How to Make a Secret Candy Stash Craft
Build a disguised Tom and Jerry themed pocket notebook with an internal secret compartment designed to store and dispense Gems candy covertly.
This guide shows how to make a secret candy stash craft in 25-35 minutes. Start with mark the secret interior cavity; follow the safety notes and step checkpoints below.
Visual step map
See the full sequence before you start, then check off each step as you go.
0 of 5 steps checked
Materials and cost planner
Select the items you plan to buy, adjust any estimated price, and calculate the selected total.
Editable rough U.S. retail estimates. Estimated all listed: $117.00. Prices are planning estimates, not quotes — tax, store, brand, size and quantity will change them.
Time and finish planner
Estimate active working time from the number of steps in this guide.
Pattern scale calculator
Scale a pattern dimension up or down without changing the proportions.
Scale every related dimension by the same percentage. Material thickness and fold tolerances may not scale cleanly.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap See 20-second demo if you want to understand it first.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free help, or Voice-only if you do not want to use the camera.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Craft scissors
- ✓ Precision utility knife
- ✓ Steel ruler
- ✓ Pencil
- ✓ Hot glue gun
- ✓ Cutting mat
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Small thick notebook (approx. 5x7 inches)
- ✓ Tom and Jerry printed character cutouts
- ✓ Colored craft cardstock (yellow and blue)
- ✓ Clear plastic mini sealable bag or blister cup
- ✓ 1 pack of Gems candy
- ✓ PVA glue or glue stick
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Always cut downward into a cutting mat with the blade angled away from your guide hand.
- • Do not touch the metal tip of the hot glue gun or wet hot glue directly with bare fingers.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (5 Steps)
Mark the Secret Interior Cavity
Open the notebook past the first 3-5 disguise pages. Use a steel ruler and pencil to draw a rectangle in the center of the remaining page block, leaving at least a 1-inch border along all four edges.
- • First few pages left unmarked and untouched.
- • A clearly outlined centered rectangle penciled onto the top page of the inner block.
- • Marking too close to the binding edge, which weakens the book spine.
Hollow Out the Candy Compartment
Place the cutting mat underneath the target pages. Guide the utility knife firmly along the steel ruler, scoring and slicing through 10-15 pages at a time along the marked rectangle until a deep recess is hollowed out.
- • A clean rectangular cutout cavity in the page block.
- • Smooth vertical paper walls inside the hollowed compartment.
- • Trying to slice through all pages in a single pass, which causes ragged tears.
Seal Inner Cavity Walls
Brush PVA glue along the interior cut paper edges and exterior page block edges to bind the cut pages together into a solid block. Allow 5 minutes to dry until tacky and firm.
- • Glued paper edges become rigid and do not fan out when touched.
- • Cavity maintains its defined rectangular box shape.
- • Getting wet glue on the front disguise pages, causing them to stick shut.
Decorate with Tom and Jerry Theme
Cover the front notebook cover with bright yellow or blue cardstock. Glue the Tom and Jerry character cutout onto the front center to make it look like a regular themed journal.
- • Outer notebook surface fully covered with vibrant cardstock.
- • Tom and Jerry graphic cleanly aligned and glued flat with no air bubbles.
- • Using excessive liquid glue causing the printed character paper to wrinkle.
Install Candy Chamber and Load Gems
Fit the clear plastic liner or mini zip pouch inside the hollowed cavity and secure the base with a dot of hot glue. Fill the hidden compartment with Gems candy and close the cover flat.
- • Gems candies sitting level inside the hidden compartment.
- • Notebook closes completely flat without bulging when the cover is closed.
- • Overfilling with too many candies, preventing the disguise pages from closing flush.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Diya Ishwarya — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Hot glue gun? Double-sided craft tape or standard clear tape
- No Precision utility knife? Pointed craft scissors with controlled shallow snips