Frame Turned Mail Holder

This is a functional craft.

It serves two functions.

1- It helps to cover the gaping hole that gives access to all the electrical wires for our retro radio system that runs through the house.

2- It also helps to hold all our mail in one place instead of being scattered on the desk. The boys use that area to do homework and I like to keep it cleared.

I used to have our dry erase calendar hanging over the hole. This was a pretty good solution until I realized things on the calendar were disappearing from fingers swiping the light switches on and off above it. I knew it needed to be moved.

First I thought of hanging a picture over the hole. But, what a strange place to hang a family photo, right? I came up with the mail holder idea. I was going to try to build something out of reclaimed wood from our shed. Then I merged my two ideas. I looked through the bunches of frames I had down in the basement from our previous homes. I found the perfect size and loved how the black frame looked in the space.

Evidently this frame got a little damp in the great basement flooding of '13 so the pictures was a little difficult to get out.

I decided to leave out the glass and everything inside the frame. I went out to the garage and found an almost perfect piece leftover from my window chalkboard project.

I cut it to fit and this is how it looked.

I wasn't sure what to use for the mail holder to actually 'hold' the mail and for it to look right with a picture frame.

I thought of a roll of burlap type stuff that I've had for a few months. I almost used it on my Christmas tree.

I used a combination of staples in the back and hot glue to unify the burlap material.

The frame had some scratches where the paint was coming off from being stored in a box. I used a Sharpie to color those scratches in and it worked like a charm.

Here it is.

Now to work on the mess left on the wall, the disgusting florescent light, and the gross desk top!