DIY: Keepsake Box

Here is a fun, DIY gift idea. Create a keepsake box out of a book! I saw this on a blog awhile back and thought it would be a great gift for my book-lover friend, Julie. Here’s how I created this keepsake book, in case you’d like to make one, too:

1. First I went to my local Goodwill store and picked out a book. (TIP: the bigger your book, the better.) I found one about the friendship between the poet, Emily Dickinson and the abolitionist, Thomas Wentworth Higginson.  I am hoping Emily is a poet that Julie loves— fingers crossed!
2. Using Modge-Podge, I glued the back endsheet to the back cover and glued the sides together. I put a piece of wax paper between the cover and front endsheet, covered it with heavy books to weight it down, and let it dry. I repeated this step on the sides of the book to ensure that the pages stay together.
3. I measured and drew lines in pencil, to guide my cutouts. I planned for a small card to fit inside. Now I realize, if I had gone just a tad larger—the box would have been able to hold postcards as well. Oh, well…next time!
4. Using an exacto knife and a metal ruler, I cut through the pages to my desired depth. (TIP: If you don’t have an exacto knife, use a box cutter.) This step takes the most time. I suggest doing this in front of the TV—as long as you can multi-task without cutting yourself!
5. Because the book I chose had off-white endsheets and off-white pages, which is a tad boring, I decided to “age” the inside edges. I made some very strong tea and with a paintbrush, I painted the tea on to the sides and edges of the bottom page for a vignette/aged affect.
6. Once dry, I used Modge-Podge to glue the inside edges of the book together. Again I used wax paper to protect the inside front cover, weighed it down with books, and left it to dry. I think I did this twice.
7. Next, I used a glue stick and glued down an envelope and a label to the inside cover. The envelope will be great for small keepsake items like tickets and postcards.
8. Then I filled the keepsake box with fun stationery items.

It’s a fairly simple project. Just required two purchases—a cheap book and an eraser (to erase my guidemarks). Everything else, I had on hand. If you make one, let me know how it turns out!