Using Niches in an Altered Book

One of the many tricks of the trade associated with creating an altered book is the use of a niche.

A niche is a hole that you can in the book.  You can then fill this hole with any little treasure you desire.

You can cut a niche through the covers of the book, if you wish. Alternatively, you could glue or tie a block of pages together and cut the hole through the block.

One tip to remember when cutting a niche:  Do not cut too close to the book's binding, or you will end up damaging that part of the book. Also, a niched block of pages cut too close to the binding is unlikely to close properly.

Otherwise, you can cut the niche to any size and shape that you fancy.  It helps to draw the niche on the top page or cover first, so you end up getting what you imagined.

To cut a niche, you will need suitable cutting tools. I have heard that many altered book artists use power tools used in woodworking This assumes that you have access to a woodworking shop and that you know how to use the power tools -- or that you have a co-operative woodworker in your life who will assist with this task.

Those who are not that fortunate can cut the niches using regular craft tools, such as a box cutter or X-acto knife. I personally use this method of niche cutting. True, the niches I create are not as tidy and perfect as one could achieve with a woodwork tool. The inner edges are often jagged. I smooth them out with a sandpaper block or a sheet of sandpaper.

Once a niche is made, you can use it to display a surprise object. This can be anything that fits in the niche.Some of the objects I have seen used included notes, pictures, snapshots, beads and jewels, leaves and dried flowers, twigs, shells, stones, mirrors, potpourri in bags, punched shapes and anything else that comes to mind.

The neatest thing about using a niche in an altered book is the element of surprise. You could cover it with a "door" and let the reader experience the adventure of finding hidden objects.

In this video, an artist from Altered Arts magazine demonstrates cutting a niche.