DIY: How to Turn an Old Book Into a Ring Box

If you’re getting married, consider this fun alternative to the traditional ring pillow. Look how to hollow out the inside of a book to create a hidden spot for a ring box! Choose a book that’s meaningful to your life or one that represents a good story of love!

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For those who don’t already know, the “t” in spot of tea designs stands for my name, Tara. That name, along with my sister’s, Melanie, are named from the epic novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Tara is the plantation in the novel, named after a sacred hill in Ireland. Or as my dad liked to playfully tease me as a kid “your name means dirt” and in way, I guess it does! :)

As the book means something in my life, I wanted to use it in some way at the wedding and decided to turn one into a ring box.

Please note: I used from this tutorial as my basic guideline on how to do this project.

Supplies:

• Hard cover book (I bought mine at a used book store for $5!)
• Pencil
• Ruler
• White glue
• Water
• Small cup/bowl
• Painbrush
• Craft knife
• Fabric
• Needle/Thread
• Stuffing
• Ribbon
• Scissors (not shown)

To make the pillow:

Step 1. Cut 2 squares of fabric. Sew a piece of ribbon on the right side of one square. This is where you’ll tie the rings.

Step 2. Put the 2 right sides together and use pins to secure (yes the ribbon should be inside this pocket made). Sew around the outside, leaving about 1 inch open.

Step 3. Once sewn, using the hole left open, turn your pillow right side out. Insert stuffing.

Step 4. Try your best to sew the hole closed with a hidden stitch. I have no tips on that step as I was basically winging it! :)

To make the hollowed out book:

Step 1. Open the book and decide on a page that you want to be your top page shown. (I chose the front title page of the book). Flip that page to the left and save it for a later step. The next several steps will be completed with the remaining pages of the book on the right.

Step 2. Mix together a solution of part water part glue. Squeeze the book pages together and use a paintbrush to apply the glue solution to the pages on the outside spine. (I applied 2 generous coats)

Step 3. Add something as spacers between the saved page and the remaining glue pages so they don’t touch and place something heavy on top and set the book aside to dry. (I used thick cork coasters and set my OTT lite on top. I’ve also heard the trip to add a piece of wax paper in between these pages for extra protection since the glue does not stick to the wax paper)

Step 4. After drying, flip open the book, making sure to keep the saved pages to the left. Draw our your box shape on the first glued page on the right using a pencil and ruler. (I made my box about 3 x 3″ which was slightly bigger than my pillow)

Step 5. Make sure you have a new blade on your craft knife. Use your ruler and begin making cuts into the book. This will take a while. Don’t get frustrated and just take your time. Don’t try to cut all the way down on one side as once. Cut a bunch of pages, then spin and cut the next side and continue. I did this for about an hour while watching an episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter.  :)

Step 6. As it starts getting deeper, see if you can peak and decide what page will be your inside landing page. Once you get there, clean out all the scraps and pieces inside the book. I chose to stop when I knew my ring pillow would fit safely inside.

Step 7. Brush the glue solution on the inside pages and a second layer on the oustide.

Step 8. Apply glue to the rim of the book and place the saved page from step 1 in place.

Step 9. Close the book, without spacers, and place your heavy object on top and allow to dry. Yep, wine bottles do the trick!

Step 10. Use a ruler and the craft knife and try to carefully cut the top page to showcase the hole. Tip: if your hole is a square or rectangle, first cut a diagonal line across to expose the hole. This will give you better guidance to know where you need to cut the straight lines to mimic your original hole.

Step 11. Once dry, place your pillow and rings inside.

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