Recycling Books = Awesomeness

In honor of my birthday (which is right now), I'm going to post about gift giving. Don't worry, it's still related to books (in case you didn't figure that out already).

This Christmas season, I've been obsessed with making gifts. Why? Well 1) it's cheaper and I can make the same thing (with slight variations depending on personality) for multiple people, and 2) no holiday shopping at crowded stores trying to find gifts that family and friends may or may not like.

One of these gift ideas involves taking an old book, preferably one that no one will miss, and turning it into nifty box. I'm making 3 of them, and I can't wait to see the look on the recipient's face when they tear open the wrapping paper and their eyes take in the title of a book that they've never heard of and never intended to read. I can hear it now: "Er, thanks, Nicole." Muahaha! They will think I'm a terrible gift-giver. Until they open up the book and see that it's been hollowed out and they can stash all sorts of secrets in there, and no one will ever find them because the book will blend right into the rest of their book collection. Brilliant!

Wait, Nicole, you're going to hollow out a book?

Yes, I am. I am going to take a book, and cut it all up. In my defense, though, no one was ever going to read the books I chose (which was why they were on sale for $1), and I'm totally recycling it! Don't worry, I still love books with a passion and own too many of them to be displayed on my bookshelf. I just think this is a whole new way to enjoy a book.

Alright, so how am I going to go about doing this? It's actually quite easy -- just reeaally time consuming. The gluing of the pages together is easy. It's the cutting out of all the pages that is what takes forever.

Step 1: I found a book.
A fat one. This book is a 500+ page book on the art of bridge. The game. Sounds like one hell of a read, right?











Step 2: Glue!

 I mixed good 'ol Elmers with some water and painted the edges.













Step 3: Cut!

 Once it's dry, it was time for the fun part. Fun for about the first 150 pages...




...and cut some more...

and cut some more...









 
Step 4: More glue! -- no picture for this -- I went ahead and glued some more, this time on the inside edges, and another layer on the outside. After, I glued the pages to the back cover.



 Step 5: Viola!

Beautiful, right? I think so.
















Here is a more specific guide to hollowing out a book, in case you want to do it yourself: How To Make a Secret Hollow Book.

And here's a video, so you can see the process in action.



Happy crafting!