A mailbox from a canister manufacturing. How to make a mailbox with your own hands from various materials

05.11.2019 Windows 7, XP

Traditional versions of boxes for receiving letters, postcards, newspapers, bills usually look gray and dull, they are completely lacking in originality. They are usually metal, painted blue, with a small padlock. For lovers of something interesting, bright and original, this option is definitely not suitable. In today's master class, we propose to make a mailbox from a variety of materials with our own hands.

We make a cardboard mailbox with our own hands in a step-by-step MK

A cardboard mailbox will turn out to be truly designer and original.

In order to make a cardboard mailbox, you will need the following materials:

Cardboard - 4 mm thick;
Drawer lock;
PVA construction glue or hot glue in a gun;
Paper tape;
Stationery knife;
Napkins for decoupage;
Acrylic paints in white, black, silver.

The photo shows a template that must be attached to a sheet of cardboard, transfer all sizes and cut out with a clerical knife.

When you are cutting out a window, you do not need to cut the cardboard to the end so that there are no breaks. We fix the folds with paper tape.

Using PVA glue or hot glue, we glue all the details of the future box and leave it to dry completely.

Then you can start decorating. In order to achieve the effect of antiquity, we glue the outer part of the box with napkins, and cover it with black and white paint on top, and paint the corners with silver paint. We attach a small lock on the door, glue napkins for decoupage, decorate the roof with lace. The cardboard mailbox is ready.

From felt:

For work you will need:

Ruler;
Self-disappearing marker;
Scissors;
Threads to match the fabric;
Needle;
Sewing machine;
Hot glue in the gun;
Cardboard measuring 36 by 20 cm;
Thick cardboard for the bottom;
Iron;
Velcro 3 by 2 cm;
Red buttons - 2 pcs.;
Fabric - felt;
Fabric - lining;
Non-woven fabric for felt sealing.

The pattern of the future felt mailbox is shown in the photo.

Let's get to work. To begin with, we take the patterns and make the necessary marks on the fabric in duplicate for the inside and the front side.

It is also necessary to outline all the details on the cardboard according to the patterns and cut them out. These details are needed as the basis for the box to be strong.

We glue the felt with non-woven fabric. Iron through the iron. Also, in order to make it just pleasant and convenient to work, we iron all the details that will be used in the work.

From the cut out parts for the bottom, we sew a pocket, which we will insert thick cardboard.

Let's decorate the main element of the mailbox. Take white and red felt stripes and simulate the Russian flag. We sew them from edge to edge using a typewriter.

Sew a postage stamp or a suitable patch on the opposite side of the box. If you have the time, you can embroider the words "Russian post" on the fabric. When all the decorative elements are sewn on, you can stitch the main part and insert cardboard into it. A little later, we will manually sew up all the holes that remain with a blind stitch.

The side parts are sewn in the same way, only a Velcro strap must be sewn to the front.

Now it's time to put all the pieces together. We do this with a blind seam. After the efforts and hard work done, you get such a wonderful and very original mailbox.

Let's make a simple mailbox with our own hands from a plastic bottle

Even an ordinary plastic bottle can be used to make a practical letterbox. Making it is very simple and interesting.

For work you will need:

Plastic bottle with a volume of 5 liters;
Quick dry fabric;
Scissors;
Stationery knife;
Plywood 25 x 5 cm;
Glue;
Needle;
Thread to match the fabric;
Lightning.

Let's get to work. Take a bottle and make an incision at the bottom of it so that the back wall remains intact and the bottom opens. Sew a zipper into the resulting hole using a needle and thread. The zipper can be glued to make it easier to work.

Take a cloth and wrap a bottle with it. It is better to leave the bottom of the bottle transparent. Cut off excess tissue. Thoroughly coat the bottle with glue and glue the fabric. We are waiting until it dries completely. In the area where the zipper is located, we cut the fabric so that the lower part can be freely opened.

From above, the fabric can be simply flattened and glued to the bottle, or you can leave a few centimeters of fabric and tie them with a cord, creating a kind of candy tail.

On the back of the bottle, you need to make a slot for mail.

Glue plywood on the back of the bottle.

It turned out to be such a cheerful mailbox. It can be attached to the fence with nails or screwed in with wire.

In conclusion, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with several interesting ideas for creating a mailbox from a box, from paper, from a bottle, presented in the video.

Varieties and styles

The mailbox, which is located in the local area, often serves not only for its intended purpose. Such products also become a harmonious addition to the design of the facade of the building. Therefore, before making such a product, you should decide on the performance variations. Experts distinguish three main types of mailboxes:

Classic style. This design is a vertical box equipped with a slot for letters and other correspondence. As a rule, they are installed by hanging from a fence or wall of a house. Despite its simplicity, even such a box can be decorated in an original way by means of painting, decoupage techniques and other techniques.
English style. This product is made in the form of a pedestal-table, which is mounted directly on the ground. As a rule, a letter box is placed a few steps from the main entrance to the house. Outwardly, such a structure resembles a miniature model of a residential building and is made of solid steel or by means of brickwork.
American style. Such mailboxes are a half-pipe-shaped metal box. They are mounted on a separate support or a wooden rod and equipped with a special flag that signals the presence of correspondence inside. It just goes up if the box contains letters.

Options in the photo

Variations of mailboxes depend on the imagination of the owners

Street mailbox - addition to the ensemble of a country house

Street mailbox should be in harmony with the design of the house

Undoubtedly, every homeowner wants a self-made structure to have not only an original appearance, but also be distinguished by its durability and strength. Therefore, before planning the manufacture of a mailbox, you should consider a number of basic recommendations:

To prevent mail from being adversely affected by atmospheric precipitation, it is necessary to provide a visor over the slot for lowering letters.
If you plan to place a door for removing the contents of the drawer on the front panel, then it is important to accurately calculate the dimensions of the hole. This will prevent the formation of gaps through which snow and moisture penetrate.
When planning to install the door at the bottom of the box, it is advisable to make the structure hinged in order to take out correspondence without difficulty.
If you want to make a box made of wood, you need to protect the corners of the structure with special metal plates. This will increase the strength of the product and make repairs easier in the future.
For safety, it is worthwhile to provide for the presence of a lock or alarm.

Just a few simple rules will extend the life of your product.

Made of wood

Very popular designs in domestic open spaces are made from natural wood. This material allows you to experiment with the shape of the box, as well as the external design. Plus, it's easy to get hold of and doesn't require any professional skills to work.

So, for the construction of a mailbox, you need to prepare the following materials:

wooden blocks;
protective impregnation;
wood screws;
paint brush;
door hinges (small size);
dense moisture resistant plywood;
lock for locking;
screwdriver;
hacksaw.

The construction process looks like this:

The first step is to cover the wood material with a protective compound that prevents moisture or insect damage. When the sheets are dry, you can start assembling the structure.
The dimensions of the walls depend on the desired dimensions of the future structure. For work, you will need to cut the timber into several parts so that 4 slats come out corresponding to the length of the structure, 4 shortened parts - for the width and 4 pcs. to the size of the height of the side walls.
At the first stage, it is necessary to put together these fragments in the shape of a rectangle, that is, to make a frame.
Then you need to attach plywood sheets cut out in accordance with the dimensions - side fragments, the back and the bottom. The end result is a box without a top cover and front panel.
In order not to cut a hole for correspondence from a single piece of wood, you can make a cover from 2 panels, leaving a 1 cm slot in the middle.
The front part of the box will look like a door with a small lock. This will allow you to easily take out mail and at the same time protect the structures from intruders.
For its construction, it is necessary to install hinges on the side panel - 2 pcs. for the door itself and 2 pcs. for the locking structure.
We hang the front wall and check the functionality.
This completes the production of the mailbox.

Important! Since the slot for dropping letters is located at the top and is not protected from atmospheric precipitation, there is a risk of damage to the mail. To do this, you can attach a metal sheet directly above the hole, which is fixed with small hinges. This will create a second protective cover.

Wooden mailbox - easy to make and design

Made of metal

This design is the most robust and durable, but it is more difficult to make it. This will require minimal skills in processing metal structures. So, for the construction of such a product, it is necessary to prepare the following tools:

a metal sheet;
Bulgarian;
jigsaw or saw;
welding machine;
anti-corrosion impregnation;
dye.

The workflow looks like this:

An American mailbox will require more work, but will be more durable and durable

From a plastic bottle

A practical and original letterbox can be made from scrap materials. The process is incredibly simple and fun, and the result is an attractive design that you can decorate to your liking. So, to create a box you will need:

plastic container with a capacity of 5 liters;
stationery knife;
a fragment of plywood 25x5 cm;
lightning;
quick-drying fabric;
glue;
long needle;
synthetic strong thread.

The manufacturing process is carried out in the following sequence:

Empty containers must be cut across at the bottom so that the bottom opens, but does not separate completely. We attach a sewing zipper to the cut to make sure the length is correct.
Sew the zipper to the bottle using a needle and thread. You can also glue it, but it is worth considering that the box will be on the street, and under the influence of atmospheric precipitation, the fixing strength will decrease every day.
We check the performance of the lightning - an impromptu hinged bottom should open and close well.
We wrap the container in decorative material - fabric, burlap. We leave the lower part transparent to see the presence of correspondence. Cut off the excess material.
Then we remove the fabric and coat the surface of the bottle with glue. Reapply the material and fix it firmly. We expect complete drying of the composition.
Cut a hole for mail on the front wall of the container.
On the back, we fix the plywood panel with glue. You will need it to mount the box on a fence or wall.
This completes the product. After complete drying, we install the box in the right place and enjoy the work done.

Important! For decoration, you can use not only fabric, but also any types of moisture-resistant coatings. You can paint the facade, make a painting and varnish or decorate with artificial flowers.

A letterbox from a plastic bottle is the easiest manufacturing option

Made of cardboard

Such products are easy to manufacture and also economical. Any unnecessary box will do for building a mailbox. All you need is to use a minimum of effort and a bit of imagination. In this example, we will consider a step-by-step master class using the example of an empty box of tablets for a washing machine.

So, before work, you need to prepare the following tools:

cardboard packaging;
stationery knife;
glue gun;
decorative paper;
varnish for wood;
paint brush.

The construction process is carried out in the following sequence of actions:

As you can see, making an original mailbox is not difficult at all; you only need a little effort and imagination. Various design variations allow you to make it from the simplest materials, using even recyclable materials. However, before you make a box with your own hands, keep in mind that its appearance should be in harmony with the general ensemble of your site.

You can make a product for letters from wood, a plastic box, metal, a plastic pipe and a plastic bottle. It will take 2-3 hours to assemble the structure. To embody such a fantasy, you need a minimum of tools and skills. A beautifully made mailbox made from a plastic bottle with your own hands will undoubtedly attract the attention of passers-by, guests and the postman.

Ideas for design

The options for constructing the letter box are not limited. Designs are made large, small, oblong, holding together several bottles. If the owner of a private house has a broken receiver for receiving letters, then a simple structure can be made in 30 minutes. But the look of the product will be boring and inconspicuous.

Adding beauty with coloring and unique assembly, equipping the bottle product with a visor, an aesthetic tripod for holding the box. A bright colorful coating is applied to the surface. Do-it-yourself mailbox from a plastic bottle is painted with animals, birds, ornaments, and various symbols. Much more time will be spent on the installation of this structure.

You can make a complex model of the fixture. In addition to coloring and painting on the craft, they create trees, flowers, characters from plastic. It will require minimal artistic skills to make the item look beautiful. Additional elements are also colored. If it is a rose or chamomile, then the color is matched to the flower.

The advantages of plastic

Plastic boxes, bottles, buckets can be stored for up to 100 years. It is practically one of the most permanently biodegradable materials. Other advantages:

easily wiped off dust;
the material does not break;
availability for everyone;
does not get wet;
not afraid of frost;
does not pose a risk of injury (in the case of cutting and assembling the product);
any paints are applied to the surface.

What the material is afraid of is strong compression pressure. The bottle may wrinkle. Prolonged thermal exposure can melt plastic.

Materials and tools

For a beginner, you can cope with the task and make a complex mailbox out of plastic. Ideas costs are minimal. Every homeowner has tools for making. List of inventory and material:

plastic containers (the number depends on the design model), if a homemade product is being built with plastic additional elements for decoration, then you will need plastic bottles of 5 liters and 4 pcs. 1.5 and 2 liters each;
a set of acrylic paints that are not afraid of moisture, they are sold both in tubes and in cans, the color variety is huge, so choosing the right shades is not difficult, you also need a brush;
instead of acrylic, you can choose paint sprayed in cans;
scissors, pencil or marker, quick-drying glue, stencil, if symbols are to be created;
to install a mailbox from a plastic bottle with your own hands, you will need a wooden or steel rod, if a private yard is fenced off or the owner does not want to place a letterbox outside the yard, then the structure can be made by attaching it near the gate, and in the fence, cut a gap 2- 3 cm and 15 cm long.

You will have to spend finances on the purchase of paints, glue and bottles. The owner of the mansion must have the rest.

Simple construction

From a 5 liter eggplant, they make convenient designs for letters, and most importantly, quickly. Here you do not have to engage in creative work and paint the surface. Street mailbox is collected according to the plan:

A round hole with a diameter of 10 cm is cut out of the plastic material in the bottom with scissors.
A round piece with a cross section of 12-13 cm is cut out from another 5 liter square bottle in the sidewall. A hole is made at the edge. The container itself is no longer needed.
On the back of the first workpiece, above the cut-out window, retreating from the border of the circle, a hole is punched with a nail.
A bolt is pushed into a small hole, a round element is thrown over, a nut is applied and tightened, but not strongly, since this mechanism must rotate.
A wooden stand is prepared on which the container is installed. A piece of plywood 7 × 7 cm is attached to the end of the support. It is screwed into the end with two self-tapping screws. The plastic product is placed in the center of the platform.
The bottle can be fixed to the platform with quick-drying glue or you can use a screwdriver with a special long nozzle and screw 4 screws into the plywood. The protruding screws from under the bottom of the platform are removed with pliers.

At the end, the support is dug into the ground with a depth of 30-40 cm. The postman will open the round door by shifting to the side and place the letters inside, then close it back.

Product coloring

If the owner wants to add beauty to the product, then you need to arm yourself with paints. This business does not require professional artistic skills. Mailboxes for a private house are painted in stages:

The body is spray-painted green. Light and dark shades are required. For easy application of dark and light green colors, spray the background from a distance. In this way, smooth transitions of shades are achieved.
They choose several colors of acrylic and paint with a brush the grass, along the contour of which they are outlined in dark green. This makes the elements stand out, and they will look even more beautiful. The body depicts daisies, peonies, gerberas or climbing plants.
To draw a flower, the boundaries of the petals and the core are drawn. Chamomile is painted in yellow and white. They depict veins in darker shades and clarify shadow areas.

To apply an ornament or hieroglyphs on a mailbox from a plastic bottle, they make a stencil out of paper with their own hands, in which figures are cut out with scissors. The cloth is applied and fixed with tape on the body. Then the open areas are painted over with a spray can according to the principle of graffiti.

Additional decoration

You can create special beauty with plastic shapes - roses, chamomile and other flowers. In this case, you will need to invest time in the construction of facilities, but the result is worth it. How to make a letterbox from a plastic bottle prettier by equipping with a rose:

A strip is cut from the bottle - this is the stem. The part is twisted into a tube and glued.
Thorns are cut with scissors. You can make ordinary triangles or cone-shaped elements, which are also held together with glue.
The petals are collected from plastic pieces. They must be curved. The original photo of the rose will help to make an approximate figure. All manufactured parts are glued together.

At the end, every detail is painted. The stem is green and the petals are burgundy. To achieve realism, shades and cut-off areas are applied.