Mailbox Reimagined
Woodworking Creations
Finished Mailbox and Flower Bed
My Christmas Present to myself.
While I am new to the field, I have enjoyed woodworking immensely. It is a stress-relieving hobby that I have used to my advantage over the past few years. Every day, I am trying to create something new and exciting. This brings me a lot of joy and keeps my mind active. I am also looking at this hobby as a retirement plan. Not so much as something that will be a steady source of income; however, I hope it will help supplement my retirement fund. The hobby will be more like a steady source of something to accomplish every day after I retire. I am afraid of becoming complacent with my life and just withering away because I have nothing to do with my mind, my hands, and my soul, woodworking and photography should help fill that gap that my job is currently filling.
One of my recent projects was a mailbox remodel. It took me four months to complete, but it was worth it. I followed a friend’s advice about taking more time to make something. Her advice came on the heels of my being completely worn out after doing the bench build I worked on in October. I was so exhausted after building that bench that it took about four weeks to pick up another tool in the workshop. That happens when you try to build something in two days vs. four weeks. That bench build should have taken at least two weeks, not two days. Kim, thanks for your honest advice. It helped with this project. As I have many times in the past, I used cedar fence pickets and other scrap wood to create this new mailbox design.
I love to reimagine and be creative. Many people see a pile of wood and think it is just junk. But I see the beauty in it and the potential for something great. Woodworking is just like photography in that respect. You have to see the beauty where many do not. If you can do that, you can create something unique and unforgettable.
I am a woodworker and a photographer; in woodworking, I love to take old, worn out, and sometimes end-of-life objects and give them a second life. I call it my "natural curb appeal" because I reimagine these old objects as unique and eye-catching items. My latest project was my mailbox remodel. I had seen some beautiful mailbox designs on Pinterest and other woodworking websites and knew I could create something just as beautiful, if not more so.
The original mailbox was a beaten-up, decaying old thing that was on its last legs. I firmed the old box structure up a bit and then reimagined it to be something new and beautiful. It took me four weeks to complete, I began on November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving, and just finished it on Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, but it was well worth the effort. I used cedar fence pickets to create the new mailbox and even added a few personal touches to make it truly unique. Such as building two wooden lanterns to hang on either side of the mailbox equipped with solar candle lights to give it that antique homestead feels. I added so many detailed touches that give it an overall beauty that I never imagined at the beginning of this project.
Woodworking is just like photography; it's all about seeing the beauty where many do not. So, if you have an old object around your home that you're thinking of getting rid of, think outside of the box and reimagine it to be something new. You may be surprised at the results.
