of these ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL (lopsided as you call it) mailboxes?

[Kryssiruss.blogspot.com]

I love the mail box and mail do you have a pattern for the box?

[Elizabeth Brown hardeman]

Super cute! Not to be nosy . . . but I'm wondering if you used my tutorial for the mail box - twelve crafts till Christmas? If so, I would love it if you would e-mail me (twelvecrafts-at-gmail-dot-com) and tell me the issues you had with the tutorial so I can clear them up in the post. I LOVE feedback because I realize I don't always explain things so other people can understand. If it's not mine, please ignore and continue on with your life . . . well, I suppose you can ignore and continue on with your life even if it is my tutorial! ;) Either way . . . you mail box and mail are adorable!

[Faye K]

oh my... i think this is adorable, lopsided and all. i just LOVE LOVE LOVE the netflix envelopes and discs. i am going to make this for my son. he always enjoys going to get the mail AND getting the netflix in the mail so this is PERFECT! thank you!