| Paint and Decorate a Mailbox |
From "DIY Crafts"
episode DIC-146 |
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Suzanne McNeill, founder of Design Originals, turns a standard metal mailbox into a rooster, using wood cutouts and painted-on feathers. Materials:
Standard metal rural mailbox
White spray paint
Spray sealer or brush-on varnish
Acrylic paint
Pliers
Screwdriver
Paintbrushes
Sponge
1" pine lumber
Pattern
Tracing paper
Pen or marker
Band saw
Screws
Sandpaper
Tack cloth
Paper plate
Metal screws
Drill
- Spray-paint the metal mailbox white. Let dry.
- Transfer the desired pattern, using tracing paper and a pen or a marker, onto 1" pine. Suzanne used a rooster pattern from the Design Originals Mailbox Menagerie booklet, which is no longer in print.
- Cut out the wood pieces using an electric band saw (figure A).
- Sand the wooden cutouts. Remove sanding particles with a tack cloth (figure B).
- Paint the cutouts in the desired colors, using acrylic paints and paintbrushes. Let dry (figure C).
- Paint feathers on the rooster's tail, alternating yellow and black acrylic-paint comma strokes with a paintbrush (figure D).
- Paint the cutouts of the rooster's feet yellow and white (figure E). Paint the wing cutouts white. Paint the rooster's head red and white.
- Attach the wings to the sides of the mailbox with screws. Attach the rooster's head to the top front of the mailbox, near the door. It may be necessary to drill pilot holes in the mailbox before screwing through the metal (figure F).
- Paint the rooster's wings gold. Go back over the wings with yellow paint, adding long strokes that resemble feathers (figure G).
- Squeeze black and white acrylic paints onto a paper plate. Dip the edge of a sponge into both paints, and pounce the sponge over the top of the mailbox to create the look of feathers (figure H).
- Seal the entire project with spray sealer or brush-on varnish.
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