Hollowed-out Book Safe

This is a craft that my husband really wanted me to do. He actually helped me with most of it. He told me that he's always wanted one of these hollowed-out book safes to put something in. He doesn't know what he's going to put in it, but I'm sure he'll find something. The other thing he really wants is one of those globes that conceals alcohol bottles that you can buy in Sky Mall. He flies a lot for work, so I think he has that entire catalog memorized. Here's what we did:

1) Get a really thick book. We used "My American Journey" by Colin Powell. This is not a book we would typically have on display at our house, nor one that either of us would probably read, but it was definitely thick enough! I think the key is to have a book that no one would really suspect of being anything but a book. And, you don't want one that's too interesting because then everyone will pick it up. That would defeat the purpose of hiding anything inside the book! When you see these things in the movies people tend to use the Bible, but I couldn't bring myself to rip pages out of a Bible. Colin Powell will have to do! (FYI - we left the beginning pages alone so you can still flip through the pictures like a real book!)

2) Open up the book to where you want the cutting to start. Then, peel back one more page (you'll glue that down at the very end so you have a nice clean top page). Using a mixture of 70% Elmer's glue and 30% water (roughly - we just eye-balled it), glue around the outside edge of the book. Try not to use too much at one time. You don't want it to be too thick or for there to be any drips. Put a piece of waxed paper in between the pages you glued together and the first un-glued page. Close the book and weigh it down with something heavy to compress the glued pages. Wait at least 30 minutes for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step.

3) Open up the book to the first glued page (remember to keep that one unglued page where you really want the safe to start unglued, unmarked and uncut for now). Using a ruler, measure and mark 1/2 inch from the edges and the spine of the book. This is the line you'll be cutting on. You can really make this any shape, but we cut 1/2 inch in from the edges. Buy a very sharp pen knife or x-acto knife and start cutting on those lines you just marked. I found it easiest to pull the knife toward my body and to spend some extra time on the corners for things to come out nicely. The straighter and more careful you cut, the nicer the inside of the book will look.

4) Be careful while you're pulling out the pages. If you try to do too many at once, you could pull more than you want and end up messing up the edge of the book. This almost happened to me, but I saw it before it was too late. I think I tried to pull out a page that wasn't cut all the way through and so it wanted to rip the entire page out, not just the section I had cut out. We left about the last half-inch of the book intact, but you can cut in as deep or as shallow as you want.

5) Using the same technique you did for the outside of the book, glue the inside edges of the pages inside the hole to reinforce everything. During this step you'll also put a thin layer of glue on the top edge (the original page that you marked with your cutting lines) and then glue down that one page you've kept out this whole time. Again, close the book, weigh it down with something heavy, and wait 30 minutes before going on to the next step.

6) Open up your book. Using your pen knife, you are now going to create a clean cut through your top glued down page along the edge of your hollowed out portion. Once this is done, you really don't need to go on to the next step unless you want to. Your hollowed-out book safe is complete!

7) The edges on the inside of our safe were a little rough from jagged cutting, so we decided we were going to line the inside with felt. To do this, I brushed on a layer of glue on the bottom of the hollowed-out area. Then I pressed down my sheet of felt. Rather than cutting separate strips for the sides of the safe, I used my pen knife to cut through the corner area so I could make a straight edge. Then I glued around the edges, pushed down the felt and it was all connected. I used a regular pair of scissors to snip off the excess to make it flush with the top of the page. Voila! You're done!

I think we're going to try doing this again with more careful cutting to see if we can make one without the felt inside. Either way, I love how it turned out. I think the felt is actually a nice touch. I'm sure this book will get used more often now that it's been re-purposed rather than just collecting dust as a memoir! :) Happy crafting!

Upcycled Book Journal

My husband and I are going on a two week trip to Europe in just a couple of weeks and I desperately wanted to make myself a travel journal to bring along with us. I have read a bunch of tutorials on putting one of these together, so I don't really know who to give credit to for this whole project. There were so many good options to follow!

While I was putting mine together, I didn't really follow a tutorial step-by-step. I just melded all of the ideas together in my mind and went with it. I also didn't want to make a cover out of fabric or cardboard, so I used a smaller hardcover book that I bought from Goodwill. So far I've made one out of a "Tuesdays with Morrie" book and in this post I made one from a James Herriot publishing of "Animal Stories." I chose books that had neutral cover colors and were very solidly made. So, here's how I did it:

1) Remove all of the ***printed*** pages from the book. I left in the colored first and last page that is attached to the actual cover of the book because I will attach that page to my pages later on. I also left in the binding left over from the book's pages. Not only doe sit make the book look more official since my binding isn't quite as professional) but it also gives the spine of the book a little more support than if you were to rip all of the glue out. My pages cover it up anyway, so it really doesn't matter that it's there.

2) Make yourself a bunch of "signatures" - or groupings of pages folded together. Mine are cut down to fit the book from 8.5x11 inch pages of copy paper. I grouped together 3 pages (so when you fold them in half the signature has 6 pages in it). You can always do more, but the smaller the signatures the smoother the pages look on the edge of the journal. So use more sheets if you want a rougher look. I used 10 signatures for this particular journal, so 60 pages.

3) Make the folded edges of the signatures all even up, press down the stack and mark it with a pencil where you'll be sewing them all together. I marked mine a little ways in from the edges (just eye-balled it), and in the middle. You will need an even number of marks so you start and finish on the outside of the pages.

4) Open up all of the signatures and poke a hole where you made each mark. I used a thumb tack and it worked marvelously. You can use a fancy crafting tool, but I just had the tacks lying around not doing anything useful.

5) Once they are all pierced, you'll start sewing them together. Tie a large knot in a very long piece of string (I did double my "wingspan" for length). Start in one corner of the stack of signatures, doesn't really matter where, and thread in the string through the first hole, out the second, in the third, out the fourth, in the fifth and out the sixth (and so on if you have more holes that I did). Once you get to the place where you'll add the next signature, put one on top (or on bottom depending on which corner you started on) and thread through the first hole and out the second. Here is where I doubled back to the first signature I worked on and threaded into the second hole and out of its first hole, then back to the second signature through the first hole, and out the second hole to continue on my way down that signature. When I got to the end of each signature, I secured it this way to the signature I had sewn just before in order to keep the pages taught together. If this is confusing and you want me to make a diagram or something, just ask. Keep sewing together until you get through the last signature, then tie off the string in a knot.

6) To give the pages a little more stability, I glued along the sewing as well. I clipped the pages together and then found a very large, heavy book (text books work marvelously) to weigh the pages down. Then I used regular Elmer's glue (white or clear - doesn't matter I've actually used both) with a small paint brush and brushed the glue along the "spine" of the sewn together signatures. I was also a little impatient, so I used a hair dryer to make the glue dry faster so I could finish the book.

7) Take your glue, and spreading on a thin layer over the colored pages you left inside the book, press the first and last page of the signatures onto the glue. I lined up the edges so I glued the entire page down. Since I also left in some of the glue and binding from the original pages of the book, the thread that is left at the top and bottom of the spine gave me a great guide for where my pages should be so I didn't really have to measure or line anything up. So easy!

8) Just let it dry for a few minutes, and now you're ready to use your journal!

I love mine. I'm using one for a crafty journal and the one I just made for our upcoming travels. I hope you all try doing this, if you like journals. It is so easy and sturdy and I just love it! Happy crafting!

Winter Wreath

At first I thought this wreath would come out more Christmas-y, which it does, but I think it will work for the entire Winter season. I found the tutorial here: Enchanted Rose Studio. This creator used more circles than I did, but I liked being able to see more of the text of the book than not.

The book I used was a copy of "The Hobbit" that had fallen apart. I knew I was going to use it for something, and when I saw this blog I knew it was the perfect thing to do! Below are pictures of the steps I took in bringing the finished product to life. I highly suggest taking on this project. It was a lot of fun, is very beautiful when completed, and didn't take that much time to complete. Happy crafting!

Step 1: cut strips from the book pages to cover a wreath form - slightly overlap each strip so that the entire form is covered. The back will be where the edges come together.

Step 2: cut out circles (I used a 3 inch circle) from the book pages. Cover the edges in glue and dip in glitter. I believe the tutorial I shared above used glitter glue, but I liked the look of dry glitter better.  Let these dry before you start to apply them to the wreath form.




Step 3: form the circles into the shape you want to have on your wreath. I used some that had 3 points and some that had 4. Instead of concentrating on the shape of each one I was creating, I just scrunched each piece around the pen, and however it came out was how I put it on the wreath.

 Step 4: Flatten the base of your circular piece so it is easier to glue onto your wreath form. Use hot glue to put it in place on your wreath. I started with the inside first, then went around the outside and then filled in the front of the wreath at the end.

Step 5: Continue placing the circles around the sides and front of the wreath until completely filled in. You don't want to cover the back, otherwise it won't lay flat against the door. Then, secure a ribbon or a hanger of your choice to the back and place on your door or anywhere in your home. I thought about putting a ribbon on the wreath, but I'm not sure it would look right. Maybe I'll have an update in the future...