Valentine's Day Mailbox

Back in the olden days (when I was an elementary school student) it was common for every classroom to have a Valentine's Day mailbox.  Students were supposed to insert their Valentine cards for fellow classmates into the mailbox slot.  On February 14th the teachers opened the mailboxes and distributed the cards to the students whose names were on the envelopes.

This was an exciting event because the cards were cute and often included a heart-shaped lollipop. Usually the sender of the Valentine card wrote his/her real name but occasionally the person wrote, 'secret admirer'.  Those were the best cards because they added to the mystery and excitement of the day.  Unfortunately, some students received no Valentine cards....heartbreak and probably the reason the classroom Valentine mailboxes were discontinued.

The base of my decorated Valentine box was a Big Island cookie box.  The salted cookies come in a blue and white box (like a cigar box) with a magnetic closure.  I decided to apply printed cardstock paper (Simple Stories from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) to the top, bottom and inside of the box.  The box top print design is of letters and envelopes so that seemed appropriate for a mailbox.  I cut out an old fashioned looking Valentine from an Authentique 12x12 cardstock and glued lace onto it before adhering it to the box top.  Red paper heart doilies, Petaloo flowers and K& Company die cuts were also glued down.

Floral print ribbon and a gauzy red one were glued around the sides of the box, over the striped paper before a bow was tied in front.

Of course, I had to decorate the inside of the box too. I always loved and still do love conversation heart candies so I gravitated to the Simple Stories 12x12 cardstock (available at HM BFC) with the candy heart design.  I used a Lawn Fawn 'Be My Valentine' die to cut the words from glitter paper (also from HM BFC) before attaching it to printed paper.  Foam sticker conversation heart candies (from my stash) added more cute fun.

I thought that the bottom of the box needed to be pretty too, so I added printed cardstock and a label from the K and Company die cut package.  I hope that this post has reminded you of a simpler time when not everything was politically correct but little things could bring big smiles.  I hope that I find a Valentine card (from my 'secret admirer') in my mailbox this year! *wink*wink*