Before you throw away your Russell Stover Valentine box...

[Tom Hull]

Before you throw away your Russell Stover Valentine box you may wish to recycle it into repairs for your Japanese cardboard house as the bottom (inside) box of the Russell Stover Valentine chocolate box is exactly the same thickness as the cardboard used in the Japanese houses of the 30's and 40's.
I found a tiny cardboard hacienda that must have been a light bulb house as it clearly had an accurately cut hole to admit a light bulb in it's roof. The bulb was long gone and someone had crudely dug a hole in the back (with a pocket knife?), and it was pretty rough. I squared it up with an Exacto type knife and put in a piece of cardboard that was in inside rim of the RS box - it almost perfectly matches the depth and since I don't really care whether the repair shows or not it works great. It is a bit tougher card to work with and far less brittle than the original. The first picture is that of the cardboard box part I keep and the last is of the repair made.

[paulrace]

Thanks for sharing that tip, Tom. That said, Shelia would rather eat the box than Russell Stover chocolates.