Turn plain and unfinished mailboxes from AC Moore into Valentine gifts for your children!
The mailbox above is my son's. It was stained with Minwax Provincial (available at Lowes) and left to dry for 24 hours. The following day, I transferred the wording using a transparency method. Insert your transparency "paper" into your printer and print your design with the Mirroring Option so the words aren't backwards when applied to the wood. Put your transparency with ink down onto your wood and with a scrapper, apply pressure and rub all over the wording being careful to keep the paper in place to avoid smearing. Remove your transparency and wash it off for use at a later time.
NOTE: This transparency method is great and quick but be warned that if you are printing on an ink jet printer (as I am), the ink is water soluble. This means that water based varnish cannot be used to seal your project as it will smear the ink everywhere.
After transferring the wording I applied a coat of Minwax paste finishing wax with a lent free rag and let it dry overnight. I love the rustic look of this mailbox. All is left to do, is fill it up with some chocolates and valentine notes.
This Mailbox is my daughter's. Her room is filled with white distressed pieces of furniture with pink accents so I thought her mailbox should look the same!
I painted her mailbox with acrylic snow white paint and the flag a pale pink color and let it dry for one hour. I used the transparency method for the wording on here too. Note the somewhat faded result. Painted surfaces won't let the ink penetrate the wood as well but this method worked out for this project since I wanted to give it a vintage look. After letting the ink dry, I just sanded the edges and the places where I wanted it to look worned and with a small brush I applied a little dab of Minwax provincial stain on the distressed areas to give it some color. To give your painted project a somewhat glazed look like I did, just rub some generic baby oil over the stained areas making sure to wipe any excess oil. Once you have accomplished the look you want, apply Minwax paste finishing wax all over and you are done!
I love how these mailboxes turned out.
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