Cigar Box Purse

Do-it-Yourself: Wear
Cigar Box Purses
urgeon General Warning: Cigar purses may cause heart attacks in fashion conscious women and small dogs.

What You'll Need:
For the Light Version:
  • A cigar case (preferably with a hinge)
  • Pack of screw eyes 
  • Steel wire-20 gauge 
  • P lastic beads (I prefer the starflake shape
  • and brass beads for a vintage feel) 
For the Full-Bodied Version:
  • Same as above plus a small mirror (I snap them out of make-up gift with purchases) 
  • Craft jewels 
  • Hologram or glitter sticker paper 
  • Plastic toys
  • For the lining you'll need raw silk, hollowfill, flimsy cardboard, a rulerand pencil, scissors, and a glue-gun.

Directions:
1. Take your ruler and measure where your screw eyes should go then screw them in into your case. One or two handles? It depends on your case. If it closes at the side, and you're going to flip it so that becomes the top, two is more proportionate. If it's a smaller case, a one handle might be more appropriate.

2. Take your wire and cut it to your desired handle length. Cut two equal pieces if you want two handles. Attach the wire to one screw eye and start beading your handle. The first half of the handle is where your design is decided, after that repeat on the other side. Attach the other side to the second screw eye and nip off the excess wire.

You can stop now if you are going for the light version.

3. Measure and cut 5 pieces of flimsy cardboard (cereal box weight) to fit in to each side of your case. Take one cardboard siding. Pad it lightly with hollow fill, take fabric and wrap it around the cardboard and glue the fabric to the back of the cardboard. Repeat to each piece of cardboard. Glue each padded piece of cardboard to the corresponding side, bottom first.

4. Get a hand held mirror or an old compact that has run out of make-up and pop the mirror out. Glue the mirror onto the inside of the case and glue jewels around it. Look into your eyes and say "Mwwaa, dahling, you look maaaavelous!"

5. Hologram sticker paper in hand, cut it to the size of the front of your case. If it is too small to cover every centimeter, center it, and figure out how to cover the edges. Using a different color hologram paper will give it a framed look. You can also use pearls, beads, or rhinestones.

6. Mix a quarter cup of lacquer, coat your sticker paper, then center your favorite plastic toy in the middle, set your case on an even surface and let dry overnight.

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