Make a Miniature Halloween Mailbox -Perfect for Tiny Treats

Time for Halloween Mail to share treats with someone you love!

Oh yes, the Halloween mailbox where you can open the door and insert a tiny treat or a message. This mailbox is just the thing for your fall and Halloween decor. How about hiding a few small pieces of candy (not too many) inside the miniature Mailbox to delight a child of any age? Read below to learn how to make the Halloween Mailbox.

The Halloween mailbox is based on my Valentine mailbox design, but with different options to decorate it. It's also a little larger to hold a few more treats. There are different "Halloweeny" designs that you can use on the front door of the mailbox and on the mailbox flag - a spider for the front, a bat for the front and the flag, and of course, you need a pumpkin.

What do you need to make your Halloween Mailbox?

• Card stock - I use this brand of card stock 65# or 110# will work
• Glue - for this project I used Bearly Art glue, but really any glue works for this project
• Tiny brad
• A way to cut out the pattern - Design No. 169 - either by hand or using a machine like the Cricut.

Instructions for the Halloween Mailbox - Design No. 169

1. Download pattern - Design No. 169 - the Halloween Mailbox from the Paper Glitter Glue library in the September 2024 section of the library
2. Cut out the pieces you want for your version of the Halloween Mailbox
3. Fold along score lines
4. Glue layered pieces together
5. Attach the base layers together
6. Assemble the mailbox
7. Make Halloween mail

Read below for more details on how to make the only slightly spooky Halloween mailbox.

1. Download the pattern from the Paper Glitter Glue Library - Design No. 169

The Halloween Mailbox is design no. 169 in the September 2024 section of the library. For your convenience I've got the design available in two formats - as a printable PDF pattern and the SVG cut file for cutting machines like the Cricut.

To get access to all the Paper Glitter Glue library if you don't have the password, just subscribe to my newsletter and you will get the password right way.

2. Cut out the pieces for the little mailbox

To cut out all the mailbox pieces, I use my Cricut Maker, but you can use other cutting machines like the Cricut Explore Air or the Cricut Joy Xtra. It's too big for the Cricut Joy unless you reduce it in size so it's no wider than 4 inches which is about 20% smaller. Just upload the SVG file to Cricut's Design Space.

In addition, there are several pieces with score lines. For each of these pieces, select the score lines, go to the operations menu (at the upper left side of Design Space)and change to SCORE. After that, select the score lines and the piece it is grouped with and hit ATTACH at the bottom of the layers panel. That way Cricut Design space understands exactly where the score lines go.

In the photo below, you see all the pieces with score lines with the score lines designated and attached.

Cut out the main body of mailbox

These are the pieces for the main body of the mailbox.

Cut out the pieces for the mailbox post and base

And here are the pieces for the base. Generally, I cut at least 2 pieces for the each of the parts of the circular base. If you do that and glue these layers together, it supports your mailbox so much better.

If you like the spider web, be sure to use contrasting colors to make it show up. Choose to use the vine or not.

Using a cutting machine like the Cricut Maker is just so much easier than cutting these little pieces by hand, but I have some advice to make it simpler to cut by hand.

Tips for cutting the pattern by hand

The best advice for cutting a pattern out by hand is to simplify as much as possible. And what do I mean by simplify? Well, instead of meticulously cutting out all the little tabs on the mailbox body, just round off the cut and then make snips with your scissors after you cut out the main shape to make the tabs.

You can also use a set of dies and a die cutting machine for more Halloween elements.

Front Flap (the mailbox door) for the Mailbox

For the front flap or the front door of the mailbox, you have a choice of 3 different designs. The plain version gives you an option for a different background color choice.

Flag options

And you have some choices for the mailbox flag as well. My favorite is the little tiny bat. In addition there is a plain version so you can choose the background color for your design.

Now you have all the pieces cut out and the fun begins.

3. Fold along the score lines

Before you assemble your little mailbox, fold along all the score lines on the 4 pieces that have score lines.

4. Glue the layered pieces together

Next, glue the layered pieces together. Let's start with the front mailbox door.

Glue the Halloween layers to the mailbox door

If you like, choose either the pumpkin, the bat, or the spider. The spider design is the hardest one to cut out - sometimes the thin spider legs don't cut accurately. Then choose a solid background color.

The pumpkin requires 3 layers - a pumpkin cut out, the face of the pumpkin in orange, followed by a black background.

Glue the Layered Flag Pieces together

This is one of my favorite parts of the Halloween mailbox. I love having this little flag on the mailbox. In order to have designs on both sides of the flag, I glued three layers together with a contrasting flag color in the middle.

5. Attach the base layers together

To make a sturdy base that supports the mailbox well, glue several layers together. In terms of support, you could use cardboard instead which would be even better.

6. Assemble the mailbox

First, assemble the main body of the mailbox

For the initial step in the assembly, we need to glue the main mailbox body together. To help make the curve of the mailbox, gently curve the long strip of the mailbox body before you glue it down.

See how it looks when you glue it together with the main body glue tab on the OUTSIDE of the mailbox. Also I used a bit of painter's tape to hold it together while the glue set.

Next apply glue to the tiny tabs on the back mailbox flap.

Finally, glue the support strip to the back arched part of the mailbox.

Next assemble the front door flap

First, glue the layered design to the front of the door. Glue the support strip to the tabs on the front flap. Set this aside. Don't glue it to the mailbox body yet because it is so much easier to glue the mailbox post in place before the mailbox door is attached.

Assemble the post

Just apply glue to the glue tab to make the 4-sided mailbox post. There are flaps on both the top and bottom of the post. It doesn't matter which side is up because the flaps are the same size on both ends.

Glue post to mailbox body

First, fold the glue tabs inward and apply glue to what will be the underside of the glue tabs.

Insert the glue tabs and the post inside the cut out on the bottom of the mailbox body. You can tell that I had already glued the front mailbox flap on the mailbox body. That was a mistake.

Apply a little pressure to get the tabs to stick inside the mailbox. Again please note: It is much easier to get the post glued in place if you don't already have the front mailbox door glued on.

Next glue the front flap to the main mailbox

Now is a good time to glue the front flap to the mailbox body. There are a couple of important things to remember here. First of all, you want to be sure that your flap doesn't flop open. That means that you must crease the score line between the flap and the glue tab well so it easily forms a 90 degree angle. Check to make sure it does this.

Apply the flap INSIDE the mailbox. This is different from the way I've done it in the past, but it seems to work better when the flap is inside the mailbox.

Add the flag your Halloween mailbox

First, insert the little brad into the hole on the mailbox flag. Then insert it into the hole on the side of the mailbox. You can see the brad best on the purple mailbox. I prefer tiny brads, but the large one was the only one I had.

Glue the mailbox post onto the circular base

To glue the mailbox to the circular base, insert the post into the square in the center of the circle. Push it down far enough so you can apply glue to the tabs and adhere them to the bottom of the circular base.

Flatten the tabs to the bottom of the circle base.

Glue an additional circular layer to the bottom of the base. That helps your Halloween Mailbox stand up much better. Generally I glue a couple of extra circular layers together to give weight to the bottom of the mailbox.

And that's all you have to do to make your Halloween mailbox.

But for even more fun, make the tiny Halloween envelopes for your mailbox

The little envelopes are so easy to make. Just fold along the score lines, then glue the flaps down. Glue a tiny stamp to the front. You can use the Halloween flag cutouts to decorate your envelope as well.

Be sure to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board so you can remember where you found the pattern for the tiny Halloween mailbox/

I do hope you will make it and share it with me in the Paper Glitter Glue Facebook group.

Questions about making the Miniature Halloween Mailbox?

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I am always happy to help.

It's a good day to have a good day, I think.
Lucy