BOOK INTO BOX

I decided to try a new craft this morning, one I'd seen and thought might be both interesting and fun. And then I decided to photograph the process, so if I get it right others will know how. If I get it wrong, I guess the world will see what not to do! (Can you tell I'm operating without a compass? I've seen the finished project, but no directions for getting there. Still, how hard could it be?)

So the first thing I did was get a book I didn't mind destroying. For me, that happens to be a 1964 Chilton's parts catalog, nice and big, and thick, and probably completely useless to anyone.

Then I got my scissors, and opened them up, and began to scribe a line on an interior page with them, using the edge as though it were an Exacto knife. I was sitting at the dining table with Bob at the time.

"What in the world are you doing?" he said. I told him, and he gave a disgusted snort and went into the bedroom, returning with a box cutter, which he opened and handed to me.

That's the tool to use, if you have one. A box cutter.

I suppose I should say that step one in the process is to cut a deep rectangle from the inside of the book. The hole you create is the inside of the box.

My goal is to have nice, clean, interior edges/sides, so I next got myself a straight edge. In true Anitra style, I either don't own a ruler, or I can't find one. The three-hole paper punch worked just fine. In fact, it has the advantage of being considerably thicker than a ruler, and I don't have to worry about cutting me. It's also metal, so I don't have to worry about cutting it. Perfect. From a certain perspective, anyway.

Pictures of the process:

The book and tools




Some pages have been cut out




Some of what you end up with, besides your new box

I didn't realize two things when I started. The first was how nice it was to have the lines and edges right there on the page, to cut along. I suppose, though, that any book you use would have very clear margins. Cut along the margins and your boxes edges will be uniform.

The other thing I hadn't thought about was that the pages were kind of cool, taken as patterns or images. If you were scrapbooking or collaging something with a male theme, these would be great, so I'm going to save some of them for future use.

More later! Today is the first day of the new tag sale at the Seventh Day Adventist Thrift shop and I want to get there before those twenty cent t-shirts are picked over!