Creativity 521 #48 - Love letters

Since Angel is the only one in her class who attends school for half a day, I like to keep a good relationship with her teachers and often query them about what they are learning in school so that we can improvise and do some catching up at home.

During our last conversation, the teacher said "This month, we are learning about MEALS." I was like "Oh, meals sound awesome - breakfast, lunch and dinner." Then she said "No, not those meals, meals as in M-A-I-L-S." You know what, mails sound even more awesome to me.

Somehow, I wish for my girl to realise that despite the advances in technology and the invention of electronic devices like computers, tablets and smart phones, there is something heartfelt, unique and irreplaceable about handwritten letters. Writing out your feelings with a pen and paper somehow makes it more sincere, more touching and more genuine than typing it out on a keyboard. I hope she will always remember that and never think that letters are obsolete.  

In this week's Creativity 521, we decided to make something very simple so that we can brighten up the day and give each other surprises by writing love letters - a DIY Post Box.

What we used:

1) Empty box (Can be any cereal or biscuit box of your preferred size)
2) Red paper
3) Scisscors
4) Craft knife
5) Double sided tape / Sticky tape
6) Glue
7) Brads
8) Rubber band
9) Optional decorative materials - alphabet stickers, doilies, felt, paint markers etc

Firstly, empty the contents of the box and wrap it up using the red paper.

For the closed end of the box, fold in the sides of the paper and seal like you normally do when wrapping a gift.

For the opened end, cut slits in the paper, fold in and stick it such that the flap can still move freely.

Next, poke a small hole in the middle of the flap and attach a brad. Place the rubber band around and under the brad.

Attach a second brad onto the box as shown so that you can now easily open and close the box using the rubber band. Make sure that the rubber band is stretched when the box is closed and for ease of opening, do not secure the brads too tightly.

Now, create the opening for your post box. Draw a rectangle (mine was 7cm x 2cm) onto the front of the box. The back of the box is where the brad is, so turn it over before you do this step. Cut out the rectangle neatly using a craft knife.

I added in an extra step here because I realised that after cutting the hole, there was space between the paper and the box around the rectangle. So I took thin strips of doubled side tape, meticulously inserted and stuck them around the rectangle between the paper and box, peeled them off using the craft knife and ta-dah, no more spacing and the hole looks much neater now. Alternatively, you can use a toothpick and a little glue to achieve this.

To jazz things up, decorate your post box with your choice of embellishments. We kept ours simple and stuck on a heart-shaped doily and alphabet stickers.

Lastly, inspired at the last minute, I cut out a small piece of white cardboard to form the flag on the post box. There is something cute about these flags on traditional letter boxes, so I just wanted to add it in to increase the fun factor for Angel. Yes, I know, a post box is not really a letter box per se but we can be creative, right? This way, she would come home from school, check her post box to see if the flag is raised and if there is any mail with her name on it.

To attach the post box to her door, of course I used my all-time favourite, trustworthy, reusable adhesive - Blu-Tack. To remove the contents of the box, detach the rubber band from the brad at the bottom and the mail will fall out easily.  

Check out the first letter she posted into our cute little box!

Awww, hooray, it was a letter to me. How sweet that she actually drew hearts and flowers too!

Nowadays, we are just enjoying the process of writing, posting and reading each other's letters. The best thing is you can get the whole family to join in the fun! Plus, it is actually a great way for Angel to practise her writing too!

I think simple letters can speak of endless love, don't you agree?

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone important in your life?

For more ideas on crafts for kids, visit my gallery here.

******

<a href="http://www.ahappymum.com/search/label/Creativity%20521"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EX56ybBys_uFPO8joDh7taC-eGCDhEvV14VTnVAcG7hB_0T3xhE8IcJplBwvkpOO0hpTncN_C5k9aD86K8-eVSzN9SjTz1hh7W5hblULqvYNkeW8oqr4KLZ7xPD1O7iu80wLAHea3kT3/s150/Creativity%2520521%2520button.jpg" alt="new button" width="125" height="125" /></a>

To fellow bloggers who have a fun craft session, DIY tip or creative idea to share, come join in the party! Highlight and press Ctrl + C to copy my button above, include it in your post/sidebar and add your link below. I will be hosting Creativity 521 on the 5th and 21st of every month, do hop over for more inspiration. Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!