craftgrrl | rice backpack and secret compartment book (Reply)

A rice bag backpack I made, and a secret compartment book in progress:

This was really easy, but I love how it turned out, and I've been using it just about every day.

I simply sewed two cotton webbing straps to a fabric 10-lb rice bag. I didn't make the straps adjustable; I just sewed them at the top, checked the fit/pinned them, and sewed them to the bottom once I had the length right. The resulting backpack is small, just right for a sketchbook or a library book, some pens/pencils, and a snack.

You can find rice in cool-looking fabric bags in asian/international groceries and some natural food stores. I got mine at the local co-op. The rice is the best basmati ever, too. ^_^

This secret compartment book is in progress:

The book is Effective Language Arts Practices in the Elementary School: Selected Readings and I got it at a charity book sale for 10 cents. (I have no misgivings about remaking it!) I am cutting the pages out with the craft knife shown in the photo. The compartment is about an inch and a half deep now. It's slow going; I've had to work on it gradually because it's tiring cutting with the craft knife. One thing that helps is keeping the blade fresh and sharp. But if I ever do this again, I am going to try using a saw.

One issue is holding the book in proper position as I cut. The pages want to slide to the left. You can see some unevenness in the photo... I'm going to line the compartment anyway when I'm done, so they won't show. My next step is inserting screw posts to keep the pages in position in its new life as a hollow book... I don't really want to use glue. Then I'm going to line the inside and re-cover the outside as currently it is rather boring and plain. More photos to come when I'm done!