Quiet Book Cover & Bubble Gum Machine

I finally got around to making the cover for Sage's quiet book.  I think it took me so long because I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be.  There are so many colors going on in the book that I didn't want the cover to compete with that.  I finally decided to go with something that was special for me which was an old pair of jeans.  The jeans I used were actually my dad's in the 70's.  I then wore them all through high school and college.  I would still wear them for their vintage awesomeness but I'm not into showing my undies.  SO - what better way to give them new life.

I used this tutorial for the cover but had to modify it a little bit.  The long piece needed to be 30" and well, my family is short and these pants were a 28" inseam.  So - I actually had to piece some material together in order to make it work.  Since I was dealing with some old and oddly shaped material, it's not perfect but I still love it.  And let me save you time - order your 3" rings on Amazon.  They are hard to find in stores.

 This is the front.  I actually meant for the pockets to be on the front but I used a fabric on the inside with trees on it.  I didn't pay attention when constructing it and if the pockets are on the front then the trees would be upside down.  Whoops :).  Also, I'm not loving the purple/pink buckle so I might make a fabric one out of the same tree material and get a green buckle.  This works for now though.

The pockets are still functional so I am planning on making a little doll or something attached by a string that she can keep in the pocket.  There are some quiet book pages that use dolls so maybe if the string is long enough then the doll could function for all of those pages??

I plan on adding a little patch on the inside cover with an embroidered note for Sage.  This tree material is leftover from my favorite dress that I made for Dakota.  I can't wait until Sage can wear it one day.

And while I'm sharing - I have a new page.  Sage loves this page and as soon as I gave it to her she said, "I match?"  She knew exactly what to do with it and it's helping us work on colors - "pupple" is her easiest to identify.

I found this idea on here but I'm pretty sure that is not the original source.  I've tried finding it but turned up empty - my apologies for not giving credit where it's due.  Since I didn't have a pattern for this page I searched for a clip art that would give me the shape I needed.  Here's the one I used.  It took me a few printings to get it the size I needed.  The buttons were purchased at Wal-mart.

The next page I am going to make for her is a piggy bank page.  She's really into her real piggy bank right now and is always dumping the money out so she can put it back in.  I also still have 2 unfinished pages that I mentioned in my last post.  

Hello My Name Is

 It's been a while since I posted a finished Quiet Book page.  You can see the first few here and here.  I've actually had this one done for a while but was trying to finish up two others before posting about it.  The other two are 85% finished but they require materials that I keep forgetting to pick up at the store.  They involve a mailbox and a camera and are super cute.  But about this page...

I wanted something easy to teach Sage her name.  Lucky for her (and me since I had to cut out the letters) she has a short, easy name.  I have seen several pages with names but I came up with the design for this one.  I wanted it to look like a chalkboard so I found a fat quarter that fit that look.  I then did basic embroidery to look like the writing was done in chalk.  I just free-handed all of that but if you are stumbling across this page and need help, let me know and I can create a pattern for you to trace - just leave a comment with your email.

For the name I used a basic font in Word and printed out her name.  I cut out two pieces of felt for each letter (1 is too thin for detachable pieces).  They are stitched together (sorry you can't tell) with a rough stitch and have a piece of white velcro on the back.  You can buy pre-cut felt letters at Hancocks or Joanns but I'm trying to use what I have and would have been left with a pack of letters that I have no use for had I bought some.

I stitched the pieces of black velcro (sorry you can't tell this either) on in the places that the letters need attached.  So far, she seems to be doing well with attaching them.  We'll get to spelling later.

I finished the back off with a fun school fabric and then added the grommets.

I still need to get the cover made because the first one I started I was unhappy with so I haven't started again.  The pages are so colorful that I'm struggling with what color to do the cover so it's not an overload.  I'll get to it eventually.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little page and I'll hurry back with the others.  I've been pinning a million that I want to tackle and with lots of summer travel, she will need some car entertainment too!

Socks & Ladybugs

Two more pages down for Sage's quiet book that I am working on.  I am finding that Corban is especially interested in this project so I might make a few pages for him.  The great thing about using a grommet system is that the book can change and adapt with the child.  I still haven't made the cover that will hold the pages but I'm thinking I might need more than one so there isn't any fighting.  There are some patterns that have games like tic-tac-toe and even ones that teach fractions and other math skills that might be appropriate for Corban or Dakota.

I finished the Sock Matching Page that I was working on last post.  We've already lost a sock but thankfully found it with a little couch cushion searching.  Something tells me they are not going to survive too long, which only seems appropriate since you can never find all of your socks after a load of laundry.  I accidentally put the grommets on the wrong sides of the pages but I don't think it matters (the dryer should have been on the left).

The next page was super quick and easy.  I adapted it from this Counting Page but I couldn't find the same beads at my Joanns.  Ok, now that I reread her post she said they were in the kid crafting area.  Whoops, never looked there.  They probably would have worked better than these buttons because mine sort of flip around.  Oh well.  Since I bought ladybugs and flowers I tried to make the numbers look like sticks and then added some leaves and ants to the party.

  

That's all I've got for today.  I'm currently working on a page for her to learn to spell her name and then I might do a camera page with family photos that she can pull in and out.

Sidenote - I decided to use a hybrid of cotton and felt for my pages.  I wanted to use cotton for all of my backgrounds because there are so many fun choices out there.  If you want to do this for your pages then you need to iron on a stabilizer first or the cotton will have difficulty holding up the embroidery and felt.  Also, the back of my pages are cotton to coordinate with the front.  They also have a fusible stabilizer on them.  

Shhhh....Be Quiet

I probably could have come up with a more clever title for this post but it's Sunday and my brain is taking the day off.  I've been so excited about my recent project that I wanted to share it.  I stumbled across a pin a while back of a "quiet book" and quickly fell in love with the concept.  Basically a quiet book is a fabric book that has interactive pages for a baby/toddler to play with when you want to keep them occupied.  Airplanes.  Cars.  Restaurants.  Church.  I decided I wanted to take a stab at making one for Sage for her 2nd birthday.  Knowing it would take a while I got a head start instead of waiting until the last minute like usual.  The blog I have found to have the best tutorials and patterns (they're free!) does a lot of hand stitching with felt.  When I first started looking at her patterns I decided I would adapt them so I could use my machine...but then I got nostalgic.  I remember the sweet days of my mom sitting on our couch cross stitching by hand with her DMC embroidery floss and decided I wanted to be just like her.  So I pulled out her old floss that I've been saving:

I remember mom coming home from Piece Goods with her stash and putting them in these little envelopes and preparing for a new project.  I'm not going to lie, when I pulled out the first color my breath caught a little.  They are all in pristine condition like they have been waiting 18 years for just the right project.  Something about using mom's old thread to stitch a project for my baby girl just makes me smile.  I think she would be proud.  Sorry, I didn't really mean to get all sappy on this post but had to open my heart a little.

The first page I decided to do was a Forest Page.  It requires very simple motor skills for a child - basically pulling the owl out of his hole and lifting the leaves to find a baby bird in a nest.  It went so fast and I LOVED the hand stitching.  I am a little OCD and I appreciate the unwritten rule that hand stitching isn't supposed to be perfect.  When I use my machine I get very a little frustrated when it doesn't look just like I want.

My second page(s) was a Cookie Page.  This set will be a little more difficult for Sage but hopefully it will teach her to match colors and shapes and eventually do buttons.  Actually, I've been letting Corban practice with it because he still has a little trouble with his shirts.

The one I am currently working on is a Sock Page.  It will teach matching of patterns.

That's all I've got for you today but I'll try to keep you up to date on this project.  I will make a cover that the pages can fit in and we will be able to add or remove from the book as needed.  There are so many patterns that I want to try and I hope to design a few of my own.  Well, I'm going to pick up my needle and thread and enjoy the rest of this lazy Sunday...

Crafting: For the Birds

One thing we love in our house is crafting.  I've enjoyed putting things together since I was first introduced to macaroni noodles and glue.  I'm happy that my little girl (and my husband) takes after this love and it is something we do quite frequently.  Some of the crafts we make I pull out of my head, some are classics and some are inspired by another source.  We try to make crafts that can be displayed in a nice manner in our house or could be given as a present to a loved one.  I'm going to start sharing them on the blog so that you can enjoy them too. 

First up...Birdseed Pine Cones.  This is a classic.  We're loving the weather right now and we're loving our property so I thought that doing something outdoors that would beautify our yard would be a winner.  The birds will appreciate it too!

Supplies
Pine Cones
Peanut Butter
Bird Seed

Twine

1)  String a piece of twine between two trees so that it will be ready to hang the pine cones as you finish them. 

2)  Tie a piece of twine (approx. 12") around each of the pine cones before you get them all sticky.

3)  Spread peanut butter on the pine cone to act as glue.

4)  Roll the peanut buttered pine cone in the birdseed which you have poured on a plate or small box lid.

5)  Tie your finished pine cone on the twine you previously hung.

6)  Wait for the birds to enjoy their treat!