Fun with boxes

Last August for Mike's birthday I bought him a gift certificate to go horseback riding under the Hollywood sign – something he'd been talking about wanting to do since we moved to California. I wanted to something cute to put it in, so I found this tutorial about how to make a gift box out of a cereal box. With a few modifications (mainly the tab in front to keep the top aligned correctly in the closed position), I turned out this fun little box:

I found it easier to decorate the box before I folded it, though I had to visualize which panels were going to end up on the outside and in what orientation, before penciling in a simple wood-grain pattern for a bit of a "ranch" theme. I thought the little horsey on top was also a nice touch. :-) (For some reason I had a little collection of plastic farm animals laying around!)

On the inside, I wrapped the gift certificate in a bandana, which I had picked up along with it at the ranch.

You would never guess this box used hold our Honey Nut Cheerios!