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$ $ $ $ $
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• • • • •
Time
4h00

A hollow book to keep things secret :)
This also makes a good present. A friend of mine said she always wanted to make/have a hollow book, so she could put random stuff in there. One day I stumbled upon the idea again, and decided I'd do it. I'm giving it to her for her birthday and putting her favorite candy (M&Ms) and a note in it.

Posted by Elise F. from Chicago, Illinois, United States • Published See Elise F.'s 4 projects »
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  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 1
    Step 1

    First get all your supplies. And you don't need to use mod podge, necessarily. Most people use elmers glue & water (30-50% water, 50-70% glue).

  • Step 2

    First, set aside the first couple pages you'd like to keep uncut, plus one. If you don't want any pages uncut, just leave one for a step in the future.

  • Step 3

    Set aside the pages you've picked. I taped mine to the cover of the book. Then cover it in plastic so the glue won't get on the inside cover.

  • Step 4

    Now, before you glue, measure out a 1/2 inch border around the page & draw it out.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 5
    Step 5

    Now apply the glue to the edge of the pages so they all stick together.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 6
    Step 6

    Now, to let it dry, put spacers in between the cover and the pages and close the book. Put a heavy weight on top of the book. I used my bottle of mod podge (because it's huge), but you can just use something heavy, like some books.

    Let dry for 15-30 minutes.

  • Step 7

    Once completely dry, open book to your framed page. This is when you start using your box cutter/X acto knife and your ruler. Take your ruler and line it up with the lines you drew. Take your box cutter and cut out the rectangle you drew. Keep doing to that to ALL the pages, until you hit the end. This will take a VERY LONG TIME, so I suggest some music or something of the sorts to keep you going through the whole time.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 8
    Step 8

    Now, once you've gotten through the whole thing, this is when you start gluing. Glue the insides, so they stay together, and you can glue the last uncut piece if you like, that's what I did.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 9
    Step 9

    And also glue the edge, too. This is where the extra uncut page comes into play.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 10
    Step 10

    After gluing everything, take the extra page and place it on top, so it looks like this. Then (with the plastic wrap still on the cover) let it dry without the spacers, but still with the heavy object on top.

    Let dry for 15-30 minutes.

  • How to make a book box. Hollow Book - Step 11
    Step 11

    Now, with cut out the uncut glued page, to make it look like a hole again. The insides are probably still a bit gooey, so let it dry more. Once dry, you have a new hollow book!!

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Comments

Kara G.
Kara G. · Kingston, Ontario, CA · 2 projects
Been so swamped lately that I hadn't gotten around to making one of my best friend's birthday gifts. This is perfect, you just saved my day!
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PineconePrincess
PineconePrincess · Roseburg, Oregon, US · 19 projects
cool!
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Julia Oreo
Julia Oreo · Bayamón, Bayamón, PR · 6 projects
coolio!
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paigeone
paigeone · Indiana, Pennsylvania, US
Fantastic!! I've wanted to do this, too, and got books from the thrift store just for the project. The basic instructions were what I had in mind, but it seems that others who did this made it more complicated! Thanks for the easy to do instructions, I'll be making a cut out book very soon!
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isobel.l
isobel.l · Basingstoke, England, GB · 61 projects
i want to make one of thease but dont want to damage my book
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laurie.suttle
laurie.suttle
Thanks, that was a great tutorial, I'm making one for sure.
Reply
Danielle B.
Danielle B. · Edmonton, Alberta, CA · 1 project
I have always wanted to make a hollow book. This is the best tutorial I have seen on the www. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Danielle
Reply
Olivia H.
Olivia H. · Indianapolis, Indiana, US · 32 projects
Love it!
Reply
choco s.
choco s. · Christchurch, Canterbury, NZ · 21 projects
always wanted to make one of these! Thanks
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