Last updated on February 19th, 2020 at 10:31 am
Use your Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker to craft this Valentine’s Day box! Use the free SVG files and tutorial to make this adorable mailbox—perfect for storing valentines or as Valentine’s Day decor!
I love making 3D designs with my Cricut—there’s something about watching a few pieces of flat card stock grow into a standing object that makes me really marvel at all we can do with a Cricut. This Valentine’s Day mailbox is one of those projects—the pieces don’t look like much after they are cut, but with a little bit of glue, you have an adorable mailbox, ready for valentines!
Valentine’s Day Box Supplies
To make this Valentine’s Day mailbox, you only need some simple supplies and your Cricut!
- Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker
- Blue LightGrip mat or green StandardGrip mat
- Scoring Stylus or Scoring Wheel
- To pieces of light pink card stock
- One smaller piece of pink card stock
- Tacky glue
- SVG Files (download using box below)
Valentine’s Day Box Directions
Set Up Your File in Design Space
Start by uploading the SVG file to Cricut Design Space (for more information, see Uploading an SVG to Design Space). When you import the file, all of the pieces will be stacked on top of one another.
Select the group and click “Ungroup” at the top of the Layers Panel on the left. This will separate your different pieces—you’ll see this reflected in the Layers Panel as well.
Now you can move those pieces individually.
Separate them out so you can see each piece. Use the Zoom feature in the bottom right to zoom out if needed. You will see a total of six pieces: Two sides, front, back, bottom, and door.
Before we can cut our project, we need to change most of those black lines to score lines. Start with the side pieces. In the Layers Panel, click just the black arch to select just that line.
Then go to the Linetype dropdown at the top in the Edit Toolbar and change the linetype from Cut to Score.
Now the line will be dashed—this indicates that this line will be scored instead of cut.
Do this with the remaining lines. First the other side, then the bottom, and then JUST the straight flat line on the front of the mailbox. You want to leave the other three sides of that as a cut line—this will create the slot for your valentines. See the below image as a reference—remember dashed = score, solid = cut.
Now we need to attach each of the pieces to their score lines so they score and cut properly. Select both the side piece and its score line and click Attach at the bottom of the Layers Panel.
You’ll see the two pieces are now nested under an Attach heading in the Layers Panel. Now your score line and the side piece of the mailbox will score and cut properly.
Do the same with the other pieces. Then click Make It in the upper left!
Cutting Your Valentine’s Day Box
From here, you’ll see all of your pieces laid out on their mats. If any of your score lines are on their own mat, click Cancel and go back and attach them to their pieces properly.
Then hit continue. Insert your scoring stylus or scoring wheel into your machine, and score and cut out your pieces! Check out these posts if you need help scoring:
Remember to choose the correct material setting for your material—glitter card stock is different than regular card stock for instance.
Assembling Your Valentine’s Day Box
Once you have all of your pieces cut, fold along all of the score lines and begin to assemble your Valentine’s Day box. As you are assembling, let the glue dry between steps so your mailbox remains solid as you build it.
Refer to the assembly guide below. By matching up the numbers, you can see how this mailbox will come together.
Start by gluing the tabs of the side pieces to the front panel, matching up 1L to 1L, 1R to 1R, and the top 2 tabs to the sides of the front panel as shown here:
To do the arches, begin gluing them to the front panel. Glue a few at a time and let the glue set, do the opposite side, and let those set, and then repeat until all the tabs are glued and dry. This will form the rounded top of the mailbox.
You will have one tab left, and this will be used to glue the back on in a bit.
Next, glue the bottom panel tabs (3) to the front and sides of the mailbox.
Now you’re ready to glue the back panel to the bag tabs of the arch and sides that were left from earlier, including the bottom piece. Once glued, the box will officially be closed off with the bottom attached.
Finally, attach the darker door piece to the cut out slot on the front panel. Make sure to line up the tops of both door panels so they are even. Valentines go in the slot above the door, and the door will work to retrieve your valentines!
Then you’re done! You can make this size for small valentines, or increase the size in Design Space for larger valentines! Decorate even further if you’d like—and then collect valentines from classmates and friends!
If you have any questions about this mailbox or how to assemble it, let me know in the comments. Happy Valentine’s Day!
More Valentine’s Day Projects, Printables & SVG Files
Get Yourself a Cricut!
Cori George
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