Pressed  Flowers  By  Preserved  Gardens

Little things that can clutter up a desk or shelf can be kept in an old book with a secret compartment cut out. I like to have one around when working with pressed flowers or other small items. It's a pretty way to organize.

• Decide on size and placement of the compartment and mark it.
• Use an Exacto knife and straight edge to cut out the compartment, cutting about six to ten pages at a time.
• Leave some of the pages intact at the bottom/end so that the opening is lined. If possible, choose an interesting page to be left for the liner.
• Glue the pages together and let dry. Don't glue the front cover, as this will be your lid.

After gluing, you can paint the outer edges of the pages with gold paint to give your book an elegant gilded look.

If desired, cover with leather, fabric or hand made paper to make it look like a hand made book and decorate accordingly. Try using hand made paper and pressed flowers or a leaf or two.