We have the 12 Days of Christmas, so why not the 14 Days of Valentines? I know Valentine’s Day is often referred to as a “Hallmark holiday,” but it’s a great way to acknowledge your love for your spouse, significant other, parents, kids, or whomever else you love in your life. Having an excuse to show your love is ok in my book, Hallmark holiday or not!
So here’s the deal with the 14 Days of Valentines: everyone in your home will get a “mailbox” (or whoever wants to participate). Beginning on 2/1, everyone will write a daily love note, a gesture of appreciation, an encouraging sentiment or a sweet reminder, then place the notes in each person’s mailbox. On Valentine’s Day, everyone will have 14 warm fuzzy notes to read showing them how much they are loved. I made these for Ryan and I 3 years ago and we still put notes in each other’s mailboxes; basically it has evolved into 1000+ Days of Valentines! 😉
So for the mailboxes, we’re going to get a little crafty with it!
What you will need:
Have you experienced the Podge? It is probably one of my favorite crafty delights. There are so, so many uses for it; there is even an entire blog devoted to this amazing little goody. Find it at Mod Podge Rocks, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mod Podge.” True statement.
2. Paper or Styrofoam plate to pour Mod Podge into
5. Valentine’s themed scrapbook paper
7. Small notepad (as you can see ours has been well loved!)
Ok, here we go! First you want to decide which scrapbook papers you will use to decorate each box. You can use all the same paper design, different papers for each person, or a collage style like mine (I used 2 designs of Valentine’s scrapbook paper). As you see with mine below, I ripped the pieces of scrapbook paper with reckless abandon, no pattern in mind. I laid the torn paper pieces out on the boxes and moved them around like puzzle pieces until I found a design I liked.
Now you’re ready to découpage with your Mod Podge. If you’re a Mod Podge newbie, check out this fantastic tutorial by Amy from Mod Podge Rocks for how to cover your mailboxes.
Place initial stickers on each box to mark who they belong to.
Finis!
Here’s how mine turned out. I liked this look with the raw edges, but you can certainly opt for a clean cover with cut to fit sizes for the box top and bottom.
If you choose to carry on with this gift that keeps giving as we did, this is how we signal to each other that the “mailman” has come. I admit that I still get a lil giddy when I see the cocked lid. Ok enough sap for one day! 🙂
If you’re not feeling so crafty, I picked up this cute little note sized box at Dollar Tree (they have different styles if you’re not an owl freak like me) which would work just fine as well!
Do you think any of your loved ones would enjoy this heartfelt gift? I hope it will be an activity that you can enjoy with the whole family. If you do make them, I would LOVE to see how they turn out, feel free to post in the comments or email me.
I hope you’re having a great week!
counselor says
If only couples would do this more and put us out of business.-a counselor
Heather oines says
I absolutely love this idea Lydia! Sometimes cards can be so impersonal because they aren’t specific to your love languages. Thanks for the great idea!! For those who aren’t so crafty can you buy a mailbox?
Lydia Nordhoff says
I’m so glad Heather! And yes, in fact, you inspired me to add a non-crafy alternative to the post, check it out above! 🙂