I love playing with my iPhone, but I don't like advertising that I'm carrying a highly expensive, highly stealable gadget. I decided to make a booksafe case so that I can carry it around with me, play with it on Bart, and look like I'm reading.

Plus, booksafes are cool.

I decided to make the booksafe so I could carry use it in two ways:
1. Leave the iphone in its Marware case and carry them both in the closed booksafe, to provide an extra level of protection in my backpack.
2. Take the iphone out of its Marware case and put horizontally in the open booksafe to surf the web.

Step 1: Choosing the Book

First off, pick the book. Here are the things you need to decide before you choose it:

1. Do you want to put the iPhone in the book vertically, horizontally, or both?
2. Do you want to put the iPhone + a case in the book, or just the phone?

Once you've decided, pick out a book that's thick enough and tall and wide enough to hold the phone.

It's a good idea to pick a book with a dust jacket, because it might get messed up during the project.

Step 2: What You'll Need.

You need:
1. an Exacto blade or box cutter,
2. tacky glue (you can find this in a craft shop,)
3. a pen or pencil, and
4. the book.

Cutting the book is going to take a long, long time, and could get boring if you're working alone. I made my booksafe at a party at a coffeeshop, which was fun. Also I made lots of new friends, everybody was curious about what I was doing.

Since you're using a sharp knife, I wouldn't do this at an airport.

Step 3: Outline the Shape.

Take the dust jacket off the book, and put it somplace it won't get glue on it.

Outline the shape you're going to cut in the book.

Step 4: Glue the Part You'll Be Cutting.

Figure out what part of the book you'll be cutting-- leave a few pages at the front and the end of the book.

Put tacky glue along all the sides, then smear it down evenly with a napkin or coffee stirrer and let it dry.

Step 5: Start Cutting!

Trace your shape with your Exacto blade, cutting through a few pages at a time. Every few pages, pull out the paper you've cut.

Step 6: Voila! You Have Your Case!

Here you can see my phone + Marware case in the book.

You can also see the outline I made when I decided to cut a second, shallower hole so that I can put the iPhone uncovered in the book horizontally for easier web surfing.

Step 7: Optional Extra-fancy Things You Can Do.

I want to figure out a fun way to hold the book closed when it's in my backpack.

I'm also thinking about lining the inside of the case with fabric, or painting it, to even out the rough edges. It's pretty nifty as is, though.