— January 12, 2024
TagsGifts for Kids
— January 12, 2024
Kids
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TagsGifts for Kids
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A Handmade Felt Mailbox for Valentine’s Day and Beyond
A few years ago we shared a project to make a paper Valentine’s Day mailbox that kids can use to carry their valentines to and from school. Because we are always trying to one-up ourselves, we created this tutorial to make DIYplay mailbox out of felt. This adorable play mailbox is perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the tutorial is great for a DIY toy any time of year! Customize the design with your own color palette and accents to really make it your own. This project is something that can last for years to come, and it’s a great activity that you can make together with your kids, especially if you want to start introducing some basic sewing stitches.
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Steps
Start by gathering your tools and materials, then print the PDF template below to use as a guide for cutting your felt mailbox pieces. Find all the detailed instructions in the download below, and then use the photo tutorial for a visual guide as you craft!
Tips
We picked out our fabric from our local Fabric Depot because we were able to find 12 x 19 sheets. You will need the larger sheets in order to cover the entire mailbox. For this project we also used mesh sheets in order to hold the shape of the mailbox and flag. It’s such an easy crafting trick, and you can find mesh sheets at any craft or fabric store. When you are cutting your felt letters, we recommend tracing the template onto your felt, then snip with a small pair of scissors for more precise handling. To cut the heart out of the A, fold the felt piece in half.
As you can see in the tutorial, we use stitch witchery to adhere the letters to the play mailbox. You can find stitch witchery in bolts so that you can trim any sized piece that you need. Be sure to place a piece of cloth between the iron and the felt when you are ironing – the felt can burn easily and it can also start to smell, depending on the quality of the felt. If you wantsome guidance on blanket stitching, head over to our Felt 101 video for a detailed tutorial!
You’ve Got Mail!
To fill your DIY play mailbox with valentines that your kids can bring to their classmates, take a look at all of our printable kid’s valentines for a huge variety. If you are interested in making more DIY toys out of felt, you will loveour irresistible collection of felt animal stuffies. Find all of our Valentine’s Day DIYs for holiday inspiration, or pop over to our membership page to join our crafting community. Always feel free to share your project ideas with us in the comments, we love getting you in on the creative process. Cheers! ~ Lia & Team
Tools
- Scissors
- Small Scissors (recommended for cutting letters)
- Embroidery Needle
- Sewing Pins
- Iron and Extra Cloth for Ironing
- Marking Pen
Materials
- Lia Griffith Wool Blend Felt — Turquoise (4 sheets) and Ruby
- DMC Embroidery Floss — Light Turquoise (598) and Christmas Red (321)
- Plastic Mesh Sheets
- 2 Small Magnets
- 1 Large Red Button
- Iron-on Adhesive (e.g. Stitch Witchery)
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Discussion
Ask Lia or the community!
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24 Comments
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Vanessa Aguilar February 11, 2024 at 9:31pm
Hello I would like to know how to blanket stitch the magnet handle in between the pieces? Please I would like to finish by tomorrow
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Lia Griffith February 12, 2024 at 10:40am
@Vanessa Aguilar
You can just do a ladder stitch on that section. Your stitch lengths can match the blanket stitch and it will look great!
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Bethany Saunders March 1, 2023 at 10:57am
I used 12×18 inch blue felt and discovered I needed four blue sheets, not 3 as listed above. I’m not sure even with the extra inch from the sheets linked above that I could have gotten all the blue pieces to fit on just 3 sheets. Just FYI 🙂
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Lia Griffith March 1, 2023 at 9:58pm
@Bethany Saunders
Thanks for your feedback. I will pass this along to the designer.
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Chelsey Kondrak January 11, 2024 at 7:09pm
@Bethany Saunders
I found the same thing! I only ordered three turquoise felt sheets based on the listed materials. I’m disappointed I need to order additional felt before I can finish this craft!
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Lia Griffith January 12, 2024 at 9:30am
@Chelsey Kondrak
I know Krista made it with 3 but I went ahead and changed it to 4 to give extra. Hope that helps future crafters.
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Lauren Woelfle January 2, 2023 at 7:39pm
It’s the cutest!! When I check I still don’t see the heart in the SVG and it’s not showing the bottom piece (just the smaller rectangle for the mesh cutout). Am I checking it wrong? Thanks!
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Lia Griffith January 3, 2023 at 1:19pm
@Lauren Woelfle
I passed it over to Krista, and she says: Yes, it looks correct now. And the two rectangles in the SVG are for the bottom panel – the one for the top is large and doesn’t fit on the cutting mat, so it needs to be cut by hand. I have noted in the instructions and pdf template to measure out and cut the top panel 10×14 by hand.
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Allyson Wichner January 27, 2024 at 5:10pm
@Lia Griffith
Hi, You may want to double check the .SVG file again.
Unless I’m totally missing something, it seems like the bottom panels should measure around 5.5″ wide (since that is the width of the door & end) x 10″ deep, however on the .SVG, they are still measuring at 10″x14″ which you mention is the size of top part that should be cut by hand.
Thanks!Reply
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Lia Griffith January 29, 2024 at 10:59am
@Allyson Wichner
The is fixed and you are correct! Thanks for pointing that out. 🙂
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Lauren Woelfle January 2, 2023 at 2:12pm
It looks like there are a few missing pieces of this SVG for this project- for example the heart and I think the bottom?
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Lia Griffith January 2, 2023 at 3:01pm
@Lauren Woelfle
Hi Lauren, I just checked the file in Design Space, and it looks like the bottom is there, and now the larger white heart that goes onto the mailbox flag is in place. This is such a cute project! I might need to make one for my neighbor girls.
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Lauren Woelfle November 14, 2022 at 6:04pm
Do you know if there is any way to upload the template into a Cricut to cut out the pieces?
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Lia November 15, 2022 at 9:40am
@Lauren Woelfle
Yup, just made an SVG of the project and added it in. Keep in mind you will still want to cut out the plastic mesh sheets by hand, but the paper template for those is included in the SVG.
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Elizabeth Monroe February 19, 2017 at 1:50pm
Is there a machine that cuts out the crepe paper flower petals?
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Lia February 20, 2017 at 8:06am
@Elizabeth Monroe
Not that we know of 🙁
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Racheal Valderrama January 29, 2017 at 8:09pm
I love this mail box and I can not wait to make it, my grand children are going to love it…
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Lia January 30, 2017 at 10:47am
@Racheal Valderrama
Yay! This was a fun one 🙂
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Kelly January 28, 2017 at 10:53am
Hi – What color is the blue felt? I looked on Fabric Depot’s website and I believe their color photos are not very accurate, as I have some of these colors at home and they look quite different from their photos online. So I wasn’t sure what color you used here, and if it is still available! Thanks!! 🙂
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Lia January 31, 2017 at 10:16am
@Kelly
Unfortunately it looks like they do not have the same colors online as in store, and we are unsure of the actual color name because the felt didn’t have a sticker on it. We do know it was a wool blend in a true, bright aqua color. Hope that helps!
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Marisa January 25, 2017 at 11:53am
Hi Lia, This is beyond adorable! I think my son would love it — he already plays with his felt hamburger (made with your design) everyday!
For the magnets, about what size would fit in the red tab? 1/2 in diameter? Or do they need to be smaller?
Also, for the mesh, I’ve seen some Darice brand mesh online, with reviewers saying it’s “floppy”. Is that better for this type of project — so it’s more bendable? Or should it be a little more stiff? If you have a brand/item name you’ve used, would love to hear–rather than have to return products online!
Thank you!! I look forward to seeing your designs everyday. 🙂
Marisa
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Lia January 26, 2017 at 9:26am
@Marisa
The magnets we used were 3/4″ in diameter (which is about the same size as the red button). Smaller is fine as long as the magnet is strong enough. 🙂 We also used the Darice mesh and it worked well, so it is bendable when finished and not too stiff compared to using a plastic sheet or cardboard. Hope that helps!
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Marble Inlay January 24, 2017 at 11:54pm
so beautiful mail box and i really like its design.You shared amazing guide to design it and want to make it at my home.
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Lia January 25, 2017 at 9:18am
@Marble Inlay
Thank you 🙂
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