We interrupt this string of travel posts to bring you something that might actually be of interest. A long time ago, Dawn wrote a post about book clutches and I fancied the idea of making one myself. Fast forward to the time I visited Francfranc in Tokyo, I came across boxes that are made to resemble books and the idea of making a book clutch out of it hit me.
Sourcing for the right materials itself took me a lot of time. I wanted a book clutch that resembles some of those fancy old bibles with book corners, a leather strap and clasp. Searching for the right clasp proved difficult and I had bought clasps from Singapore, Tokyo and finally found the right one in New York.
Enough babble, here is what you will need for your DIY.
Materials you will need:
- Book Box from FrancFranc (Or any old book you’re willing to sacrifice by hollowing them out)
- 4 Book corners from Botani trim (NYC)
- Clasp from Botani trim (NYC)
- Leather strap or old belt with the same width as the clasp
- Tools like hammer, pliers, screws and screwdriver
- Leather punch (not pictured)
- Craft knife (not pictured)
As you can see, the book box is convenient cause it’s already hollowed out, if I weren’t picky, I could use this on its own. There is a tiny magnet that gives some sort of resistance when you try to open or close it. I wouldn’t count on it to stay closed when I carry it around with my stuff rattling around in it though.
Using a pair of pliers, carefully fix the book corners to each corner. This will protect the edges against wear and tear when you bring the book clutch out.
Next, press the end of the clasp that is supposed to go on the leather strap to make a marking.
You should end up with markings for holes like these.
Choose the appropriate size for the leather punch then make the holes as marked by the clasp.
Screw the clasp in place.
Punch holes in the other end of the strap and make the markings on the book with a pencil. The strap should sit around the center of the book on the back.
Make holes in the book so that the leather strap can be secured onto it.
Attach the leather strap onto the book with appropriate screws. Ideally, I would use flat top screws but I couldn’t find them so I had to make do with these.
The other end of the clasp does not sit flat on the front of the book so I had to make a recess for it. Mark the part that is protruding and cut out a recess using a craft knife. This part took a long time as the cover was made of compressed cardboard, I guess that also makes the book clutch durable.
Fix the clasp onto the recess and make sure it sits flat.
Secure it with screws (the clasp came with all these parts).
The book clutch is now done! It is actually decently sized so it can contain all the necessities like wallet, cellphone and keys.
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Wow, it turned out so great! Such a cool idea. xx
just-another-day1.blogspot.ca
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This looks amazing, I’m going to try it for sure.
Thx Arissa for this great DIY
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Arissa replied on July 26th, 2012 at 7:48 am
Thanks Sara, glad you liked it.
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OmG this looks amazing!! I will definitely be searching for a nice book to do this with!
[Reply]
Arissa replied on July 26th, 2012 at 7:47 am
Thanks Tanya! May I suggest second hand bookstores in Bras Basah? Some of these stores have a pretty decent collection of old books. Just make sure they are hard cover!
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Dear Arissa,
Not only have you proven to be a model/retired track athlete extraordinaire, you are quite the handy person C:
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Arissa replied on July 26th, 2012 at 7:46 am
Wow! Thanks Fiona. How’d you know I was a track athlete when I was in school? :O
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What a fantastic DIY post to create sucha unique clutch! Definitely the one-of-a-kind style for every fashionista
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This is such an amazing tutorial!! Where did you buy your clasps from in Singapore?
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Arissa replied on July 26th, 2012 at 7:45 am
I bought the clasps from a shop in New York and not Singapore.
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Reblogged! (:
http://thejewelsthatdance.blogspot.sg/2012/07/monoxiouss-book-clutch.html
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Dawn replied on July 25th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Hey!
We really appreciate you reblogging our post! However, is it possible for us to request that you perhaps only reblog the pictures and leave out the instructions? We would like to make sure that our DIYs get directed back here to our blog, as we’ve had problems with people simply copying the entire post in the past. We hope you understand <3 <3
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Thejewelsthatdance replied on July 26th, 2012 at 6:57 am
Hello Dawn,
I’m terribly sorry that I only removed the post now as I did not click the option to receive follow up comments and didnt see your reply until I saw Arissa’s comment on my blog post.
So sorry about it as I don’t really share DIYs and am unsure of the rules. Guess its just not sufficient to link it for credits! I’ll take your suggestion to upload just a photo and link it to your site (:
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it’s so hard finding the supplies here! I’m in canada feeling bummed! >.< amazing tutorial though, thank you!
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Awesome idea! I’m gonna try it!
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