Post Office Progress

 I'm a little like the proverbial tortoise.  I know that slow and steady eventually wins the race so I continue to work away on the North Pole Postal Service.  I expect to have it completed by the end of February, if luck continues to be on my side!

When I closed off my last post I said I hoped to get the back door installed, maybe build a sorting table and some shelves in the back room, and perhaps add a little lighting to the back room as well.

I didn't build the table or shelves but I did manage to finally get my back door hinged properly into the door frame.  I didn't actually install the frame into the opening yet because I will be running some wiring for the extra lighting first.  

I had an inspiration photo for the back door which showed an industrial door that, while it looks like it is in 3 parts, the two pieces on the left are actually together and the single piece on the right is hinged separately.  This allows a larger opening for bringing bigger items in or out of the back room (like those large mail bags full of cards and letters).    For the glass above the door, I once again used the plastic I had saved from a package of bakery cookies I had bought at our local grocery store.  I used the same plastic for glass in the craftsman-style lights I made for the front room of the post office.  I really like the faceted look it provides.  I think it would also look good for glass in a set of vintage kitchen cupboards.

My next step is to make a handle for the door and a couple of deadbolts before I install the whole thing in its final position.

Before I do that, of course, I have to finish installing the last of my lighting.  Because there is no ceiling or ceiling joists in this building, I was stumped as to what I should do to add more light into the back room.  I had finally installed the trim at the top of the long wall on that room and thought that a string of lights right under the trim might provide the light I was looking for but how would I make that happen?  

I pulled out a package of those teeny little LED lights with the very thin, easily bendable wire.  The light string had 20 lights along its length - but the length was really too long for the room and the lights were placed quite far apart.  I tried folding the length in half and twisting it together so the extra 10 lights sat between the first 10 - still too long.  So then I bent it in half again, twisting together.  Still too long and I didn't like the look.  So I untwisted the whole thing and straightened the wire back out again.  Then I took a wooden skewer I usually use for cooking brochettes and started to wrap the wire tightly around and around, being sure to keep the coils pushed tightly together.  I like it!  

It may seem like an odd choice for some, but I think it will work perfectly if I tuck it up tightly against the molding at the top of the long wall.  We'll see how it looks in next week's posting!  

While we're on the subject of lighting, I also wanted to add an outdoor light near the back door.  One of these days I will learn to plan for these things before I start a project, not as an afterthought!  But then, that would ruin my perfect record of "flying by the seat of my pants", wouldn't it? *smile*  

In my stash I had a great light, made by Lighting Bug, which I purchased from Shelley at Freedom Miniatures almost two years ago.  It has a more industrial feel to it with it's slightly tarnished metal finish and a bare light bulb.  I loved it when I saw it even though I didn't know yet how I would use it.  When I decided it would be perfect for this project, the only issue was that it would be unusual for an outdoor light not to have some sort of cover over it to protect it from the elements.  So, I decided to add a top over the bulb.  I am using the little white plastic pull tab from a milk carton to make this top piece.  Once I have it in position I will paint it silver then tone it down and tarnish it a bit with a little burnt umber paint, then seal it.  I will definitely have this done for next week's post so keep your fingers crossed for me that it actually works like I see it in my head!

Still on the theme of lighting, I still had the wires and battery pack for one set of lights in the service area of the post office sitting exposed at the side of the building.  For the lights by the front door I had built a bench to hide the battery box from view.  For the lights on the other wall of the service area, and the bathroom lights, I built a water metre to hide the battery pack.  What could I do to hide this other set?  

In the end, I went online and found a picture of a front view of a Canada Post mail box, and also found a side view.  Inserting these pictures into Power Point, I used the horizontal flip option to make a mirror image of the side piece, then cut and paste so I would have a back piece (although since it is going against a wall, this wasn't strictly necessary).  Then I connected them side by side and used the "group" function.  I re-sized the whole piece until it was the size I thought it should be and printed it off on regular computer paper.

Then I built the body of the mail box from mat board, and wrapped the paper pattern around it.

I cut the centre piece of paper from the front as I had built the frame so I could put a drawer in the bottom to hold the battery pack.  I added small vertical strips to this bottom portion, including the separate front piece, a horizontal piece across the top of these, and painted them grey to resemble the bottom of an actual Canada Post box.  When this part was done, I glued the box in place against the wall of the building.

Then I punched out a hole in the side and glued the on/off button in place, slid the battery holder in the drawer, and slid the drawer in place.  Mission accomplished - battery hidden!

So - even though progress appears to be slow, every step forward brings us closer to the project completion.  With the end of February drawing ever closer, I will be giving it my best effort to finish the last details.  Good luck to me!!  And happiness and good health to everyone else!  TTFN!! - Marilyn