My family has a tendency to dump mail, keys, notes..  just junk in general on the little sliver of counter top that is conveniently located just outside the mudroom. I hate it. There is always a pile of stuff there. And I feel like it’s always looking at me. So, I decided to do something about it. I wanted DIY a rustic mail organizer.

I usually have a half used pallet laying around somewhere, so I went out and peeled off a single board that looked straight. Perfect.

The counter that is always covered in junk is only 12 inches wide, so that is how wide I wanted to make my  mail organizer. I cut three pieces at 12 inches, and two more pieces at 4 3/4 for the ends.

I put a little wood glue on the edges and used a finish nails to hold it securely together.

Next, I sanded the edges to make it smooth, then used dark walnut stain sparingly around the edges. I think this makes the wood look older and a bit vignetted. I just dab the corner of an old rag into the stain can and rub it into the wood, leaving the middle stain-free.

After that I got on the laptop and designed what the front of the mail organizer would look like. I wanted it to look like a piece of mail itself. I created something like this, but used my family’s real information.

To get the image on the wood, I sanded the face really well. This prepped the area for the ink, and also brightened the center, allowing the words to show up better. I went back to the laptop and horizontally flipped the image and printed it on a piece of wax paper. Using this method was great because I didn’t want the image to come out perfect and bright. I was going for something more faded and weathered.

I placed the image face down, so the ink was in contact with the wood and used a credit card to firmly press the ink into the wood. I rubbed it pretty vigorously for a few minutes, pulling up the edges of the wax paper to see how the image was transferring.

When I decided it was dark enough, I pulled up the paper and my wooden envelope was finished! I threw a jar in to hold scissors/pens, and now I’m a happy camper!