Illuminated Tunnel Book

I just wanted to show some instructions for how to make a tunnel book. I couldn't really find any good instructions for how to use images found online so I decided to make my own after creating this tunnel book.

Step 1: Decide on a Theme

I first started by deciding what theme I wanted for my book. Since I wanted to make the book for my wife on our anniversary, I wanted a couples theme.

Step 2: Find Images

I also wanted some bamboo in the foreground and the great wall of China in the background. I began by searching for images of these, especially black and white silhouettes.

If some of the images will take up a lot of ink to print, you can enlarge them and trace them lightly with a pencil on your computer screen.

After this, you can make a scanned copy of your image if you need to save it or print multiple copies.

You also need to make sure that each picture fills about the same amount of the page (I used half a page). You may need to scale the pictures to fit correctly. You can use some type of free photo editor.

Step 3: Print and Cut

Now you should print out the designs you did not trace (preferably black and white silhouettes for minimal ink use. You don't want large dark areas, only the outlines of the image). You can either print them or trace them again onto white card stock (for the rigidity). I tried to keep the paper mostly blank, other than some light pencil marks.

After this, cut out all of the shapes you want removed and keep the ones you want to show up each layer. You can use a hobby knife (Xacto) to cut out the difficult or small pieces. Make sure you are cutting on a surface you wont worry about damaging, like cardboard.

I designed my book to have concentric circles of decreasing size in addition to the images, so I used a drafting compass to make the circles, each smaller then the previous. Be sure to leave some paper at the top and bottom of the pages so that it can be connected across to give it more strength.

Step 4: Make the Side Bindings

Next, you have to make the bindings of the book. Do this by folding paper back and forth on itself in even sections (about one inch folds). Then cut tabs to glue/tape the pages to so they wont bend to the angles of the side bindings. I used clear tape wrapped in on itself to hold the pages together.

Step 5: Add a Personal Touch

I added an LED and soldered batteries from an old piece of electronics for a nice personal touch, it looks amazing in the dark!

That's it! Let me know if you have any questions.

Comments

[Starrygazypie]

Hi this is beautiful. I’m looking for ways to backlight my tunnel book, please can you explain more about how you created the tiny light? Thankyou

[KarineC9]

c'est magnifique partageriez vous le tuto? merci

[Live2Create]

Can you be more specific re: how the electronics work? Thanks!

[Cheezwedge]

I actually had an old mini flashlight that had 3 button batteries and I soldered an LED and a switch onto them. You could use any light really, but you can search for basic LED circuits if you want to make your own.

[Live2Create]

Thanks!

[fergilan]

Your wife is such a lucky woman - she has a romantic husband and a crafter wow.

[AustinLLS]

LOVE This!

[gbushta]

I really like this and can think of many different themes right off. Thank you for sharing. It is very beautiful.

[Cheezwedge]

Thanks everyone for the comments! Vote for my design in the "On a Budget" contest if you like what you see!

[starforest]

Oh my, that is beauitful.

[satoko68]

Amazingly beautiful! Lucky wife :-) I can picture this with so many gorgeous variations. Thanks for sharing this!

[DanielGilbert]

First I was like "Uh, blue leds?" But I guess it really fits the scene, if you imagine it being a shiny moon night or something like that. Thumbs up, I like it!

[GabrielleGera]

This is gorgeous, thanks for the great Instructable!