How to Carve an Altered Book Niche

One of the great surprises of altered books is the ability to hide little treasures between the pages. While it is not a requirement for an altered book to be able to close--in fact, many do not--sometimes the included items are too thick to fit between blocks of pages. Alternatively, a niche can be carved out, filled and covered with a door to make a book even more interactive. The process is simple, the possibilities endless. Here are ways to do it.

Things You'll Need

• Book
• Adhesive
• Brush
• Clamps
• Craft knife
• Power drill
• Wax paper
• Heavy books for weights
• Paint, papers and other decorative items

Instructions

1. 

   Prepare the page block by gluing the outside edges together and camping until dry. This will keep the outside of the niche together while you work. It's helpful to position your niche against one of the book's covers, but not mandatory. Just make sure your page block is thick enough to contain the items you plan to put inside of it.

2. 

   Mark out the edges of your niche with the craft knife, cutting through the first few sheets below. Keep making cuts along these lines, removing pages as you go, until you reach your goal depth. Take your time to prevent injury to yourself or the book.

3. 

   Clean up the edges of the niche with a power drill with a sanding tip. If you plan on putting a door or cover over your niche, this is a good time and tool to carve out a smaller niche along an edge to make it easier to open or lift.

4. 

   Glue the inside edges of the niche and let dry. Clamping around the niche will help prevent buckling. If that isn't easily accomplished, lay a sheet of wax paper over the niche and weight the entire thing down until dry.

5. 

   Decorate and fill your niche as desired. Let your creativity flow!

Tips & Warnings

• The drying steps can take a while, but it's important not to rush. You may want to do the main gluing the night before you plan to carve the niche.

• As you remove layers of pages within the niche, making a cut down the center will help you grab hold of them the deeper you get.

• If you do make an error, wood filler or texture paste can fill any accidental gouges. Just let it dry, sand it and then paint or glue over the area.