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Valentine's Day Crafts

Valentine's Day fun for everyone

Valentine's Day Crafts

Valentine's Day fun for everyone
 
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Valentine's Day Crafts Boxes and BagsCrafts using Recycled Materials

Milk Carton Cuckoo Clock Valentine Mailbox

Whimsical Valentine fun for classroom and home!
Recycled milk cartons - cuckoo clock Valentine mailbox
What you will make:

Recycle a milk or juice carton (or any size gable-top carton) into a whimsical Valentine’s Day mailbox for classrooms or home! Create a cuckoo clock design using free printable patterns, or decorate it with your own unique ideas. Love upcycling? Check out Recycled Milk Carton Gift Boxes for more fun projects, including townhouse and church bank designs!

Here's what you need:
  • Empty milk or juice cartons (gable-top)
  • Poster board or cereal box cardboard
  • Computer paper
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • White glue (Elmer's or PVA)
  • Foam brush
  • Ruler
  • Pencil or pen
  • Tape or staples

This project is rated EASY to AVERAGE to do.

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Before you start
  • Make a place to work.
  • Read all of the directions.
  • Gather everything you need to do the project.
  • Think about the project. Imagine how it will look and what you will do with it.
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How to Make a Valentine Mailbox from a Milk Carton

Read all of the steps before starting.
Step 1: Prepare Carton
Prepare milk carton, cut off gable

Any gable-top milk or juice carton will work well for this project. Open the gable and thoroughly wash the carton. Allow the carton to dry completely—overnight is best.

Cut the gable off the top of the carton, cutting on the folds all around the top of the carton. Discard the gable top.

Step 2: Construct Valentine Mailbox

Turn the carton into a mailbox-shaped box by cutting roof peaks and adding a roof. Make a pattern for cutting the roof peaks by cutting a triangle from paper. Make the triangle's base the width of the box and make the height one-half the width of the box.

Cut roof peaks for house and cover box with paper

Trace the triangle onto opposite sides of the box. Be sure to point the tip of the triangle up and align it with the top of the box. On the other two sides of the box, use a ruler to draw a line connecting the bases of the triangles. Cut all four sides of the box. You should have two roof peaks and two flat sides, even with the bases of the peaks.

Cover the mailbox with construction paper or decorative paper. Use a good quality white glue spread thinly on the paper with a foam brush. Fold the excess paper at the top over the sides and the roof peaks, then glue or tape the paper edges inside.

Step 3: Cut Roof
Cut roof and fold

Cut a roof from cardboard. Make it a little wider than the box width and long enough to cover both sides of the roof plus ½" (1 cm). To determine the roof's length, measure along the roof peaks. For most ½ gallon cartons, a 4¼" by 6" piece of cardboard should work for the roof.

Fold the roof in half. Tip: Score the fold line with the tip of your scissors to make folding easier.

Step 4: Attach Roof
Attach roof with tape on the inside of the box

Place the roof on top of the roof peaks. Attach one side of the roof to the mailbox with tape from the inside. Leave the other side loose to open easily. You may want to cover the roof with colored paper before attaching it to the mailbox.

Step 5: Print Cutouts

Choose clock cutouts—black & white or colored patterns. Download and print the pattern. Color the black & white cutouts, or use them as patterns to trace onto colored paper.

Valentine Clock
Printable pattern for a Valentine theme cuckoo clock

Patterns are Adobe PDF files. The Adobe Reader is available for free.

All of Aunt Annie's Crafts project patterns are designed to be printed on standard letter-size paper (8.5"x11" or A4). When printing from Adobe Reader, you may need to select Auto-Rotate and Center or Choose paper source by PDF page size to ensure the best fit.

Step 6: Cut and Glue Cutouts

Cut the cutouts, then glue them onto the box to make a cuckoo clock mailbox. You could also make your own decorations. What other ideas do you have for a milk carton mailbox?

Cut and glue cutouts to decorate the cuckoo clock Valentine mailbox

Your Valentine’s Day mailbox is ready!
Use it to collect heartfelt cards in style, or create more for friends and family!

 Recycled milk cartons - cuckoo clock Valentine mailbox

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