Decorating Cigar Boxes

I'm definitely not one to promote smoking, however recently I was given some empty Cigar Boxes by someone who's husband likes to indulge in them, and I was certainly happy to put them to good use! Most of them were used by the ladies in my Scrapbooking Group at Karingal Neighbourhood House, however there was one left at the end of the day, so I decided to decorate it myself, and this was the result:

The Cigar Box was made from cardboard and was already decorated in brown and cream tones, so I embellished it using an earthy-toned paper from the Reminisce Designer Prints Paper Pack and some Reminisce Paper Flowers. I cut the papers 1/4 inch smaller than the box measurements so that the existing brown base would frame the papers. There was no need to cover the left and right sides or the inside, as these were already covered with cream paper, so the completed item took me no longer than 1/2 an hour.

I discovered that decorated Cigar Boxes have a very rich and interesting history. Because Cigar Boxes were plentiful, they were used to make all sorts of items from furnishings to musical instruments. Some examples of these items can be found on the National Cigar Museum's website.

If you are looking for cigar boxes to decorate, you may find them in craft stores or through secondhand outlets.