Curly Deco Mesh Mailbox Topper

Want a fun and easy way to add holiday color to your mailbox?

This topper made from deco mesh is sassy and eye-catching. 

All of the items that I used for making this mailbox topper came 

from Hobby Lobby but you can find similar items at other craft

stores.  The deco mesh and the ribbon are easy to find on sale

 at  50% off once or twice a month at HL.  You can use a HL

 40% off coupon to buy the wire metal mailbox frame and

 green zip ties in the floral supply section of the store. 

I found out that these wire frames are also are used to put flowers on

caskets and in graveyards to put flowers on grave headstones .

Regular price the items are $3.50 for the frame, $8 for each 

roll of 10" deco mesh, $10 for ribbon, $4 for zip ties.

Full price DIY...$33.50

Sale and coupons for supplies DIY...$16.25

The frame is pretty ingenious...it bends to fit the shape of your

regulation mailbox.  It is easier to bend when it is off of the box.

Here is the frame in the process of bending. 

To avoid scraping your mailbox, just bend it when it is off of the 

mailbox and then do small adjustments as needed to keep it snug

to the mailbox.  The rubber on the "arms" of the frame keep it from

slipping around and also help it from marring the metal mailbox. 

The wire bends easily but keeps its shape. 

If you live in a windy area you may need to tie the topper down.

Run wire, string, fishing line, etc. from the "loops" on one side of the frame,

under the mailbox and tie on to the "loops" on the other side of the frame. 

Once you get the basic shape that you need to have the wire frame

fit on your mailbox, you can work on adding the mesh inside your

house if you are a baby about being out in the weather like me. 

The mesh is 30' long.  Cut the mesh into 10" pieces. 

Roll each 10" piece of mesh into a spiral. Pinch it in the middle.

You can roll all of your pieces at one time and use something like

a clothespin to keep it tight or you can roll the mesh as needed

and keep the rolled mesh in your spare hand till you get three

rolls to zip tie onto the frame. 

If you have not used zip ties (or cable ties as they are also called)

before, you may need a moment of practice.  

Zip ties can be purchased not only at Hobby Lobby in the floral section but at 

home improvement stores and even Dollar Tree in the hardware section. 

I could not handle adding more than three "rolls/spirals" at a

time with the zip tie. The trick is to keep the rolls rolled as you

 add them. You can alternate colors (I only used two

but you could use three or more) in each bunch if you want to.

This first bunch shows four spiral/rolls but I went with three at a time after this one

 Pull the zip tie as tight as it will go to keep the mesh spiral

roll bunch from slipping around and to keep the rolls rolled up. 

Here is a view of the bottom of the frame after three bunches

were added to the frame...

...and from the "good" side...

Keep adding bunches of rolls to the frame with the zip ties.

good side

bad side

If you plan on adding other embellishments like bows, ribbon

doo-dahs, ornaments, etc., you can tolerate some "holes" in the 

coverage of the mesh roll bunches on the frame 'cause you will 

fill in the "holes" with other items.  Use zip ties, floral wire or

pipe cleaners to attach other items to the frame. 

Honestly, I went too tight on my coverage of the bunches when I

first was adding the mesh to the frame. I could have gotten by with

only the two rolls of 10" mesh but I needed to open up some extra

rolls I had purchased "just in case" to add fullness at the end. 

Here is what the frame looked like with two rolls of mesh...

If you want it really full, get more than the two rolls of mesh.

The more spiral bunches you add to the frame, the fluffier the

mailbox topper will be. Put spiral bunches on the horizontal

wires, the vertical wires and the "legs" of the frame.

 Cut the ends of the plastic zip ties so they are not sticking out

willy-nilly on your topper. 

Here is what that mailbox topper looks like with just the mesh...

It is cute but it can be even cuter with some ribbon added. 

Here are some candidates to add to the topper

I don't know what to call these ribbon bunches...doo dahs?

Anyway, the ends of wired ribbon that is cut into "fishtails" is

an easy way to add embellishment, color and pattern to the topper.

Pinch a couple of  pieces of 8" wired ribbon in the middle.

Wire the pinched center with floral wire leaving several inches

of wire on each end.  Cut the ends of the ribbon either on the 

diagonal or into "fishtail" or "notched" shapes. 

You could add a whole bow onto the topper but it tends to get

"lost" in the depth of the spiraled deco mesh rolls. 

Wire the ends of the ribbon "doo-dah" onto the frame where ever

you need some sassiness or to fill in a "hole". 

Slip your embellished mailbox frame onto your mailbox. 

You might need to keep the topper to the back of the mailbox

in order to use the flag when you want mail picked up. 

I only had a little of the striped ribbon left over from the wreaths

that I made last year for the front windows to tie in the topper.

I thought that the polka dot ribbon in basically the same colors

was a pretty good second choice for the main ribbon on the topper.

Make a Christmas Deco Mesh Wreath

Last year I tried to make a deco mesh mailbox topper using 

more of the technique that is/was used on the wreaths.

It wasn't horrible but it kinda of looked like a mish-mash of

mesh and ribbon. I never did a post on it even though I did 

take pictures of the process like a good blogger. 

I am much happier with the deco mesh mailbox topper made in the 

style of a curly/spiral deco mesh wreath but with the 10" mesh. 

This same technique could be used for other holidays or

occasions using different colors of deco mesh and ribbon

to make a fun and welcoming decor item for guests or for

folks just driving by your home.