Sunday, 19 August 2012

Tutorial: How To Make A Sneaky Hole In A Book


 On an op shop mission a couple of weekends ago I found a beautiful set of books with pretty, ornate detailing. The set wasn't complete so I figured why not do a little crafty experiment with one of them?

I read a few things on the interwebs about the best way to make a secret hole in a book and this method seemed to be the most popular.

What you will need:
  • 1 hardcover book
  • PVA glue
  • A sharp craft knife
  • A clamp or two
  • Good corner cutting skills
First cover the visible edges of the book with a decent layer of PVA glue. Fold back the covers so they don't accidentally get glued.


 Second, smear the glue on evenly.



Thirdly, use the clamps or clamp-type objects to hold the book together tightly to keep the pages from bowing out. Remember to keep the hardcovers away from the clamps.



Next, figure out what shape and size you want your sneaky hole to be and use your craft knife to cut through the first couple of layers of pages.


This gets harder as you get further down, which is where your good corner cutting skills come in handy. Things may get a bit messy so try and keep the angle you cut the same the whole way down.


 When you get to a depth you are happy with, stop cutting and tidy up the corners and tip out all the book shavings that may have accumulated.


Ta-da! One book with a sneaky hole for whatever you want to put in it. (I do not condone illegal activity by the way)

 So some ideas would be:
  • Small treasures you don't want small hands to find.
  • An engagement ring- (if a man needs a safe place to hide it before popping the question) 
  • A smaller book.
  • Non-perishable food
The list could go on!

Good luck with this, hopefully your corner cutting skills are better than mine!

4 comments:

  1. I saw this on Whatnow! when I was a kid, and made my dad take me to a second-hand book shop and to make it with me. But then my parents both knew that I had a secret book, which defeats the purpose of it.

    xx Erica

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  2. Oh wow! I have always wanted one of these - my Granddad had a great old wooden one! I'm not sure what I would want to hide though...

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  3. This is super rad! I think the best bit though is that you suggest hiding food in there!!! Best sneaky lolly spot ever :)

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