Hollow Books

[Rook]

FOr the last week or so I've started to keep myself occupied by making Hallow Books as I have a rediculous amount of free time until I somehow find myself a job






Yeah, could have made them a tad neater, but corners are a bitch towards the end...

I made the first one just out of curiosity, but then decided to make one for my brother and for my cousin as there's a thrift store right down the street with figuratively infinite books I can use practically free ($1 flat out regardless of size)

Since I've gotten stuff from people her on more then one occasion, I was wondering if anyone would like one too
Feel free to request what kind of book you would want, but keep in mind while there are plenty of books available the types of said books are limited (Medical books and Law books are the best for both size and availability but for anything Fiction you might be limited to Tom Clancy or Stephen King)

[Ollie]

Books have this odd way of being incredibly sacred to me, even though I don't read that often, and gouging one out is something I could never do. XD

[Rook]

I know the feeling and I was kinda like that too, I'm pretty selective about what I would consider cutting into

Like I refuse to cut dictionaries, even though they are a dime a dozen and can be the perfect size... it just feels wrong
Textbooks and encyclopedias too

But stuff like old almanacs or just about anything from 'Reader's Digest' doesn't feel so bad to me
In a way to me it's like taking a book that would never get any use again and giving it something a new purpose, Thrift Stores are like book graveyards sometimes and many of these books would otherwise never see the light of day again


Think of it this way though, If you ever wanted one but know you could never make one yourself here's an opportunity to get one free

[Twitch]

Books have this odd way of being incredibly sacred to me, even though I don't read that often, and gouging one out is something I could never do. XD

This. For some reason. Even if it were an outdated book I think I'd feel oddly guilty. They do look neat, though.

[Rook]

Finished the book ment for my brother last night



I'm alitle embarrassed about this one as it was an older book (from the 1940's I think) the pages were getting kinda fragile. While it made cutting the corners alot easier, the pages sometimes would rip just due to the passing of the blade and even worst sometimes the outside of the book would buckle inwards if I tried to pull out any particularly stubborn paper shards...
As a result I had to re-glue the outside a heck of alot and the end result didn't look quite so natural as the others... in fact it looked practically varnished


Just look at that gleam...

[Delfina]

I think those are really awesome! there are millions of copies of books out there, so i wouldn't feel bad gutting one I'd make one for a dagger or something cliche' like that Very well done!

[Rook]

I don't think I'm skilled enough to do specific shapes yet, or basically anything other then basic shapes like rectangles or ovals unfortunately >.>

Something to work towards though I guess

[Tarn]

as long as its nothing super rare (i'd be surprized at a thrift store) I don't see a problem

[Poil]

You should make one to store dvds in. A personal hiding place for your stash of family albums.

[Emma]

Family albums are kept on DVDs now?

Man, am I behind the times.

[Twitch]

Don't forget to go chase the kids off your lawn.

[Rook]

Started getting a few requests... starting with our own Del!
Just finished her's this morning in fact and I'm actually quite proud of it as I went slightly unconventional with it
It also helped that I finally got myself a craft-knife (halfway though this book though, care to c=guess which half?), that really helped with the corners


...Spoilered so it will still be a surprise for Del when she gets is, unless she peeks of course :V

After that I think I might try doing shapes, I actually have some knives being sent over specifically for that purpose!
I'm also going to try doing a paperback, just to see how tricky it might be

[Emma]

Wanna do one for me, Specs?

[Rook]

Certainly  

Any preferences?
And before you say "Just whatever", please keep in mind that anything you say to help me narrow down on a book would be a boon ;>.>

[Emma]

Uh...It's for Koko.  He wanted a thicker one.  And he said "Something boring, but not TOO boring"

........I don't think that's much help.  >___>;;;;;

Maybe a red book.  He likes red.  But make one out of whatever you can find, lol!

[Rook]

Boring and red I can do

Actually... he works with computers right? What about one of those huge bulky computer code manuals? THe thrift store has tons of those, and while they may not be hardback I probably still could pull it off

[Emma]

Hmmm...Just asked him, he said sure, as long as it's hard cover.  Or a dictionary would be fine.

[Rook]

...I feel a tad overwhelmed @_@
No, not with the requests, those are fine. A friend of mine keeps trying to convince me to sell these books (and other things I've been working on) on a site called Etsy
It's kind of a cool idea, however I look at that site and I immediately lose all confidence... everything there looks so professional, I can't imagined my half-assed crafts could really compare ;._.

THat being said (though not just for this reason) I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion what to do with the pages I cut out? It's a shame to see them go to waste and I'm sure there's something I can do with them, I just can't think of anything
At the most I've just occasionally make origami with them <.<

[Emma]

Paper mache!

[Hadrian Emrys]

1. Finally! A use for all of those old hardcover copies of the Twilight series!

2. I second Emma's notion for a secondary project.

3. Before hitting Etsy, I'd practice your technique more and get to the point where you feel confidant in making more ornate patterns. Hell, toy with stuff like stencil cuts that form layered images or whatever. Just something to consider.