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Invisible ink, spy cameras, secret passageways… if it’s incognito, we love it.

Our yen for all things surreptitious and sneaky has inspired us to craft this clansdestine camera case out of a hollowed-out book.

It’s highly useful for tricking enemy spies into believing you are a harmless bookworm instead of the undercover photo ninja that you are.

Pull your fedora down, tighten your trenchcoat, and let’s get secretive.

How to Turn a Book Into a Top-Secret Camera Case

Where to Find Camera-Worthy Books

Look for hardcover books at thrift stores, used bookstores or the free-to-good-home giveaway cart at the library.

Pick one with a cover you like (obviously) but one that you won’t mind not reading. Choose a book that’s a bit larger and thicker than your camera. Take your camera with you for comparison and err on the larger side if you’re in doubt.

What You’ll Need

• Compact camera
• A small hardcover book, slightly thicker than the width of your camera
• Ruler
• Pencil
• White glue or Mod-Podge
• Small paintbrush
• Small container to hold glue
• Wax paper
• Heavy books or weights
• X-acto knife and extra blades
• Sandpaper (optional)
• Decorative paper, ribbon or fabric (optional)
• Materials to make book closure (see Step 10)

Step 1: Measure Your Camera

Measure the length and width of your camera with a ruler at the widest point of the camera.

Write the measurements down, and add 1/4 to 1/2 inch to each dimension to make sure the hole in the book will be large enough for your camera.

Step 2: Glue the Pages Together

Mix some glue with a little bit of water in a small container. It should be about the consistency of heavy cream- thick enough to brush on easily, but not too drippy.

Choose which page you want to be on top when you look at the hollowed-out part of the book, and hold it and the front cover out of the way.

Use a paintbrush to paint the outside edges of the book’s pages with a thin layer of glue. Then open the back cover and paint the inside with glue so it sticks to the rest of the pages.

Keep a paper towel handy to clean up accidental drips and smears.

Step 3: Oppress the Book Very Cruelly

Slip a piece of wax paper and/or a few folded sheets of scrap paper between the first page(s) and the ones that have been glued.

Pile a lot of heavy books on top and let it sit until completely dry. It shouldn’t take more than two hours, maybe as little as thirty minutes.

Step 4: X Marks the Spot

When the book is dry, mark the measurements of the camera on the first glued-down page using a ruler and pencil.

You can eyeball it to make sure the hole will be centered, or use a ruler for ultimate technical precision.

Step 5: Cut Out the Center

Using a ruler to keep your cuts straight, start cutting out a hole in the book.

Cut through just a few pages at a time, removing them as you go. Change blades often to keep your cuts nice and clean.

This is gonna take a while, so take a few breaks to keep yourself from getting impatient or sloppy with the knife. And for the love o’ Pete, keep them fingers out of the way!

Step 6: Clean it Up

When the hole starts to look deep enough, put your camera in to see if the cover closes easily. If not, keep cutting.

When the hole is finally ready, clean out the stray paper scraps and snippety bits. If the sides of the hole aren’t as tidy as you’d like, you can sand them down.

To do this, tape a piece of sandpaper to a flat, narrow object like a small block of wood or even a sturdy ruler. Sand the edges to even them up, keeping the flat edge parallel to the sides of the hole.

Step 7: Glue the Pages Together, um, Again

Clean out any excess dust (canned air or a Shop-Vac may help) and paint the inside edges of the hole with diluted glue as in Step 2.

Slip the wax paper and/or scrap paper back between the front pages and the glued ones, and weigh the book down under heavy books until dry.

This will take a while because air doesn’t circulate well inside the book. Once it’s mostly dry and well pressed, you can open the book and let it air dry without the books on top.

Step 8: Glue On the Top Page

When the inside of the book is dry, paint the top page lightly with glue and stick the reserved first page on top. Put the wax paper and books back on it and weigh it down until dry.

When dry, use an X-acto knife to slice carefully through the first page to reveal the hole underneath. Now you’ve got a nice clean top page free of marks and glue stains.

If you like, you can use decorative paper instead of a page from the book, and glue the same paper onto the inside of the cover so it matches.

Step 9: Fancy It Up

If you don’t like the look of the raw page edges inside the book, cover ‘em up!

Cut pieces of decorative paper or ribbon to size and glue them to the edges.

If the hole is too big for your camera, you can pad it a little by covering the edges and/or bottom with thick cloth. Velvet or chenille work well as long as they don’t shed linty bits that wind up inside your camera.

Use fabric glue to stick the fabric down, and tuck the raw edges of fabric under so it doesn’t fray.

Step 10: Shut It Up

So, you’re almost done, but you need a way to keep your book closed when your camera is hidden inside. There are tons of ways to do this, including:

• Glue velcro tabs or large snaps to the inside cover and top page.
• Use a plain old rubber band.
• Glue a ribbon to the back cover, wrap it around the book and add a velcro closure for quick unwrapping.

Our favorite method was to sew a vintage button to the front cover (using an awl to punch holes we could sew through). Then we looped a length of heavy-duty thread around the button, wrapped it around the book, and tied it around the button like the closure on a manila envelope.

More Ideas

• OK, so it’s not photo-related, but this would make a neat disguise for your Kindle, n’est-ce pas?
• Make a long strap to hold the book shut and hang it over your shoulder. Voila! Ãœber-hip incognito camera bag at your service!
• Nobody says you can only keep cameras in here. Stow your wallet, or makeup, or top-secret government microfiche… go to How to Do Stuff for instructions to make a full-size secret stash book.

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