monday morning motivational mail :: family mailbox diy {tutorial}

I am a writer. I write stories. I write reviews. I write notes. I write lists. I have journals filled with words and scribbles and doodles and this and that.  And my children, like many children, copycat what they see Mom doing. So they write and doodle and draw. Even the 3 year old has notebooks full of drawings and “letters” (which are actually letters but not coherent words). And almost every day they all create these little cards for me. (The five year old is notorious for drawing me maps. These maps always end at the doughnut store. Ha!)  I love that they share their creations with me. I do! And I try my hardest to stop and appreciate every one they give me, but sometimes I’m in the middle of something that I just can’t stop – like when I’m cooking and have raw meat juice on my hands. YUCK! I certainly can’t stop what I’m doing to grab their gift right then. So I decided that we’d make a special spot for them to put their papers. Well, two problems. That space filled up quickly and with our house on the market, we have to try to clear the clutter as much as possible. So papers were getting placed in the special spot but then moved or lost. So I decided to make something that we could attach to the wall or a door and be out of the way. Initially, I imagined one spot for all the papers and then it dawned on me: if they’re giving me little gifts of their creations and little letters, they’d probably be thrilled if I wrote them back! So I made enough pockets for everyone in our family! I finished it last night and when I went to go take pictures of it, I found where my oldest daughter had already left little love notes for everyone.

Enough with the back story already! Let me tell you how you can easily make one of these family mailboxes of your own. Start by making a “sheet” of Scotch Duct Tape by sticking the edges of 3 pieces together. The length of each of these pieces is roughly 7 inches. Then pick a coordinating color and do the same thing but attach it to the first “sheet” and then trim the edges. You’ll end up with (roughly) a 5×7 double- sided sheet. Once it’s all trimmed and looking pretty, fold appropriately 2/3 of the bottom towards the top. Then slide the edge of the top piece in juuuuust a little and tape it down with matching Scotch Duct Tape. (I know, it kills me. I want them to line straight up perfectly, too. But if you do that, the pocket gets tight and it’s hard to get papers in and out.) You can stop there, if you want, and it will look like the top right picture. Or you can use a few small pieces of tape to add contrasting trim around the top. I think the trim really finishes it out nicely.And you’re done making the pouch! Now make one per person and then use tacks to attach them to a cork board. My kids started music camp this morning so my husband left them each a little note wishing them a great first day! I’m really hoping that this school year we’ll keep up the idea of Monday morning motivational notes and maybe a few other notes thrown in on random days for no special reason. Who doesn’t love a little pick-me-up every now and then?

Scotch Duct Tape :: $3.99/roll

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A SIMPLE OFFER for TEENS!
Scotch Duct Tape is having a contest and they want TEENS ages 13-18 to enter. All they have to do is create an original back-to-school craft with duct tape and submit a photo that shows how they are going back to school in style for a chance to win $1,000. The #TapeOn Back-to-School contest just launched and lasts until August 18^th on the Scotch Facebook page. The contest will include prizes for the top four winners with first place receiving $1000, second place receiving $500 and third and fourth place receiving $250.

Side note: You’ll see that the kids and I wrote something together about what kind of home we want to have and what kind of family we want to be. If you’d like to see that family motto, click here.