How to make brushed aluminum labels

I was going to use a sticker from some spam we got in a box from amazon that had a really nice little coating on the back, but them mom threw it away, and I was also thinking that not very many people have spam-mail from a box just laying around. So I thought up an easier way of doing it where more people had enough stuff. Here it is:

1. Take some aluminum foil and the biggest slot screwdriver you can find.

2. Flatten the aluminum foil with the back of your fingernail as much as you can, and set it on top of several pieces of paper. (You want the place you are working on very smooth and even.) Also, make sure that it is on its shiny side.

3. If you look close enough on the screwdrivers tip, you can see little tiny humps. Take the screwdriver and face its tip going away from you, so that the humps point to either side of you.

4. Lay the tip flat on some aluminum foil, so that the bumps are touching it.

5. Push down hard on the screwdriver and scrape it on the aluminum foil by moving it sideways, but not so hard that the aluminum foil rips.

6. Repeat it several times, until it looks to the slightest bit more raw, then do it on the foggy side of the aluminum foil.

7. Don’t scrape the screwdriver as much on the foggy side. After you do it about three times, turn the aluminum foil over and do it on the shiny side a few more times.

8. Choose the side you like best, and cut a 0.8 cm x 4 cm square out of it. Or, you can use any other label size that you like best.

9. Take some double-sticky tape and put it on the back of the aluminum foil.

Note: It would have probably come out better if I had a bigger screwdriver with thicker bump grain.

How to make a mailbox costume for Halloween

I KNOW!!! COOLEST COSTUME EVER!

Here’s how to make your own:

EDIT: I included some pictures of a smaller, paper model of my costume I made:

Start with this:

1. Cut off two of the side flaps. It can be the two longer ones, or the two shorter ones, depending on how big your head is and how you want the mailbox head to look. I used the longer sides just to make it easier for you to see in my model pictures:

2. Cut off another one of the two remaining flaps from your box:

3. Round the first two flaps that you cut off. This is pretty hard, since what you are using is cardboard, and not paper. What I did with my full size model is fold the cardboard every half-inch or so, so that when I bent it up, it looked almost round:

4. Tape the rounded cardboard flaps onto the one short flap that you cut off to make the mailbox head:

5. Now cut all four corners of the box up so that it is not a box anymore, but just one big, flat shape of cardboard:

6.Now cut out about half of the long flaps left from where you just cut out:

Note: If you don’t get this step, or are really tall / have long arms, just skip this step and go onto the next one. You will need to find another bit of cardboard, though, for the little flag that goes on the mailbox.

7. Cut a flag shape out of one of the nubs you just made and discard the other one. For those of you following the note step above, cut a flag shape out of another source of cardboard:

8. Screw the flag onto the mailbox with a very short wood screw. I couldn’t show this in my picture, because it was too small. Or, if you just want to have the flag sticking up at all times, glue or tape it on:

9. Cut a half circle out of the back of the mailbox so that your head can fit into a slot. Cut out more, if necessary:

10. Back to that long, disinigrated old box that you cut up earlier. Tape some poles onto it if you want to make it more sturdy. Note that this is now or never, since you will be painting it up in the next step:

11. Paint the mailbox head mask and the body:

These steps included things that were too small, or too wasteful to make in my small, paper model.

12. You might want to implement a lid, also.

13. Make holes in the sides of the mailbox where you finished cutting out the head notch, and tie some elastic onto it.

A picture of me inside of the costume is coming up soon…

Here it is:

Thank you!