Secret Box Book

Make a Secret Hide Away

A secret box book is a fun altered book project which makes a great gift.

I made this altered book for my son's 40th birthday. It's a secret box book - well I guess it's not a secret anymore. LOL.

Set a secret box book on a coffee table to corral the remotes or on a dresser top to hold keys and change or tuck it among the tomes on your bookcase to surprise friends.

I don't recommend using it to hide valuables in though. Crooks are wise to this one.

The neat thing about a secret box book is that you can personalize it to match your décor or document a special occasion or honor a special person - like the one shown here.

The photo on the cover is my son standing on the salt flats in Uyuni, Bolivia.

The title is, "The Life and Times of Sal Popijinisky: Adventurer, Artist, Athlete, Author, Genius, Philanthropist, Son".

Here's how to make a secret box book for your special someone or special occasion.

Secret Box Book Materials

1 thick beat-up book (It doesn't really have to be beat-up, but I hate the thought of repurposing a perfectly good one.)
Decoupage media (I used Mod Podge for the preliminary work and Liquitex Super Heavy Gel for the heavy duty part)
Paintbrush
Craft knife (The sharper the better; put in a new blade before beginning this project.)
Metal Carpenter's Square;
Miscellaneous items I'm sure you have around the house - plastic or wax paper separator, heavy items to weight the book while it dries, heavy duty rubber bands, pinch clips
Your choice of graphic images for the new outside and inside covers (I used the digital photo of my son and Scrap Girls products which are detailed below. They were just perfect for this project. However, you can cut images and do collage or even draw or paint your own.)
Mona Lisa Gold Leaf for the edges
Dremel Tool - optional

I used the following Scrap Girls digital designs:

Bookplate by Erica Hite; and
Black leather-look cover and antique-look inner lining paper from Brandy Murry's Chronicles Collection.

How to Make a Secret Box Book

Choose a thick book which no one would want anymore.

Paint Mod Podge over the back inside cover.

Close the book with a glue-resistant separator (plastic sheet or wax paper) between the front cover plus flyleaf page and the rest of the book.

My book had really nice black flyleaf pages which come in very handy (as you'll see) at the end of this project.

Hold tightly while you paint Mod Podge along all the outside edges of the pages. Use a lot and allow it to soak down into the paper.

Weight the book with heavy objects to dry, leaving the separator in place to prevent glue from getting onto the front cover and flyleaf.

Examine the result. It may need another coat of Mod Podge. I could see by the gaps that mine did.

Use carpenter's square to mark the area to be excised. Leave a border of at least one inch for the sides of the "box".

A metal edge is very helpful when you begin to cut. Once you get deeper into the pages, you will simply follow the lines already established.

Cut away!

Tip: As you get deeper into the pages, it helps to make cross cuts as shown.

You will end up (most likely) with a pretty rustic look. This was hard work!

I chose to clean it up a bit with a dremel like tool...

... though it still has a rustic look.

Liquitex Heavy Gel is used to smooth and seal the interior edges.

Remember the (black) flyleaf page I separated at the beginning?

Now it's time to utilize it for a classy finish. Apply Liquitex to the top surface of the box created by the glued-together pages.

Press the flyleaf into place. Let dry.

Using the same crosscut illustrated earlier, score the page.

Cut along the interior edges of the box and remove the unwanted sections of the flyleaf to reveal the box.

Glue the inside design pieces into place and seal with Liquitex.

When the inside is thoroughly dry, adhere the outside cover images with Liquitex.

Use heavy duty rubber bands and/or pinch clips to hold the cover images in place. Let dry.

Seal the outside with Mod Podge or thinned Liquitex.

Optional: Apply Mona Lisa Gold Leaf to the page edges following package directions. I think this is a really nice touch, though it depends on the finished look you want.