DIY Cigar Box and Wine Cork Storage Box

More often than I want to admit, phone and table cords, earphones, and eyeglasses are strewn about the side tables in my living room.  I put the stuff away. The next evening we need the stuff to read books or watch movies on our tablets and plop it on a table before heading off to bed. I put the stuff away…

It’s a never ending cycle.

A friend found a bunch of empty wood cigar boxes in the basement of her wine shop. I was drooling when I found out. Old cigar boxes are the gold standard of recycled project material just begging for an upcycle!

Needless to say, I made my way over to her shop and came home with a cigar box to make into a decorative storage box with wine cork feet to contain the flotsam and jetsam littering the living room.

 You have no idea how much work it took to to win the eBay auction for these vintage metal frames. I had my optimist fill them with my prescription. I love them!

How to Make a Decorative Cigar Box Storage Box 

 

You will need:

Cigar Box – Many cigar shops sell empty cigar boxes for a few dollars or you can buy old cigar boxes from Amazon if you do not have a cigar shop near you.  Amazon sells unfinished hinged wood cigar type boxes if you want to decorate your phone charger storage box using some of the ideas in Step 5.

2 wine corks – better have a couple of extra just in case

Mini hacksaw

Sandpaper – I used 80 grit

Level

Glue

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links.


Make it:

1. Cut the wine corks in half lengthwise using my no shed cork cutting tutorial How to Cut Wine Corks for Crafts the Easy Way!  Don’t worry too much if you don’t perfectly slice the corks on the first try. We’ll fix that in Steps 2 and 3.

I cut several wine corks so I had options when it came to finding 4 of the same height.

2. Line four wine cork slices cut side down on a table and put the level on top of the wine corks. Are the four wine corks level?

Probably not since you sliced them by hand.

Let’s even them out in Step 3 so our cigar box storage box will sit evenly on a table.

3. Rub a wine cork slice cut side down on the sandpaper to make it even. Use the level to check if your cork is level with the other corks.

I found it best to sand a little bit. Check with the level.  Sand a little bit more. Check with the level again. Rinse. Repeat.

4. Repeat Step 3 with all four wine cork slices as needed until all four wine cork feet are an even height and level.

On the level!

5. If you want to decorate the cigar box do it now. Some ideas off the top of my heat include:

• Wood stain if it is an unfinished cigar box
• Burn a design into it lid with a wood burning tool
• Paint it
• Decoupage it with paper or fabric
• Washi tape

I like my cigar box just the way it is so I didn’t go to town on the outside. I gave it a coat of clear spray polyurethane to protect the patina and paper seal. It’s not as crafty as some of your cigar box crafts but I couldn’t think of anything that would add more character than the box already had in its original state.

6. Turn the box over and glue a sliced wine cork to all four corners of the cigar box to make feet. The wine cork feet will keep the wood cigar box from scratching the surface it rests upon.

 Please work in a well ventilated area. You don't want to accidentally sniff glue. Ew.

7. Corral your phone, tablet, Kindle chargers and cords in the box and display proudly!

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