Not the Bogey's Stogie Box

With prices being high on practically everything these days, it's amazing to me that you can still get a nicely constructed, wooden cigar box for FREE. Yea huh, not kidding! Smoke shops in my area are more than happy to give you these fantastic little boxes just for the asking. I was recently given two and I am going to show you what I did to one of them. Here it is naked below in its' former glory.

Remember last week's rice paper blog where I said that I was going to show you what I would do with one of the pieces? If not, you can refresh your memory below.

Rice, Rice Baby

After adding a coat of gesso on it, I looked through my napkin collection and took a brightly colored one out, removed the backings, and decoupaged it on top of the lid.

And what's that? Why, it's that piece of last week's rice paper glued down right on top!

I had a piece of old rope that I had been saving (as we all do... 🤪) and was so happy to finally find the perfect 'home' for it. I really love it when I can do this with things I have hung onto forever and a day.

And ouhhhhhhhhhhh, I still had some of those pretty shells and other seaside treasures that I inherited from a co-worker of mine awhile back. Some of these were also going to find a 'home'. First though, I played around with a basic layout before gluing them down.

I have to be honest. I wasn't exactly ecstatic with the final placement, but I learned what I would do differently the next time, so all good. I also added some gold painted squiggles adjacent to the shells like those on the rice paper.

While I liked the natural wood inside of the box showing, I decided it would look more finished if I covered it with a piece of gray and white stiff felt. I just cut out a piece of each and glued them on. Easy peasy.

Naturally, I still felt it needed a little more embellishing, so I painted the sides, front and back with a violet-colored chalk paint. Then I added some more gold painted squiggles just to pull everything together.

And voila! Here is what can be done with a simple cigar box that would otherwise be thrown away. Personally, I think that it will make a lovely gift, especially if it contains some handmade greeting cards, envelopes, and a nice pen. Of course, it could also be given 'as is' and the recipient could use it as a jewelry box, a cash stash box, etc.

So, the next time you are in the vicinity of a smoke shop, why not check out if they have any cigar boxes available? You don't even have to embellish it in order to upcycle it. You can simply adopt it and give it a forever home for your own special keepsakes.

---

Friends, before I sign off today, I want to let you in on a few things. As of March, of this year, I have been volunteering at a very kewl, non-profit shop where everybody working there is also a volunteer. I feel very fortunate to be on the creative team where I get to do what I love when I am there - painting on everything from corks to furniture! This store offers handmade, re-purposed works of art and I have been able to sell some of my art there, as well. So far, so good. 👍

So, with this being said, I'm excited to tell you that I am going to be changing my format here starting next week. While I will still be showcasing things that I have upcycled and publishing every Wednesday, there won't be much blogging. Some of you may even be happy to not have to read so much. LOL! In the meantime, I appreciate your loyalty, your 'likes', your 'comments' and your emails very, very much. Keep them coming!

I’ll be back next Wednesday to show you what I’ve been working on. Hope you’ll stop by again for a visit.   

Follow/like An Upcycled Artist on Facebook and Instagram. For my local followers, announcements when my new creations will be available for purchase at Cape Coral re:MADE will also be posted on both sites. Just click on the icons on the bottom of my pages to easily navigate there.

Note: If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe on the bottom of my pages. Subscribers receive a Wednesday email notifying them when I have published my new post. Once you subscribe, please add this site and email to your contacts, so the weekly email will not get sent to your spam or trash folder.