How to Make a Jewelry Case From a Book
If you have some old books around the house, you can repurpose them into jewelry boxes. Book jewelry boxes make excellent gifts for book lovers and fashionistas alike, or you can use them to hold your own treasures. The finished product looks like a book sitting on your dresser. But it opens up to reveal jewelry inside. With some simple supplies and a little time, you can make a jewelry case from a book.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Old hardcover book
- Glue
- Paintbrush
- Wax paper
- Book press or heavy object
- Craft knife
- Metal ruler or carpenter's square
- Fabric, such as velvet or satin
- Box separators
- Large bead (optional)
- Decoupage materials (optional)
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1
Glue the pages of the book together. Open the front cover of the book so that it doesn't touch the glue and use the paint brush to spread glue all over the outside of the pages. Putting glue around the edges is enough to hold them all together, but be sure to use a liberal amount of glue and let it soak through to the pages.
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2
Glue the back cover of the book to the last page.
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3
Close the book placing a piece of wax paper between the front cover and the pages.
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4
Use a book press to hold the pages together tightly. If you don't have a book press, you can use a heavy object such as a brick. Wait for the glue to dry completely. This may take 24 hours.
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5
Cut a section of the book's pages out. Once the glue has dried, open the front cover. Using the ruler, draw a rectangle where you want to cut out, about 1 inch from each edge. Holding the ruler tightly, use the craft knife to cut the pages. You'll have to run the knife over the same part several times to cut all of the layers. Remove these pages and throw away. You now have a hollowed-out book.
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6
Line the inside of the book with fabric. Cut your fabric so that it matches the hollowed-out space exactly. Use glue to attach it to the hollowed-out space.
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7
Place separators, if desired. You can keep your jewelry in the box as-is, or you can purchase separators or ring holders to keep things neat.
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8
Add a handle, if desired. You should be able to easily open your new jewelry box as it is, but you can also add a decorative handle. Glue a large bead to the top of the book, or attach a fabric loop to the inside cover.
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1
Tips & Warnings
You can use decoupage media to decorate the outside of the book if you want.
