Cigar Box Shelves

Here is a way to make a fun little shelf that is also a hidden treasure box:

If your cigar box has a hinged paper lid like mine, you will need to slice off the lid so that you can attach the box flush to the wall.  I like using drywall screws, and I recommend making pilot holes in your box first.  Once it is attached to the wall, you can replace the removable lid:

Now you have a sweet little shelf with a place to hide your treasures.  It looks a little crooked in this picture, but in life, it is level and quite sturdy.  (As my photo assistant was pulling on my leg, I had some difficulty lining up the shot.)

These boxes have a very faint smell of cigars inside that I find nostalgic.  Most smoke shops will give them to you for free or very little money, just ask.  And, no, I did not have to smoke any cigars!

Fiction vs. Reality:  I have always thought that these would make perfect little bedside shelves for kids or in small bedrooms, but mine are actually knickknack shelves in a cluttered corner of my kitchen.  For the above pictures, I put a pillow on my cookbooks so you could see how it would look by a bed.  Here is my reality:

There are many beautiful styles of cigar boxes.  Vintage ones are usually gorgeous.  I have always been partial to these Partagas boxes, and also to the all wood ones by Nat Sherman.  Some of the Nat Shermans have sliding lids, which would also make excellent treasure box shelves.