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Monday, January 16, 2012

Secret Book Safe (DIY)

I have always wanted to make one of these!  

This worn, water damaged copy of Portrait of a Lady was discovered at World Mission Thrift for .75 cents. After being read (it took me a loooong time to finish this one),  it has been collecting dust in my living room book case.  Its too ratty to donate but I hate to throw anything away. 
Today this book has an important new purpose: guarding secret treasure.  Almost anything could be tucked inside this little catacomb: from money and jewels to candy or incriminating photos.

To make this book safe I used: 
an old book 
felt
x-acto knife 
2 metal clamps
metal ruler
hot glue gun
Draw rectangle in the center of the first page of the book to use as a guide.  This rectangle will become the hollow inside portion of your book safe.  Be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch of space between the rectangle you draw and the edge of the pages.  I traced an index card to create my guide.
(Ignore how heavily Photoshopped and wierd this image is  - I didn't have a picture of this step)
Use the metal clamps to align your ruler with the outline and carefully cut with the x-acto knife.
This is a tedious - and slightly dangerous - process.  Be careful!
I removed a ½ inch section of pages at a time. 
When you have removed all the excess paper from your safe, Run a layer of hot glue up the unner corners of your safe and along the bottom where the edges meet the back cover.
Ignore the epoxy in this photo.  It was extremely messy, so I switched to hot glue.
Line the inside with felt, using hot glue to secure it.
Secret passages, mysterious artifacts, and hidden treasure have fascinated me ever since I watched Alice in Wonderland as a little girl.  I dreamed of finding mysterious magical routes to other places and searched for valuables hidden in the tree trunks behind my house.  I’ll most likely show the book safe to everyone that comes over, so I doubt it will stay secret for very long.

Just place the book safe on your shelf; no one will suspect a thing- hidden in plain sight!


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