DIY money (post) box

You know you are a big snail mail fan when even Bisto gravy tubs appear to you as post boxes! I had the idea to turn a Bisto gravy granules tub into a post (money) box and this is how it turned out. 

Why a post box you ask? Well, I love sending letters just as much as receiving them and enjoy my trips to the post box. Sending the letters, notes and little parcels that I have enthusiastically put together, on their adventure to a person who is either waiting for them or will be surprised to get them (and hopefully have their day brightened a little) gives me such a happy and contented feeling. For me, it never gets boring to go and post a letter into one of those big regally red post boxes. I am still filled with amazement that letters manage to get to their right destinations at all, especially so quickly. 

So, I usually walk away (trying not to skip) from posting a letter into a post box with a big smile on my face. Having a smaller version of my own at home just made sense (just me?). A Bisto gravy tub seemed like the perfect thing to use to recreate a mini post box with it's shape and lid the perfect colour. 

I intended to make the post box into a money box, as I am always trying to save for something. I debated for a while whether to have the lid as the opening where the money would go in or to make an aperture just like a real post box where the letters (in this case money) usually go. I decided to go for the latter.

I know the detail proportions on my little post box are not exactly to scale, but it is just a bit of fun. If you would like to make one of your own you will need:

• An empty Bisto gravy tub/ or similar size tub (As they are cardboard be careful not to get them to wet when cleaning the inside. I suggest using a slightly damp sponge/cloth or wet wipe)
• Red card
• White paper
• Scissors
• Craft knife
• A pencil, black biro pen, white pen/pencil and a marker pen
• PVA glue and glue stick

This is how I made it.

1. Mark on you red card the width and height of the tub. Then cut out using scissors.

2. Draw the letter box opening onto the card and cut out opening. Then wrap the card around the tub again and mark out the opening onto that.

3. Using a craft knife cut out the letter box opening. Tip: If you do not have a craft knife or would prefer not to cut an opening, still draw the small rectangle. Instead of cutting the rectangle out though, colour it in black with a marker pen. Just remove the lid when you want to put money in or out.

4. Draw post box details onto the red card. Use a small rectangle of white paper for the post box collection time details. Write on and then stick the paper onto the red card using a glue stick. As its difficult to write that small you may just want to doodle instead of writing word for word or use my cheat option below instead. 

5. Glue the finished card onto the tub using PVA glue, matching up the letterbox openings
6. Place the lid on top and start saving!

Cheat option: If you don't like drawing why not use a picture off the internet. I confess, I found it tricky writing really small for the collection time info (the white rectangle) so instead I used a photo. I just searched Google images for a post box image and scaled it down to the size I wanted then I printed it off. I then cut out the bit I wanted to use. I realised though, I could have used an image for the whole door of the post box. So if you want to recreate this money box my time saving tip would be to find a good quality, straight and face on image of a post box. Scale to size when printing off (this may take a few tries) and then cut out the door section of the picture. Then all you will need to do is stick the image onto the red card that you have measured and cut out and draw the black rim along the bottom with a marker to give it a 3D effect.

So how is my saving going? Erm... well money wise not great, but note wise fantastic! It turns out my children really LOVE the post (money) box, they are also big mail fans. They haven't stopped playing with it and have been posting lots of little notes for me inside. It didn't occur to me that it would be something children would like (duh!), so I am happy that it has a multi-purpose use now. My lovely surprise notes certainly make up for the lack of savings!