DIY Mailbox Makeover

Last fall we had to replace our entire mailbox and post.  The post had slowly rotten through after my son had accidentally knocked it over and broken the old one with his truck while sliding on the ice one winter.  My husband had put it back in the ground, much shorter than before of course, but it was done for.   It was time for a new one.  With a fresh post and new metal mailbox sitting outside all winter just waiting for warmer weather to update it, I am thrilled to finally get the chance to reveal a total DIY mailbox makeover for the blog.

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This mailbox makeover started out with a theme, a vintage truck theme, by chance also.  After my husband installed the new post and mailbox, I just happen to come across a metal cutout of a vintage red truck in a shop in Pigeon Forge and thought it would be perfect to mount on the mailbox post somehow.  I knew my husband could figure out the how part, I just wanted the rustic character of the old vintage truck sign to be part of the design.

 

During the winter we had a new mailbox and post and the metal truck sign attached to the post as the only new look for the mailbox and landscaping.

 

 

 

We actually own a vintage red truck.  A 1960 Ford F100 sits in pieces and parts in my garage with plans of one day being turned in to a rat rod.  It is red and full of rust and we just love it.  I’m sure my son will love finally picking up his truck even more if we would ever finish it!

Life, weddings, and other commitments have gotten in the way in the last couple of years.  No other explanation needed.

 

 

Now that the weather is much warmer, I could finally finish the DIY mailbox makeover design I had floating around in my head for months, and especially now that I owned a Cricut Joy™ and could make it happen so easily.

I did a little research on Google and found that the permanent vinyl is supposed to hold up in the weather for at least 3 years.  I guess I am going to find out if that is true.

 

 

I thoroughly cleaned the outside of the mailbox with cleaner and rubbing alcohol before applying any of the vinyl decals to the metal mailbox.

Using the Cricut Design Space software, I was able to create cutouts of a vintage truck – one for each side of the mailbox, and our address.  If you don’t have a Cricut or a friend who does and can make a decal for you – or you don’t want to free-hand paint on the design – then I suggest doing some shopping on a site like Etsy that offers some very talented shop owners to chose from.

 

 

 

 

On Etsy the prices are great and I’m sure a small business owner would appreciate the support right now.

Once I had the vinyl decal created and attached the the metal mailbox for my DIY mailbox makeover, my husband and I could concentrate on the landscaping around the post.

 

 

Our home’s landscaping is a bit rough.  As with any wooded lot, we are constantly fighting the buildup of leaves, the overcrowding of the trees, tree roots, and weeds. The struggle to grow a beautiful lawn is real!  It is a constant battle against nature and moles. 

The landscaping around the post was definitely another issue.  We are constantly fighting weeds in this area and the soil is a mixture of red clay and tree roots. So the first thing I needed to do was clean up the space around the post to be able to add some stones and garden soil for a rustic planter.

 

 

We started by clearing out the weeds and breaking up the soil around the bottom of the post.  Then we added a layer of garden soil from Home Depot to give anything we plant a good chance of surviving.

 

 

for the border of my new planter We used large rocks around the post of the mailbox.

To create a border for the planter we only had to walk around our yard and pick up large rocks or move them from other areas we had collected them at.  This area of TN isn’t called Rocky Top for nothing.

 

 

We are constantly pulling up new rocks after each heavy rain even after more than 10 years of living in this home.  I have been told that the original owners had a beautifully landscaped yard in the beginning so some of these rocks were placed around her original flower beds. Over the years as we have continued to cut back the overgrowth and wildness around the property we are uncovering her old flower beds.  It has become sort of like a treasure hurt to find an old section of landscaping or flowers that spring up when we remove years worth of leaves and overgrowth.

 

 

I have some beautiful Lenton Roses blooming in another area of the yard and was going to transplant some of those to the new area at the mailbox, but my husband saw these bright orange Asiatic Lilies at Home Depot so we planted those instead.

 

 

Now we have a new bright spot in our home’s landscaping and a new welcome for our mail carrier every day.  My DIY Mailbox Makeover is finally done!  During these times every little home update we can do to keep busy is a bonus in my book.  Go out and finish those home projects!

 

 

“Be not miserable about what will happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father, who cares for you today, will care for you tomorrow.” Saint Francis de Sales