Veneered Kleenex Box with extra storage

This is my first attempt at veneering a box. I’m not very proud of this one, but I chalk it up to experimentation and learning. The box itself is a tissue cover with a compartment underneath for extra storage. I’ve seen these mainly made to conceal a small handgun, but you could use it for whatever. The box itself is just .5" Baltic birch. It’s then veneered with Cherry Veneer. I added a strip of Sapelle to try and hide the seam, but it didn’t work very well because I added veneer to the edges to hide the plywood. The transitions were rough, so I sanded them and ended up sanding through on the edges. To try and hide that, I stained it with a walnut stain.

I have to say that I really rushed to finish this one. I wasn’t enjoying the process as I normally do, and just wanted to get through it. Every issue, I just looked for the easy / quick fix instead of taking my time to try and do it right, and I feel it’s pretty evident in the finished product. I’ve been stressed at work recently, and have been very tired. Maybe I’ll try again once I’m in a better state of mind.

As always, thanks for looking, and have a great day!