Organizing Mail is a Treasure

Yesterday I felt like being crafty, and I've been wanting to find something to hold our mail 

See? It just piles up!

so I decided to kill two birds with one stone (not literally of course:))

After work Michael and I went to Roberts Arts and Crafts and I got one of those cascading albums

It was $7, but with my 40%off coupon it was around 5! It came with 6 pieces, but I only used four of them

Then I grabbed my silver chain and started measuring, and using my new jewelry tools to cut and splice the chains to the measurements I wanted. 

I measured the total length of the cardboard to how I wanted it to lay, then I attached my chain through all 4 pieces. See in the picture? The chain is through all 4 pieces :-)

Note: In this project I used my jewelry tools and extra wire to make loops in order to cut and attach the chain to itself

Then I used a hole punch in all four of the cardboard pieces. Well, I wasn't strong enough, I had my wonderful husband do it instead :-)

Then I ran my chain through all of them

I measured how far apart I wanted the pieces, then I cut the chain at that place and made a loop to attach it to itself, to keep it from moving. (does that make sense?)

The chain I had left I used to create what I used to hang it on the wall

I then painted "Mail" on it.

It isn't completely even, but I'm super pleased! If it ever bothers me enough to change it, I can easily remove some of the chain to make it hang more evenly. But for now, it gives it character and I LOVE it.

Where do you keep your mail?

*Sorry, my lighting isn't great in these pics, and this is my first attempt at a tutorial. So, if I was confusing, or you need clarification on a step, let me know!