Christmas Projects 2013: Book Safes for the guys

I find it can be tougher coming up with good homemade gifts for the menfolk, but Brian and I were really excited about our chosen project this year. These book safes ended up being more of a difficult endeavor than we initially thought, but we learned a lot along the way and it all worked out in the end (even if it was just in the knick of time!) 
We began by scouring a used book store for thick and nice-looking books that would be appropriate for each recipient, then we followed THIS tutorial to create the safe compartment in each book. The only thing that we did differently was that we ended up using an oscillating multi-tool (a handheld saw type thing) instead of using an exact-o knife to cut the box..MUCH faster, especially if you're doing more than one book. When we were done, we thought it would be fun to fill each compartment with some things you might "hide" like a mini-squirt gun, chocolate coins and a little journal. ;)