DIY Letter rack

Remember those lovely painters screens I found for 40 cents each? Well, I have an idea! I need a rack of some sort to hold mail by the front door. Our mailbox is a good deal down the drive here and I can't run back and forth to the mail box all the time. To save time I thought, why not make a letter rack or mail sorter to hold mail until I make the walk to the mailbox?

Scouring Pinterest usually yields several ideas to jump start the creativity and thus my own was sparked here. I started with the rack flipped over so the hooks that are used for holding it onto the bucket are at the bottom and pointed up and out. This will allow the screen to lie flat against the wall.

After searching through my paper for a coordinating one that wasn't too busy for the background or the wrong color for the room, I found the perfect paper. These sunflowers are cheerful and I have always liked them. I also found my paper cutter and prepared to cut.

Measuring the paper to fit the back side of the frame, I made several cuts working from larger to smaller. When I found the right size for back of the frame....

I taped it on. Seriously. Who would have thought? So easy and I can change it out later if I should choose!

Now I had tested the lay of long envelopes and short ones. The long ones fit fine across but the short ones would need to sit vertically. I considered using fabric to stretch between the two hooks to allow for more of a scoop but couldn't find any way to permanently attach it that would stay well and would not look cheesy. Thus I came up with magnets. Make sure these are really strong because they will be going through several layers of paper and they will have to bond to the metal well.

I had these adorable buttons from Studio G collections at Walmart. I love these! For $1 each I can stock up on a lot of awesome craft supplies and the collections change out every 2-3 months. (These particular ones were designed for Studio G by Hot Fudge Studio but a lot of their collections recently have been from Pink Light Design which I have just fallen in love with! But that's another story.)

These are so deceptively simple. Peel...

And Stick! That's it! Behold adorable magnets!

Here is the finished product on the wall..

With the long envelope... (Please excuse the junk mail used as an example)

And with the short envelope being held in place with a magnet.

This was so fun and simple. I was thrilled to find a use for the painters screen! I can't wait to make another one for a gift. I wonder who I'll give it to? Hmmmm....