I choose a very cute kit by Polka Dot Plum to embellish it, Que Sera Sera.

I measured the dimensions of the mailbox and prepared the digital parts I wanted. Then, I was ready to print.

Unfortunately, the mailbox is very small, but not small enough to print on letter paper, if you want to cover the whole side of the mailbox with paper. I used A4 paper because I had some at home (length 11.7 inches) and I could fit everything on one sheet; so your option would be either have this printed at your local print shop on 12 inch paper, or use a 12 inch paper at home, or use multiple letter papers.

I used matte paper because I’ve lately discovered I love it, but glossy photo paper would work too (though it’s more delicate to handle and might get ruined if you’re new to hybrid like me).

Once you have everything printed out, it’s time to cut. I used my cutter+ruler to cut the paper strip for the side, and scissors for all the other smaller bits.

To adhere properly the paper strip for the side behind the flag, I cut a small indentation on both sides of the paper in correspondence of the flag, so it would fit in nicely.

To cut the front and back parts of the mailbox precisely, I recommend first tracing the outline of the door with a pen/pencil and then cutting it out with scissors.

Now that we have all the pieces ready, we’re ready to glue. I used Mod Podge applied with a foam brush. I only used a very small quantity of Mod Podge and it worked very well.

Now it’s time for some embellishments! I didn’t have any matching ribbon, so I only applied a few buttons (I bought a 200 multi-color button pack at WalMart for $.88), sticking them with glue dots.

I used one to cover the ugly metal thing that holds the flag:

and a few for the front and back:

A very simple and cute project for Valentine’s Day! You can fill it with candies or small treats and a card, or just let it sit somewhere in your house (as I will!) to decorate for Valentine’s Day.