How to Make a Beautiful Box From a Vintage Book

For a lovely teacher appreciation gift, read through this tutorial on how to make a beautiful box from a vintage book. I created this project for the Robin's Nest DT Hunt. I got a little carried away, but Si's teacher loves it! 

~ Captured Memories ~

The Hot-Air Balloon, Ferris Wheel, and title on the cover of this book is stamped and heat embossed. This highly decorated book opens to reveal a mini-album and hinges with fluttering pennants.

The inside cover is an illustration I fussy-cut from a 12x12 sheet of paper. I added Stickles and Bling, Gems and Tear Drops, Stamping and Embossing Powder until the design was just about opulent enough!
~ Hollow Book ~

 

But before I could take the book from Vintage to Wow I had to hollow it out to hold the mini-album.

 I began by selecting the first section of pages and wrapping parchment paper around them. Bound books can be placed on their end with the covers pulled back so that the sections are visible.

 I taped the parchment paper to the front to hold the pages out of the way.

 On the inside I marked a cutting edge of 1/2 an inch. Next I made a 1:1 glue/water solution. I painted this on the outer edge of the pages of the book. It soaks in quickly with an old book so I painted on a few layers.

 I straightened the parchment paper so it fully protected the unglued portion when the book closed. I placed a few encyclopedias on the top to press it down and left it for a weekend. To add to the vintage feel I used Inka-Gold metallic rub along the edges of the pages. I painted them with glue and let them dry again.

When the book was completely dry I cut along the lines with a utility knife. To keep the sides of the cavity as straight as possible I tried to cut in layers of about 20 pages. I painted the inside edges of my pages and let it dry again.

I released the pages I had wrapped with parchment paper and glued them over the top to cover the mess the glue had made when it was pressed. I cut the center out and my hollow book was finished!
~ Hinges ~
To hold the book open for display I made simple hinges of embroidery floss. The trick is to use enough floss so that the book cover leans slightly past the center. 

First I pierced a hole 1/2 inch in from the corner of the front cover.
 I threaded floss through the hole so that it ran over the top and around the side of the book.

  I tied the floss at the side and stretched it to the opposite edge of the book.
I threaded it through twice and tied it off. 

After doing this to each side I added banners from washi tape. They held the ends of the floss and framed the design.

~ Mini Album ~
The mini-album for the inside of the book was fairly easy to make. I measured and cut the pages to fit inside the hollow. I inked the edges of the papers and stamped the corners.

Instructions to make the Hot-Air Balloon on the front cover can be found here:

Escape

Hollow Book Supplies:

Paper:Glitz Design

Flowers:Prima

Gems:MME, Prima, Recollections, Glitz

Tear Drops:Vintage

Stickles:Ranger

Stamp:Kaiser Craft

Ink:Clearsnap

Embossing Powder:Wow

Floss:Prism

Washi Tape:Love My Tapes

Metallic Rub:Inka Gold

Mini Album Supplies:

Paper:Fancy Pants, Pink Paislee, Kreaxions

Floss:Prism

Brads:Recollections

Ink:CTMH 

Stamps:Bo Bunny, Glitz Design, Inkadinkado

Trim:stash

Scrap On!

~charity~