hollow book – VIRTUALDISTORTION

May 11, 2015

Handmade Hollow Ring Books

Over the past few years, I have been making a few hollow book boxes designed to hold wedding engagement rings but this year I really expanded my line. It all started with a green book titled “Circle Of The Day”, but now I’ve added many surrounding the topic of love. And a few cult classics in there!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Cut to “The Unbreakable Vow” on Etsy

Making ring books is really fun because I get to search for interesting books to use and do a lot of custom orders. I love to focus on the fine details and deliver something that adds even more to an already astounding moment in other peoples lives. Check out some of my most popular ring holder hollow books, such as Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince which shows off the Unbreakable Vow chapter, or Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows that is cut to The Wedding chapter.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Cut to “The Wedding” on Etsy

The Book Of Love features my handmade heart shaped cut out that is very popular.

The Book Of Love With Heart Shape Cut Out on Etsy

All of my hollow books are handmade by me! I cut them by hand and then detail them until they are smooth, adding multiple layers of clear glue to the inside edge of the stash spot. A free-floating stash spot design is available for some books, otherwise I more often cut the back 1/2 inch or so of a book and glue that down, adding a decorative liner to the bottom of the stash spot. There are many custom options! Different books, cut shapes, loose pages or not left up front, stash spot liner papers, magnets added for secure closure, ribbons to tie rings to and many different colors to choose from.

Can you tell I love making hollow ring books? ‘Cause…. I do.

May 30, 2014

Premium Hollow Book Boxes: Poe, Hobbit, Little Women, Ring Holders, Hearts, Two Book Stacks

Edgar Allen Poe Hollow Book Box – A great place to store secret treasures! This handmade box is made out of a real book.

Edgar Allen Poe Hollow Book Secret Booksafe Magnet Closure

“Edgar Allen Poe – Complete Tales and Poems” includes magnet closure so the book stays closed when upright! The dust jacket is on the book. It is a LARGE hollow book with the stash spot measuring 7.5 inches x 4.5 inches x 2.2 inches deep.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Handmade Hollow Book Box! Bright purple and gold. This book is beautiful, compact yet can host a deep secret stash spot for hidden valuables.

Magnet closure is easy to install in this book – use this custom order listing to have me create one for you today!

The Hobbit – This classic in a large, beautiful print has been decked out with black velvet lining the stash spot.

Tomorrow Is Forever – Vintage black hollow book circle cut to hold a ring! Black textured paper lines the stash spot. Option left open to include ribbons to tie rings to.

Tomorrow is Forever Ring Proposal Hollow Book Box Handmade

It’s such a neat title, isn’t it?

Harry Potter Half Blood Prince Hollow Book Ring Holder Proposal Box – Cut to the Unbreakable Vow chapter with a ribbon to hold rings.

This is the inside of a recent custom order heart shape ring holder with ribbons. It turned out even better than imagined. The book was small and blue with gold detail.

I want to cut more hearts!

Neverending Story Circle Cut Ring Holder Proposal Engagement Box with Ribbons – This beloved children’s classic The Neverending Story has been transformed into something new!

Finally, I’m happy to announce that I am making multiple stacked LARGE hollow books! Here is one of my favorites so far, made with two Harry Potter books. The Harry Potter Hollow Book Two Stack Large Secret Storage Box!

This one is made with vintage books:

This one is also made of vintage books – blue mystery ones!
The Secret Journal of Doctor Hudson

Making hollow book boxes (and seeing myself get better at it over time) is really enjoyable.

May 5, 2013

Alice in Wonderland Hollow Book

This blue vintage copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has been transformed into a hollow book box – a superior stash spot for things important enough to keep tucked away. If I could keep it myself, I would, but it’s my job to pass all of these awesome things on. I dearly love Alice in Wonderland. Did you know that it’s available to read for free online? This time around I added textured, decorative paper to the bottom of the stash spot that really accents the vintage blue cover of the book. It’s really been around, but hopefully soon it will find a new home with someone who will enjoy it as a box for a long time. View the listing for this in my Etsy shop.

December 14, 2012

Rounding Out Another Year

Happy Holiday season! It’s a busy time of year and I love it. There have been many things going on in my little corner of the world, many artsy things and some darn good food things too. I’ve been stocking the freezer with homemade no-bake cookies (dark chocolate + nuts) on a regular basis, roasted a few seasonal squash (even a new one I had not had before), had the crock pot going with batches of beans for many days, and I believe I have mastered the art of stir frying broccoli in many different flavor variations (I love cayenne pepper flakes + powder, spicy hot!) so that I never tire of it and my meat loving companion says the same thing. That’s how I know I really succeeded. Some nights I am busy crafting so I don’t cook as much as I would like but that’s OK.. I have even more fun making things that don’t get gobbled up!

One of the projects that I wiggled in between other must-do projects was something I have been wanting to do for over a year…. A hollow book with a stash spot cut for a whiskey flask:

A few months earlier I ordered an 8oz flask and had it sitting in plain view so it was on my mind frequently. I figured the book titled “The Encyclopedia of Modern American Humor” would be appropriate to contain a flask and it is one of my favorite books to cut up. I chose to cut the bottom square and round the top so the flask would fit in there snug. AND HOW! Oh man! I did not think about it when I started so when I finished I was extra pleased, the natural angle that happens when cutting the books by hand keeps the flask inside without any other restraints! It pops out with your fingers and it’s easy to put back in too. I must say that I’m very proud of this one and will be looking forward to creating many more!

Besides the flask book I have been doing a few others.. The Goblet of Fire into an eReader case, Neverending Story, Pet Sematary, Dracula, and more..

Needle felting continues as well, here are a few things I’ve made recently.. I love them all :

And I started making pins out of single felt flowers!

2012 has been great but I am really gunning for 2013! The peaceful calm of January will be GREAT for starting new projects… and the summer ahead is sure to be one of the best ever.

December 14, 2011

Custom Hollow Book Project Complete

I got a request for a custom book project at the beginning of this month and finished it tonight. As always, I cut the pages out by hand and then apply glue, let it dry, trim it some more and then paint it. Sometimes I add colorful paper. This one is a lot of black paint. The book is a vintage copy of Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

Custom Hollow Book Secret Stash Box Money Box- Pet Sematary by Stephen King

May 11, 2011

Handmade Hollow Book Making

The first step is to find cool books to hollow out. I like antiques or ones with interesting titles, nice colors, textures and high quality pages. I prefer ones with all of said attributes the most. I’ve found a few good ones so far and see many more in my future.

Cut, cut, cut…

Glue, dry, paint, dry, add finishing touches…

I’m really enjoying making hollow book secret stash box safes! My favorite parts are finding the right books and choosing the paint colors and decorative paper, and finishing the overall look. Cutting the pages out hurts my fingers after awhile and I go through a lot of razor knife blades.

Another favorite thing is taking photos, editing and listing on Etsy. This is my hollow book section to see what I currently have in stock:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Virtualdistortion?section_id=7959789