The inspiration: an Italian post box!

Use or modify this template for your own post box.

My friend at work is hosting a Valentine's swap this year. The mission was to create a Valentine themed box for another person. And I had the perfect inspiration - an Italian post box!

I started with a granola cereal box, approximately 6.25" x 8.5" and a slightly larger cereal box, approximately 7.625" x 10.125". The smaller box became the basic structure, and I used the larger box to cut out the front and the raised design elements. I turned the boxes inside out (gently pulling them apart at the side seam).

I made a sketch (with tracing paper overlaying a photo of the research) and than used that as a template to cut out the shapes. Some red spray paint and a handful of hearts later, and shazam - you have a Valentine's box!

After drawing all the line work (with a permanent pen - other ink won't stick to the paint) I hot glued all the pieces together (I'm impatient and wanted an instant glue bond, plus the thickness of the hot glue helps the pieces stand higher).

Hopefully she'll be able to use the post box throughout the year, and it was a great way to recycle a cereal box.