Regular Koloist contributor and artist Steve Light has a knack for finding unusual uses for Kolo Cortina Lux photo albums. Here he has turned one into a custom pastel box:

I’ve been getting out and walking more, bringing my art supplies around with me to work in cafes and in school before my students arrive, and my pastels kept getting knocked around and broken.

So I took a black Cortina Lux and cut out the pages... then glued in some wood strips for the sides of the box then lined it with foam... and Voila! A Cortina Pastel Box. It's held closed tight with a BIG red rubber band. I can now carry a lot of pastels in a box the same size as my Cortina Lux sketchbooks, and my pastels fit in perfectly.

If you think keeping pastels in a photo album is unorthodox, consider this observation by Henry Alford: Books can be handy places to stow cash, swizzle sticks, rejection letters, even leftover breakfast meals. Intrigued? Check out his essay in the NYT Sunday Book Review, You Never Know What You'll Find in a Book.

Ahhh, and this is all quite reminiscent of a post that appeared on Moleskinerie a while back about a Moleskine secret-compartment hack by a 007 fan. Sneaky enough to impress Q himself.

What is the strangest thing you've hidden in a book? Or found in a book?

See another one of Steve's Cortina hacks, his antiqued Organ Grinder book posted recently here... and here... and here... and here.