Learn how to make a DIY book safe using an old book and Mod Podge! It’s the perfect place to hide your valuables on a bookshelf.
Skills Required: Beginner. You’re going to be using a craft knife to cut a book and then Mod Podging it. It helps to have previous experience with crafting, but this is a project anyone can do.
When I was little, I loved Nancy Drew mysteries. My mom had nearly the whole set, and I read them all.
This book safe is just the kind of thing that would have been in one of those mysteries! I firmly believe that solving a mystery needs to involve a book safe at one point or another, don’t you?
I personally would have loved one of these when I was younger. This is such a great craft for teens! Of course my valuables consisted of junk jewelry and about $.83 in change, but you have to start somewhere.
What was once a love of Nancy Drew has turned into a full blown adult obsession with true crime. I love mysteries. I love twists and turns. I love hidden stuff in bookcases. I think you see where I’m going with this.
Due to both my past and current obsessions with crime and mysteries, I’m all about hiding things in plain sight. It intrigues me now just as it would have when I was young. I’m going to show you how to make a book safe the easiest way possible.
Tips for Making a Book Safe
Before we get started I’ve got a few tips for you; I suggest you read these especially if you are a beginning crafter. Otherwise, please scroll down to get the how-to.
Choosing a Book
There are a few things you need to take into consideration when selecting a tome for your safe. The first thing is that it needs to be thick enough to support cutting into the pages and providing a recessed area to store your goodies.
My book was 1 1/2″ deep, but you can go as deep as you like (that’s what she said!). But seriously, you might want to consider first what you are going to be storing in the safe before you select your book.
There’s nothing more disappointing than doing a project and realizing it doesn’t work to fit your needs. Any depth of book is fine – the technique is the same regardless.
Second thing I wanted to address: I know some people get up in arms about cutting books. There are a lot of places to get old books that would otherwise be thrown away (check out Freecycle).
You can also visit the library and ask them about books they are planning on trashing/recycling. That way you are cutting up an item that would go into the garbage anyway.
Razor Blade or Craft Knife
I used a craft knife for this project, but you can also use a razor blade with a handle. The most important thing: make sure your blade is very sharp! You’re going to be doing a lot of cutting, so you’ll probably want a new blade to make life easier.
Mod Podge to Use
We used the Hard Coat formula for this DIY book safe but that’s only because it’s what we had available. Hard Coat has a Satin finish. You could use Gloss, Matte, or Satin too. Matte will likely most closely match the finish of the pages, but honestly it doesn’t matter.
Are you ready to get started making your safe? Learn how below!
Gather These Supplies
- Old book
- Mod Podge Hard Coat
- Paintbrush
- Clamps or clothespins (optional)
- Painter’s tape
- Craft knife
- Ruler
Clamping the pages while cutting is not required, but if you can clamp them down (or even tape with painter’s tape, which is removable), you’ll keep the cuts more even.
Are you ready to give it a try?
Can you tell which ones are the real books and which one is the book safe? What if there are multiple book safes on this shelf? You just never know . . .
DIY Book Safe
Equipment
- Clamps or clothespins
- Pen or pencil
Materials
- 1 Book
- Mod Podge Hard Coat
- 1 roll Painter’s tape
Instructions
- Decide how deep you would like your safe to be. I mentioned there was about 1 1/2" inches worth of pages in my book. I held about 1/4" worth of pages at the front of the book and then 1/4" worth of pages at the back to be the bottom.
- Clip approximately 1/4" of pages to the front cover of the book using clothespins or clamps.
- Using a ruler and pen or pencil, draw a rectangle that will be used as your cutting template. Leave at least 1/2" around all sides that will serve as the edges.
- Clamp the pages down that you'll be cutting.
- Using the ruler and craft knife, make cuts on the lines you drew. Go as deep as the knife will let you go; don't try to do too many pages at once.
- You'll be cutting out 10 – 20 pages at a time with a craft knife. Once you've cut out several pages worth, remove them.
- Before flipping the pages of your book safe to make additional cuts, use the previous cuts as a template – draw another rectangle with your pen just inside the rectangle.
- Flip the pages you've already cut and reclamp the book. Use the ruler and craft knife to cut additional pages. Complete this process over and over. Repeat cutting and removing pages until the recess is as deep as you would like, leaving at least 1/4" of pages at the back of the book.
- To prevent the Mod Podge from seeping into the back of the book, use painter's tape to tape down the back cover. Hold up the front pages of the book in front of the recessed portion.
- Apply Mod Podge around the pages of the book using a paintbrush. Apply one coat all the way around, let dry. Repeat.
- To finish, apply Mod Podge to the inside rim of the recess as shown. Go around the rim with the paintbrush and let dry. Repeat. You don't need to go on top of the pages.
- Let dry completely – leave open – before using.
Video
If you enjoyed this DIY book safe, you’re going to love these other ideas with books and book pages. Check out these other crafts you can do at home:
lxbfYeaa
Sunday 10th of March 2024
1
Diana
Wednesday 11th of October 2023
Nice. You can go to goodwill outlet and get a hardcover book for .50 Some very old! Then you don't have to feel bad about cutting up a new book
Juno
Wednesday 18th of May 2022
This is a really cool idea! I already tried starting a book safe, and I think this gave me the motivation to finish it.
Amy
Wednesday 18th of May 2022
Thank you so much! I love mine. I use it regularly!
Kari
Tuesday 30th of March 2021
Thank you for this fantastic post. I'm going to buy Mod Podge because of this website!
Lucy
Sunday 25th of March 2012
I have lots of my old Nancy Drew books. I still like them. I don't think I could give up one of them for a book safe, though it would be very fitting, wouldn't it? I keep forgetting to say I like the new blog design.