DIY Customized Book Safe

My nephew prefers cash to presents. I wanted to find a fun way to package it. What's more fun than a book safe, such as the one in which Andy hid his rock hammer (you've seen The Shawkshank Redemption, right? It's one of my all-time favorite movies! Thank you, Ted Turner, for showing it on TNT eleventy billion times!). 

I made this book safe with my nephew's first initial. Pretty sure he liked it! Or at least he liked the money hidden inside :-).

You will need:

• Book you don't mind destroying. This was copy of A Divine Comedy. I feel a little bad about cutting up Dante :-(. 
• Scrap piece of stiff paper - cardstock or thin cardboard
• Scissors
• Exacto knife or box cutter
• Money and rubber band 
• Double-sided tape  

1. Cut your desired shape out of cardstock. Make sure that there is at least an inch of book around all sides of the stencil. Don't make it too intricate. Long, straight lines are easiest.
2. Find a book of medium thickness.
3. Add double sided tape to the back of your stencil.
4. Open the book to page 20 or more. Place your stencil on the right (thick) part of the book. Use the exacto knife or box cutter to cut around the stencil. Make sure your fingers are not in the blade's cutting path!
5. Remove the cut-outs. Turn most of the cut pages to the left. Use a cut page as the next stencil. Cut out the design. Repeat until you reach the last 20 pages of the book.
6. Roll up the money. Secure with rubber band. Place in book.

Save the cut up letters for future projects!

Wrap the book in scrapbook paper, glue the original stencil to the top and wind the ends with yarn. 

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