15 Awesome Cigar Box Projects
Updated on January 31, 2018
Have you ever gone through your garage or perhaps an older relative’s house and finding all kinds of regular old vintage housewares that they thought nothing of but that actually qualify as vintage now? We love finding pieces like this in our family’s homes or even just at thrift shops and garage sales because they’re like a small snapshot into the regular lives of your relatives in decades past. We also love that so many of the things we find this way actually make for great crafting tools and unconventional DIY materials. So, what’s our favourite vintage thing to upcycle lately, you ask? Well, we just can’t get enough of making awesome little things our of decorative old wooden cigar boxes!
Just in case you’re as intrigued as we were about the nearly endless possibilities for crafting with old cigar boxes, here are 15 of the coolest ideas we’ve either tried or come across in our search so far.
1. DIY cigar box
All right, we know we said that this post was actually about crafting with old cigar boxes, but the first thing we learned, which was actually what got us started in our love for cigar box DIY, was this tutorial on how to make your very own vintage inspired cigar box from scratch! We used this guide from Cigar Box Nation to build our own little wooden box in the right style and then we decorated it and gave it as a gift to our father, who actually has quite a wide cigar selection and need somewhere nice to store them.
2. Mini cigar box guitar
Perhaps you have an old cigar box that’s in perfect condition and that’s not currently being used, and you love the design on the outside but you don’t have the space to hold onto it unless it’s transformed into something you really love? In that case, it sounds like you’ve got the perfect materials for making yourself a miniature cigar box guitar! DIY Strat guides you through the process of creating a very small box guitar of your own using a small piece of wood as the neck and some crafting wire as the strings. The body of the guitar, of course, is where the cigar box comes in!
3. Guitar box ukulele
What if your taste in music is actually a little bit more folky and your ideal instrument is a little smaller than a guitar, with more of a unique twang? In that case, perhaps you might actually prefer making yourself a cigar box ukulele instead! Besides showing you the difference between the two types of instruments, Christopher J shows you how to make this slightly smaller version specifically.
4. DIY pochade box from a cigar box
Are you an artistic person but your skills actually like in things like painting and fine arts rather than in music? Well, you’re in luck, because cigar boxes will still be a useful crafting tool for you! We love the way Green Olive Arts turned their cigar box into a travel sized pochade by adding a stand on the bottom and a flat shelf in the top on the inside. A pochade is an art box that has a built in easel in the lid and a palette in the body with space for small tubes of paint and supplies sot hat you can paint on the go!
5. Even simpler cigar box guitar
Are you still thinking about how much you’d love to make yourself a cigar box guitar because you just can’t get over how cute, miniature, and vintage the whole idea looks, but you found the idea we showed you above just a little bit too complicated? In that case, perhaps you’d prefer this version from Makezine that’s slightly easier to make and intended for beginners who aren’t used to working with wood and small metal pieces yet. We promise you it’ll look just as cool in the end!
6. Cigar box ring holder
Is the cigar box you’ve found one of the lovely wooden ones that often gets saved and handed down, and yours is still in quite good shape so you don’t want to change or alter it too much because you don’t want to ruin it, even though you’d still like to upcycle it into something a little more useful? In that case, we definitely think you should take a look at this beautiful jewelry box style ring stand idea from Hometalk. They show you how to hand make and insert a layer of foam and material tubing that you can wedge your rings in between to keep them safe and easy to find.
7. Cigar box trinket storage shelf
Do you have several cigar boxes in matching finishes or shapes but either the lids are damaged or you just don’t need more plain boxed storage on that small a scale in your home? Well, perhaps you should turn to your walls instead! We love the way Make and Do Crew removed the tops of their boxes and tilted them, hanging them sideways so that the bottom of the box sits against the wall. Voila, you’ve made a set of little shelves that are perfect for placing little figurines or decorative trinkets. We love the way they’ve put pretty patterned wallpaper in the backs of the shelves for a little extra detail and style.
8. Cigar box guitar amp
Have you already made yourself a cigar box guitar or a series of other cigar box instruments, but now you’re like to start making DIY accessories for your actual guitar as well? Then here’s an awesome tutorial that will guide you through the process of making an actual working guitar amp inside a vintage wooden cigar box! That might sound like a daunting task, and it could be challenging if you’ve never worked with electronic pieces before, but this tutorial from Boston Biker has your back and will get you through it.
9. Patterned duct tape cigar box organizer
Perhaps you have a cigar box that’s a great size and still in good tape in terms of its construction so you’d like to use it for storing small things, but the outside is scuffed or otherwise aesthetically damaged so you’d like to give it a facelift? Well, if you’re looking for a quick fix that’s simple and a lot of fun to do, Organized Island suggests grabbing a roll of duct tape in your favourite colour or pattern and giving the whole thing a nice, new covering!
10. Cigar box craft storage
Have you found an old cigar box that looks like it would be the perfect size for storing some of your sewing, knitting, or other DIY supplies in your craft room but you’d like to be able to grab things from inside it quickly without having to unclasp and lift the top? Then we have a feeling this tutorial from Home Road might be just what you were looking for! They show you how to cut and hinge a pull-down door into the front face of the box so you can access your things two ways.
11. Sectioned organization box from a cigar box
Perhaps you’re the kind of crafting enthusiast who uses many little pieces in your art, like tiny beads for jewelry making or little stitch markers for knitting. In that case, we’ve found a little DIY storage box idea that works even better for you! Oh, That Mrs. Greene guides you through the process of sectioning the inside of an old cigar box into smaller inner boxes so that you can store little pieces without everything getting all mixed up. Talk about great crafting organization!
12. Stacked cigar box storage drawers
Do you actually have access to quite a few vintage wooden cigar boxes and you like the idea of transforming them into crafting storage, but you’d rather something complete that doesn’t just involve scattering a whole bunch of random little boxes around all the table surfaces in your crafting room? In that case, perhaps you’d prefer to make yourself a little set of drawers from stacked cigar boxes instead! That might sound intimidating, but this guide from Apartment Therapy is here to walk you through the entire process.
13. Cigar box and chain bathroom storage
Were you very interesting in the idea of turning little wooden cigar boxes into wall mounted shelving storage for small things, but you’re just not sure that the stuff you have in mind to set on the shelves will stay in place if you tilt the box sideways like you saw in the tutorial we showed you above? In that case, we think perhaps you might prefer this open box style storage shelf idea featured on Pinterest! They show you how to mount the box to the wall from the lid so the bottom sticks out like a shelf with an edging that’s perfect for setting things like bathroom supplies in. We like the way they’ve used a chain to ensure that the shelf stays at the right angle and doesn’t send all your things sliding around.
14. Stacked cigar box wine rack
What if you’re still very into the idea of wall mounted cigar box shelving but what you really need to be making yourself is a spot to store your wine bottles until you’ve cracked them open over dinner some night? Well, if your cigar boxes are the oblong kind with the sliding top, then Designs By Sara Lane has some good news for you! Their tutorial shows you how to cut one end of the box out and mount several of them stacked to create a hanging wine rack.
15. Personalized groomsmen cigar box favours
Are you tying the knot in the next few months and you’ve reached the stage where you need to start thinking about what you’ll give each groomsmen as a thank you present for being a part of your wedding? Well, naturally, you’ll want to make them something yourself, since you’re a DIY enthusiast and all, so here’s an idea that we thought was very cool! Weddings Handmade shows you how to make a set of old cigar boxes into personalized gift boxes by stenciling the top with a classic mustache and each person’s name.
Have you made other beautiful or totally cool cigar box crafts before that you were very proud of, but you don’t see anything similar on our list? Tell us all about it in the comments section or link us to pictures of your finished project!
What a great idea. I have vintage cigar boxes , Now I have great ideas for them. Thanks
Great Ideas!!!! Love a few of them!!