Again, this began life as a Kahlua cigar case. This one was shaped different from my last one, though. The last case was wide but not very long or deep . . . at 10" wide, 6.25" long (front to back), and 2" deep, it held 21 pens in two layers. However, the pens could only be up to 6.25" long. This case is not as wide, but much longer and deeper. It is about 7" wide, 7.5" long (front to back), and over 3" deep. It can hold 25 pens in three layers . . . eight each in the top two, and nine in the bottom layer, arranged crosswise.
The trays are very sturdy, made from thin plywood bases with wood edges. The slots are made from sturdy plastic corner protectors, and are covered in soft craft foam instead of felt. The foam is much easier to work with and looks very clean . . . only trouble is that it is very limited in colors as most are bright and 'cartoony'. I used dark brown for the bottom two layers and tan for the top. The sides of the trays are finished in the same decoupage brown mulberry as the outside of the box, and have dark brown felt on the bottoms. The lids and sides of the box are covered in dark brown felt.
On this version I put a window on both lids to improve visibility. The outside is again finished in dark brown mulberry (double layer), with a gloss finish. On this one, I managed to put on some decorations on the front side . . . a stylized vine on the right, and my moon/sun/heart design on the left. These are painted on using gold leaf paint, then covered in a few layers of the decoupage coating. The lids also have frames made from some thin basswood. The handles on the lids are made from brass lamp parts (I think they're the clickers you turn on a 3-way lamp). I ground them down to smooth out the ridges on the side and give the tops a slightly concave shape, then polished them to a mirror finish. The lids are hinged with brass nails that I also smoothed and polished.
The coolest part of the box (IMHO) is the moving top tray. The back of the tray sits on a ledge on the upper lid. When you open it, it lifts the top of the tray so that it sits at an angle, perfect for displaying the pens. This was a feature of this particular cigar box, so I can't take real credit. I've attached a shot video showing me open the box so you can see it in action.
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Here are some pics . . .
