Friday, October 26, 2012

Amy's quiet books

Hi everyone! I am so excited about the quiet books that I get to share with you today. They were made by Amy from Shouting for Ha, and they're fabulous! Her covers are adorable and I love so many of her pages - the ocean pages, the star pages, the makeup page, and the baseball pages especially. I also love the clean look of everything - it all just looks well made. So, enjoy!

Girl quiet book:



Boy quiet book:






Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Amy, a.k.a. Mrs. Ha. I'm a wife, mother, habitual volunteer and wannabe crafter. 

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made my very first quiet book for my boy's 2nd birthday; he's now eleven. These days, my nieces, nephews and our friend's children are the recipients of my books. I've found that they make a perfect birthday gift for a 2 or 3-year-old. 

What's your level of sewing experience? 
My mom is an amazing seamstress. She tried to teach me the basics when I was a teenager but, unfortunately, I wasn't a very good student. After I had my son, I realized that knowing how to sew could come in handy. Since my mom lives 1200 miles away, I was forced to teach myself. I would say that I currently sew at an intermediate level. That said, I typically sew things that aren't too complicated and I try not to worry if it's not perfect. 

How long did it take you?
The break-down of my time goes something like this: 1-2 hours to trace all of the templates onto the felt and then cut out each piece. 5-6 hours to sew all of pieces onto the book and sew the double-ply removable pieces together. Since I like to use coordinating thread, I try to sew all of one color at a time to cut down on how many times I have to change out my thread. 3-4 hours to hand sew all of the velcro, buttons and snaps, and attach the small grommets onto the shoes and secure them with embroidery floss. 30-45 minutes to write all of the words, add embellishments (fish eyes, letter...). I like to let it sit overnight to dry completely. 20 minutes to sew all of the pages together. 45 minutes to punch the holes in the pages and attach the grommets. 30 minutes to lace and tie the shoe, insert a picture into the frame inside the tent and thread the ribbon through the pages of the book. Total time (not including the overnight dry time): 11 - 14 hours. I try to work on the book a little bit at a time so that it's not overwhelming. Someone with only basic sewing skills could easily make their own book in just a week by spending 1-2 hours on it per day. They could also save a significant amount of time by simply sewing all of the pieces with one color of thread. 

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
I hand drew all of the templates myself and then cut them out of card stock so they would be nice and sturdy. I've never converted them into any kind of pdf or other transferable document. 

How did you bind your quiet book? 
Each turnable page of the book is made from a double ply of felt (two pages stitched together). I used large grommets to make tear-resistant holes in each page and then secured the pages using a piece of ribbon or rickrack in a complimentary color. 

What material are the pages made out of? 
All of the pages are made out of felt. I originally decided to use felt because it doesn't fray and is more sturdy than traditional fabrics. When creating things for children, durability is a huge priority. I personally like to use the felt sheets that can be purchased at most craft stores because they are the perfect size and it makes one less thing that I have to cut out. 

What other materials did you use? 
I used miscellaneous animal print fabric scraps inside the barn doors, soft velcro to attach all of the removable pieces (shapes, stars, fish...), 3 sets of snaps for the raincoat, 1 short zipper for the tent, 11 buttons for the train and the pocket, 10 small grommets, embroidery floss and a shoelace (for the shoe), 24 large grommets (for the book pages), 1 belt (for the pants), a 3-foot length of ribbon or rickrack (to tie the pages together), coordinating thread (to sew all of the pieces) and fabric paint in a variety of colors (writing the words and any other embellishments). There is a supply list at the bottom of my Quiet Book posts. 

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
This is a hard estimate. I have made many quiet books over the years and so I am able to use scraps of felt that I already have on hand to make a majority of the pieces. I also have a large assortment of colored thread, fabric paint, buttons, different colored ribbons and fabric scraps that I have amassed over time. I pick up other supplies for the book, like shoelaces, grommets, zippers and velcro whenever I see them on sale. I like to take advantage of the coupons offered by the craft stores to pick up some of the pricier items like the grommets. The belts come from my local Goodwill or thrift store. Below is a list of the average price of the supplies here in my area: Felt Sheets: $0.30 - $0.40/sheet x 36 = $10.80 - $14.40 Velcro: $3.99/pk Zipper: $1.80 Snaps: $4.99/pkg Small Grommets: $4.49/pkg of 12 Large Grommets: $10.99/pkg of 24 Fabric Paint: $5.59/pkg of 6 tubes Buttons: $4.00 - $5.00/pkg of assorted buttons Embroidery Floss: $0.99 Ribbon: $1.99/spool (WalMart always has the lowest price in my area) Thread: $1.99 - $5.99/spool Belt: $0.99 Total: $50.62 - $59.22 To try and cut some of the cost, I would recommend pulling from the supplies that you have on hand. Instead of using expensive grommets, you could sew button holes along the edge of the pages. Additionally, all of the shapes/pieces could be sewn with one color of thread and the words could be written in a single color of fabric paint. 

What's your favorite page? Why? 
This is such a hard decision for me. I love all of the brightly colored pages and the simplicity of the design. But if you are forcing me to pick just one, I would have to choose "Button the Pocket." There is nothing better than watching a little one pull the note out of the pocket and then see their huge smile when their parent tells them it says, "I love you." It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Amy has detailed explanations (and more pictures!) of her quiet books here: Boy Quiet Book and Girl Quiet Book. Definitely check them out!

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your books with us! They're awesome!


Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ashley's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book comes to us from Ashley of Him and Her: Our Love Story, and it's a great one! It has a lot of really cute, creative pages. I really love her robot page, especially (I just love his dangly limbs and cute smile!), her bear finger puppet, and her puzzle page. This book looks like it would be so fun to play with. So without further ado, take a look at Ashley's book!




Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Ashley. My life is simple and sweet.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
My son Ty. He's 2.

What's your level of sewing experience?
Beginner.

How long did it take you?
One girls' crafty weekend with my sister and mom.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
Coloring books.

What material are the pages made out of?
Everything is felt.

What other materials did you use?
Thread, hot glue and some velcro.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I'm not sure; it was all just on-hand stuff. Maybe 15 dollars.

What's your favorite page? Why?
The spaceship page, because I love the little martian.


To get more details on Ashley's quiet book pages, check out her blog pages here:
Quiet Book
Cookie Quiet Book Page
Food Quiet Book Pages
Flower Puzzle Page Tutorial

If you  love tutorials, definitely check out her puzzle page tutorial! She takes you through step-by-step and shows you how to make it.

Thank you, Ashley, for sharing your awesome book with us!
 

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Magdalena's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book is from Magdalena of The Craft Revival, and it is adorable. As you can see, she used a mixture of machine-sewing and hand-sewing to give the book a lot of detail. Like Magdalena, I think my favorite page is the igloo page; I love the little penguins, the pocket, and the peekaboo front door! So take a look, and enjoy Magdalena's awesome book!



Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Magdalena Franco;  creative.

Who did you make this quiet book for? 

It was a custom order for a friend's godson, given to him for his Christening.

How old are they? 

Three months, but the gift was intended as a keepsake.

What's your level of sewing experience? 

Intermediate.
 

How long did it take you?
Hmm, I didn't keep a tally, but I estimate around 12-14 hours across a couple of weeks.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?

I sketched some page layouts, transferred them onto tracing paper and used them to cut templates.

How did you bind your quiet book? 

I machine-stitched through the centre of the pages.

What material are the pages made out of? 

Felt.
 

What other materials did you use? 
Assorted cotton and linen fabric scraps and embroidery floss.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 

I was fortunate enough to have everything that I used in this quiet book already on hand.

What's your favorite page? Why? 

The 'I' page, because of the level of interactivity. And let's be honest, how can you go past the cuteness of penguins!

To see more of Magdalena's quiet book (and her other cute crafts!) click here.  Thank you, Magdalena, for sharing your adorable quiet book!


Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Heather's Harry Potter Quiet Book

When I found the book that we're featuring today, I fell in love. As you can probably tell, I love quiet books. I also love Harry Potter. So an amazing combination? A Harry Potter Quiet Book!

This awesome book was made by Heather from Feather's Flights. I love all of her different pages - she has so many, and they're each so clever. This is seriously such a cute, fun book and I feel so inspired to make my own after seeing it. I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy!


Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Heather, nickname Heather Feather. I love sewing, I love my family, and I love sewing for my family.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?

I made the quiet book for my nephew  when he was just over one. Looking back, I think he was too young for it.

What's your level of sewing experience? 

Advanced.

How long did it take you?

It took me probably 15-20 hours spread over two weeks.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 

No. I did all the shapes myself.

How did you bind your quiet book?  

I used those binder rings that you can open and close. (They look kind of like the rings in a binder.) 

What material are the pages made out of? 

Each page base is muslin and in between each page is stiff corduroy. (I didn't want to buy interfacing.) Everything on top of the page is felt.

What other materials did you use? 

Just felt, thread, some ribbon, and a zipper.

How much did all the supplies cost you?  

I bought the felt in a big bag at the thrift store for a couple of dollars and everything else I had on hand except the binder rings. I probably spent about $7 total.

What's your favorite page? Why? 

My favorite page is probably the invisibility cloak at the end. But I loved coming up with each page.

If I could go back and change something, I would make everything 10 times stronger. Now that I have a child of my own I realize how rough they are. 



To see Heather's post on her quiet book (with more information and descriptions), click here. Be sure to check out her blog in general, too. She's got lots of tutorials and sewing tips. Thank you, Heather, so sharing your awesome quiet book with us!


Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!