I love books. It’s no secret. I’ve always dreamed of having a Beauty and the Beast-esque library of my own someday. So it’s no surprise that I frequent used book sales.
A year or so ago, I found some cool old Reader’s Digest books at the East Grand Rapids Library used book sale. They were touting them as perfect for Pinterest projects, and they weren’t wrong.
I scooped up a beautiful blue book, and I’ve been debating what to do with it ever since. Until I decided I would make it into a lazy version of a DIY book safe and phone charging station to beautify my bedside table.
First, you’ll want to measure out how big you want to make the box inside. I have an iPhone 6, so I had to make sure it would fit inside. I opened the front cover and traced around my phone, then increased it a little bit on every side.
Then, cut! Go as many or as few pages deep as you want. I’m using mine just for my phone, so I only went as deep into the book as I had to.
I just kept testing out the thickness by placing my phone inside and closing the cover. Once the cover laid flat, I stopped! Easy peasy.
Then, if you want to make it into a charging station for your phone, just make a divot at the top that’s a few pages thick for the cord to stick out of. That way, the cover still lays flat when your phone is plugged in.
And voila! You’re done. I wanted to make a lazy girl’s guide to this, because, well, I’m a bit lazy sometimes. A lot of other tutorials will have you clamp the book shut and seal the pages together with Mod Podge, but I haven’t found the need to do that yet. Sometimes the cord gets a little mixed up in the pages, but that’s rare.
What do you think? What would you make out of a cool old book?
This. is. SO FREAKIN COOL.
Brb, making this immediately.
going to try this 🙂
This is such a neat and smart idea. I love crafting things like this. I have also always dreamed of Belle’s library in Beauty and the Beast.
Mikayla | A Seersucker State of Mind.
Thank you, Mikayla!
So cute. This is a great idea for a phone charger, and I love the lazy DIY way of doing it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad I’m not the only one! 🙂 Thanks, Shann!
I NEED that library… and I love love love this. This is a craft I would actually do, so I guess I have no choice. OOOH, this is also a good thing for me to do at night, put my phone to charge and sleep, no late night games or tinder swiping!
Exactly! And you don’t see it light up if you get a text or whatever. 🙂 It’s awesome.
this is so incredibly cool!
Thanks, Cynthia! 🙂
I love this project! I actually tried to make one when I was younger, but I got really impatient and never finished it. I’ve always like the idea though!
Running Alyssa
Haha that’s totally fair! That’s why I tried to make it as simple as possible 🙂
This is so amazing and I think I might have to make one for work, where I work with books 🙂
That would be perfect!!
what a fun idea! Thanks for the easy directions and great crafty idea!
Thanks for stopping by, Emily! 🙂
This is awesome, though I admit that the book-lover in me cried a little when I saw the exacto knife coming in for the kill, lol.
Haha me too! I think that’s one of the reasons it took me so long to do this project. I hate maiming books! But at the same time, I’d rather have it cut into a little bit and well-loved than thrown it in the trash. 🙂
This is SUCH a cool idea! I really wish I was craft sometimes! 🙁
Thank you!!
Charging phones in unventilated or very small spaces is the very reason many phones have caught fire and burned houses down.
Be VERY careful doing this and check how hot your phone can get in something like this. Once lithium batteries reach a high temperature the combustion is fast and violent.
Hello,
I am planning on to make this RN!
but i have a soft cover book so i was going to cut out some hard cardboard to cover that
and should i start cutting the first page after the cover?
Ooh interesting idea! I would start with the first page after the cover but you can start wherever you want, to be honest!
This is the most fantastic thing ever!