Blue’s Clues was a very popular show when I was a child. I introduced it to my little cousin who grew to love the show.
My cousin is no longer a child, but my kids are. My 2-year-old son has started to love the show and all toys related to Blue! He has his very own Handy Dandy Notebook, Tickety Tock, and Slippery Soap. This show is great for developmental skills and imaginative play with how interactive the show is. The main characters have so much fun on the show with Blue looking for a paw print and Josh sitting in the Thinking Chair.
My 5-year-old daughter also enjoys the show because Magenta wears glasses like her. It is great having a show with a special message that teaches children wearing glasses is a good thing.
This year for my son’s 2nd birthday, we decided to give him a Blue’s Clues birthday party.
If you want to throw your child a Blue's Clues Birthday Party, check out my Blue's Clues Birthday Party Ideas Here.
We thought it was the perfect theme for the boy who loves all things Blue.
I decided to get creative and make him his very own Mailbox from the show since his favorite song is Mail Time! I wasn’t sure how hard it would be, but I did not want to buy a real metal mailbox for safety reasons. I thought it would also be a great place for party guests to put his birthday cards, so he feels like he's receiving his own letter. If you wanted to add your own birthday gifts for the birthday child into the mailbox, you could add a wooden postcard or some sticker sheets they can be surprised with.
I was up to the challenge! I found an old shoebox from my husband’s shoes and came up with some great ideas to make the mailbox.
Are you interested in making your own Blues Clues Mailbox for your children? Check out my step-by-step instructions for a Blue’s Clues DIY Mailbox.
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Supplies:
1. Large Shoebox
I wanted to make the cardboard mailbox as big as possible, so I used one of my husband’s sneaker shoeboxes. A thicker shoebox is also a better-quality cardboard to use. If you don't have a large shoebox, you could use a large think gift box.
2. Extra Cardboard
You will need more cardboard for the mailbox, so I used an old Husky Garbage Bag box as well. This box is also made of thicker cardboard and can be cut to fill in your mailbox where necessary.
3. Assorted Construction Paper
I used dark purple, light purple, red, black, and white paper for this mailbox. Each color paper is specific for a certain park of mailbox. Depending on how big you make your mailbox, you will need at least 4 pieces of dark purple paper, 2 pieces of light purple paper, 4 pieces of black paper, 1 piece of red paper, and 1 piece of white paper. If you want to get creative, you could add blue construction paper to the inside of the mailbox instead of black.
Grab a package of Assorted Construction Paper Here on Amazon.
4. Brass Plated Fasteners
If you want your mailbox to be a working mailbox, brass plates fasteners work best for this function. You will need a minimum of 3; 2 for the mailbox door and 1 for the flag.
5. Magnets
To keep your mailbox door from falling open, you need something to keep the door shut. A magnet will allow you to shut the mailbox door to the top of the mailbox opening.
6. Scissors
Most projects call for a good pair of crafting scissors. You will need scissors strong enough to cut through thick cardboard.
7. Crafting Glue
I have found crafting glue works best for gluing down construction paper. Hot glue tends to burn the paper if your glue gun gets very hot and glue sticks do not hold for long. I use a crafting glue or Elmer’s Glue to glue paper.
8. Packing Tape
Packing tape can secure paper corners or edges to keep them more secure and permanent. You can glue right over packing tape as well.
9. Stapler
The stapler is not necessary, but I find it gives the project a more permanent hold. You can also hide staples under construction paper and tape as well.
Instructions:
1. Gather your supplies. Make sure you have everything you need before beginning. I hate getting up halfway through a project to run to the store. If you plan a few days ahead, you could use Amazon to order your supplies to get free shipping on your entire order with Prime.
2. Unfold the top flap of your shoebox. If it is a lid, unroll all the sides of the shoebox. Make sure all the folded sides parts of the lid are open.
3. Cut off extra pieces from the 2 shorter sides of the lid. Any uneven pieces trim off, so the lid is symmetrical.
4. Lay the lid with the top facing down and roll the lid so you’re rolling from one long side to the other long side. This will give your mailbox a rounded top.
5. Unroll the top and staple the 2 sides (or 1 if your lid is already attached on one side) to the inside of the bottom part of the box. The top lid should now curve from one side of the box to the other instead of lying flat. By keeping any extra cardboard that was previously folded, you are giving your curved top more length.
6. Choose a small side to be the mailbox door. Cut straight down both sides to allow your door to open.
7. Use your extra cardboard box to add to the door and short back side. The curve adds more open area, so the extra cardboard will fill in these gaps. Staple the extra pieces to the top of the flaps, trace around the curve with a pen, and cut out the cardboard. Use packing tape to secure the extra cardboard and cover the staples.
8. Add a piece of cardboard straight across the top curved part of the mailbox opening. This will be where you attach your magnet to keep your door shut. Attach using staples.
9. Cut your mailbox door off completely by cutting straight across the bottom of the door. Add extra pieces of cardboard to the bottom sides of the door. These will be attached to the very bottom of the door and will be used to attach the door to the mailbox. Attach them by stapling them down.
10. Cover the outside of the mailbox with dark purple construction paper, but do not cover the door. Glue the construction paper down and set aside to allow to dry.
11. Use some trimmed pieces or extra cardboard for the flag. Cut out 2 matching pieces to double the thickness. Connect with packing tape.
12. Cover flag with red construction paper. Attach construction paper to flag with glue.
13. Cover inside and outside of the mailbox door with light purple construction paper. Glue construction paper down to cardboard.
14. If you want to, cover inside mailbox with black or blue construction paper. This will give your mailbox a more realistic look.
15. Poke a hole near the bottom of the flag’s handle and poke a matching hole near the bottom of the mailbox closest to the mailbox door. Place your flag on the mailbox so the holes match up and push your brass plated fastener through the holes from the outside to the inside of the mailbox. Bend the fasteners arms outward so the flag is tight to the mailbox but can still rotate up and down.
16. Poke holes through the extra small pieces at the bottom of the mailbox door and poke matching holes on both sides of the bottom of the mailbox. Place your door against the mailbox opening so the holes match up and push your brass plated fastener through the holes from the outside to the inside of the mailbox. Bend the fasteners arms outward so the door is tight to the mailbox. Make sure you can open and close the mailbox door without force.
17. Glue one magnet to the top middle of the mailbox door. Glue the second magnet to the extra cardboard attached on step 8. Make sure the magnets line up and can be opened and closed easily.
18. Cut 2 circles out of white construction paper and 2 slightly smaller circles out of black construction paper for the eyes. Attach them to the mailbox door using glue.
19. Cut a large “U” for the smile out of red construction paper. Attach it to the mailbox door below the eyes using glue.
20. Step back, admire your mailbox, and watch it come to life!
I loved making my son’s Blue’s Clues mailbox for his 2nd birthday. We were able to use the mailbox for birthday cards at his birthday party and it is a fun mailbox for him to play with after. The special features I added to the mailbox made it even more fun and our little clue-finder loved opening it to pull out his cards at his birthday party.
My daughter has requested a Gabby’s dollhouse mailbox for her birthday, so I may find a way to convert the Blue’s Clues mailbox into a Gabby’s Dollhouse mailbox!
Making a mailbox is such a cute project and is a great addition to a themed party.
Have you made a mailbox before? I would love to see them!
Comment below to share your DIY mailbox!
