How to Cut a Niche in an Altered Book
An altered book artist will often cut a niche in an AB.
In the image to the left, I have cut a
niche to contain the picture of the
Barbie doll and the ribbon-bound
document that is in front of her. Text
from the original book displays on
Barbie's left.
What is a Niche?
As the name suggests, it is a "hole"
cut through one or more pages of a
book. This creates a space that
altered book artists and other arts
and craft people use for multiple
purposes.
Why Cut Niches?
To reveal text or artwork showing in a page below; to contain a
memento or treasure that would otherwise be too bulky to include in a
book; to add a surprise for the reader to discover; to create a
particular artistic look.
What do you Put in a Niche?
Anything you want. Line it, layer it, paper it, paint it,
leave it empty to display material from another page,
fill it with treasures and mementoes. I have used this technique to
place fibers, seashells, dried flowers, artificial flowers, keys, jewelry,
marbles, mini-books,accordion books, beads, tags, rolled documents.
Arts and crafts people usually have plenty of imaginative uses for this
technique.
For example, site visitor Jerry Staley sent me an email with an
excellent suggestion: " Incorporate a niche with a mirror so the person
viewing the book will see themselves in the differing situations and
themes of the book."
How do you do it?
People approach this in different ways. This is my preferred method.
1. Decide how you intend to fill the niche. This will determine the
size and shape.
2. If you are using a 3-D element, a key, for example, you will
need to determine how many pages you must cut
through. Place the key on the outside edge of the book's
pages to determine the desired thickness. If you want your
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book to close flat afterwards, you must make your niche a
little thicker than your key. (Some AB artists don't care if the
book doesn't close; it's up to you.)
Decide the placement on your page. Cutting a thick opening
close to the spine will result in an unsightly ridge of cut pages
that will stick up and prevent your book from closing properly.
Alternatively, cutting a thick niche too close to the outer edges
will create undue stress on the spine and possibly lead to
damage.
Decide on the shape you want to use. Squares and rectangles
are the easiest, but you can cut any shape you want.
Using a pencil and ruler (if you want a straight line), draw
the niche on your top page.
Place a cutting board underneath the last page that you
intend to cut. By cutting board, I refer to a hard surface that
will prevent you from cutting through to pages that you want
to protect. I use cheap plastic things that you get at the Dollar
Stores.
Fasten your pages with an office clamp to hold them in place
while cutting. Staples and other office supply stores carry
clamps.
Cut your niche using an Xacto knife or a box cutter.
Cheapies from the Dollar Stores work, but will need replacing
often if you cut many niches. Michaels arts and craft store
carries better quality Xacto knives; most hardware stores carry
box cutters.
If your niche is thick, you will not be able to cut through all
pages at once. Cut through as many pages as you can, then
using the last cut page as your template, cut some more.
Continue until all desired pages are cut. I do not fasten the
pages together prior to cutting for this reason.
In most cases,the inner edges of your niche will be messy.
Many of us don't care, believing this to be part of the charm of
an altered book. If you do care, tidy up the inner edges by
cutting, sanding, painting, etc. Another approach is to line the
entire niche, including the edges, with paper or vellum.
Fasten together the pages used for the niche. You'll find
more about that below.
Fill or decorate your niche as planned.
How do I Fasten the Cut Pages Together?
Essentially, arts and crafts people use one of three methods. Tie them,
fasten with eyelets or brads, or glue them.

Tying. First punch holes through your pages. Run wire,
thread, string, ribbon, chain, fibre, etc., though the holes and
fasten as desired. This eliminates the challenges associated
with gluing. However, it leaves open spaces that some people
might try to pry apart.

Eyelits and brads. These work when fastening a few pages
together. I will warn you in advance that applying eyelets
directly to a book requires dexterity, ingenuity and the ability
to twist yourself into peculiar postures. For more information
on using eyelets and brads, refer to the eyelet page on this
web site.

Glue. This is the most challenging, but results in a sold block
of pages that is difficult to pry apart. The challenge lies in
attempting to minimize or eliminate buckling that occurs as
the glue dries.
If you are unfamiliar with glues and adhesives, please refer to
the Glue page of this web site.
Tips for Gluing Pages Together

To glue only a few pages together, use
glue stick or other glue and apply to each page. Apply glue
around edges and in an X across the pages. To minimize
buckling, after you have applied glue to a page, flatten the top
page to the bottom one with a brayer or a credit card.

To glue thick blocks of pages, glue the outer edges only.
Hold the block together using your hand and/or a clamp.
Spread glue along the outer edges of the pages. Squish it
around with your fingers so some goes inside as well. Ensure
all page edges are covered with glue. Similarly, apply glue to
the inner edges of the niche itself, if desired.
Brayer or flatten the pages as best you can. Close your book
and weight it down with a heavy object. Leave overnight or
until the glue has dried. Check it, and apply additional glue if
the block is not secure.

Acrylic glues and adhesives cause less buckling than waterbased. Personally, I use Golden Gel Medium (Soft Gel Matte),
available at MisterArt.com, to glue blocks of pages together.
A Couple of General Tips

Decorate your book's cover last. You will avoid damaging your
cover art when you weight your book down to facilitate glue
drying.

Allow your viewer to discover a niche and its contents by
covering the opening with a fabric, paper, etc. When the
viewer lifts the "curtain" the surprise appears.

As you can see, making an altered book involves lots of delays
while paste and paint are drying. That's why many arts and
crafts people have several underway at once. There is always
one ready to work on.