Quiet book

I made this Quiet book for an easter present to my kids. I enjoyed making it, but man did it take a while! I took all the ideas from others, but, to my credit, i DID make some of the patterns on my own! I collected all these ideas online and then saw others i want to make (from some friends who had made books) so I still have a few more pages to work on.

General construction:  I used felt for the "activity pieces" and regular cotton for the actual pages because I have heard that if you use felt it isn't as strong, doesn't last as long, and looks messy sooner.  I ironed thick innerfacing to each page.  I sized my pages based on the innerfacing- so I can get 2 pages out of the width of the innerfacing. (or interfacing?? haha, i don't know)

 Fishing.  I made my own pattern for this one. There are magnets sewn inside the fish. (and there are actually 5 fish for this one)  there is a small magnet on the end of the string to pick them up with.  the pole is just made of a bamboo skewer, I used ducked tape to connect the string and then gorilla glue to connect the manget.

 I Made my own pattern for this one too, but got the idea from the blog "Hippos and dinosaurs." the mom zips open and you find a little baby inside! The arms and baby are both double thickness of felt so it's stronger.

This pattern can be found at here. there are several other face choices inside the bucket on the right.

 

 This sand castle pattern is found here. I made the bucket larger that the pattern, but it is still too small. I also added a velcro sun... I did a blanket stich on the edges because I wanted it to look just like theirs, but it was NOT worth it.  I wish I would have just sewed it with the machine.

    Sock Matching! this can be found at the same website as the sand castle.

Cutting board puzzles. got this idea from here  but i made my own pattern's for a beet, an apple and a strawberry. on the blog they put velcro across the cutting board and on the backs of each puzzle piece.  I did NOT use any velcro because felt sticks to itself well enough on it's own and i have heard that velcro gets stuck to other random felt pieces on accident and makes the felt pill up.

 

 

number matching. you match the number of sprinkles (beads) to the number on the cupcake tin.  I made my own patern for this one but the idea is from the same blog as the cutting board page. Used puffy paint for the numbers and I made the frosting and the cupcake both double thickness, but the cupcake tin's are just a single layer of felt.

 

Bow tying. I don't remember where I got this one but i made my own pattern.

 

3 little pigs. this one is from here. she had used a pattern that she bought, then downscaled it I think. I am cheap so I just made my own patterns.  not quite as cute as hers, oh well.

 

 This is my cover.  after I made it i saw how my friend Jenna made hers and I wished I had done it like that... way more simple. I sewed 2 pieces of cotton right sides together, flipped, top stiched, and added a velcro closure. Also added a fabric pocket to the back for any loose pieces you may just need to shove in.

here is they way I bound the book.  put eyelets in the pages (easier and cheaper than i thought) then after my cover was a stitched together I added a strip of fabric (double thickness) down the center. I left openings where I could slide my rings under the fabric. hope that makes sense.