Marianne's Quiet Books

Today we have two awesome quiet books to show you! These were by Marianne for her two godchildren, and as they were made for children of different ages they each have a different focus. The first is more of a sensory book - complete with flowers, ribbons, and leaves to feel, a little caterpillar to play peekaboo with, and a mirror to see oneself in. The second is made for a preschooler, and is more interactive. This book has buckles, weaving, shapes and colors, snaps, dress-up, and even an awesome little chalkboard complete with real chalk!

Both books are great and really well done. Like Marianne, I think my favorite page is her magnolia tree. The flowers are beautiful! I also really like the fabric that she made the pages out of, especially in the toddler book. Also, I want a cookie page just like hers. But I'm beginning to feel like I'm beginning to feel like I'm rambling, so I'll stop and let Marianne's books speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Baby quiet book:

Toddler quiet book:

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Marianne. I love to sew and craft, especially anything that I can give my god-daughters.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
Analiese (butterfly book) is 1 month old. Lillie is 4 years (and 1 month) old.

What's your level of sewing experience?
I have been quilting since I was 10 and got my first embroidery machine in college.  I worked at a sewing machine shop for 3 years where I learned A LOT.  On embroidery, I consider myself fairly expert.  On other sewing I consider myself average, I know a lot but can't always execute as beautifully as I would like.

How long did it take you?
Tough question, total probably about 48-60 hours spread over about a month and a half on Sunday afternoons while my husband was watching football. :-)

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used a template from you for the caterpillar and cocoon page and a template from Imagine Our Life for the cookie page, although in both cases I used the templates to digitize them for my embroidery machine.  Other pages were either free-hand or existing embroidery designs.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I put 2 eyelets in each page and put binder clips through them.  I did this so I can add/change pages as the girls grow and change.

What material are the pages made out of?
The pages are made out of calico cotton with 1 layer of felt inside to give some weight.

What other materials did you use?
Felt for various pages, tulle for the cocoon, satin and ribbons for the taggy flower, cardboard mirror and ribbon, fur and a pre-made cat collar and small dog leash for the cat page, cotton fabric, chalkboard fabric. The daisies, butterflies, and magnolia blooms are freestanding lace so they are made entirely of thread.  I also used buttons, snaps, velcro, small beads in the magnolia blooms, and eyelets (for the binding).  The paper doll was pre-printed cotton and I used fuse 'n' fix to fuse it to felt.  Because I used machine embroidery, I also used 2 different stabilizers.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Fortunately I had almost everything in my stash.  I had to buy the chalkboard fabric, the mirrored cardboard (both from JoAnns), the buttons (from Michaels), the collar and leash (from the dollar store), and the chalk (from Shopko). Total about $15 (as well as having to purchase the magnolia bloom designs for my machine for about $15 on sale. All other embroideries I either digitized myself or already had on my computer)

What's your favorite page? Why?
DEFINITELY the magnolia tree.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  It also took the most work to put the flowers together.

Marianne, thank you so much for letting us enjoy your lovely quiet books!

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

Jean's Quiet Book

Today I get to share with you a really fantastic quiet book, one that I've admired for a long time. Made by Jean of Bubbles and Bobbins, this quiet book has a really fantastic garden and barn page, along with an adorable deer/apple tree page, an awesome puzzle page, and a really cute baking/cupcake page. I love it! Take a look; I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do.

To see Jean's quiet book on her own blog with more detail (and extra pictures, instructions, and her cupcake page template), check out these pages:
Bubbles and Bobbins: Activity Book (aka Quiet Book) - Garden, Barn, & Apple Tree Pages
Bubbles and Bobbins: Activity Book (Quiet Book)

Thank you so much for sharing your quiet book with us Jean!

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

Catia's Potty Training Quiet Book

My friend just potty-trained her son this week. I'm a bit jealous; we're plotting how to train our own two-year-old daughter, but we haven't made the leap yet. Having her potty-trained would be so great, but I'm nervous about the actual process! I think this week I'm going to look into helpful hints and tricks.

With that intro, I want to share with you today's quiet book, which is certainly one of the most unique (and possibly one of the most useful) I have ever seen. Because today's quiet book is about potty-training, and the main character is a piece of poop.

Made by Catia of the blog Terra Estrangeira, this quiet book tells the story of, we'll say, some "diaper contents." The first page shows the first poop, which is sad because it has to go from the diaper to the trash can. The second little story is about a second piece of poo (it feels so weird to type that on my blog) that starts off in the toilet, and so is happy, because it gets to go down the drain to freedom.

Like I said, this quiet book might be one of the most useful I've ever seen! Toddler motivation for using the potty. I'd certainly like to have it for my daughters soon-to-be-potty training. Check it out, and see if it might be helpful for your own toddlers too!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Catia. I’m a mom of two, who loves DIY and crafts in general.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made this for my little girl, who is 3. She is in the process of potty training, so I made this book to help her to use the toilet. She doesn't like to do the “number 2” on the toilet, so I told her the story of the poop, who is sad because it gets in the diaper and thrown in the garbage can, while the poop that gets in the toilet is happy because it has the most fun trip: it slides down the toilet and swims to the sea/lake.

What's your level of sewing experience?
I’m not a beginner; I like sewing here and there, but I’m not very experienced either.

How long did it take you? 
6 hours in total, 3 hours in one day and more 3 the day after.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
No.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I used button holes and key rings.

What material are the pages made out of?
Felt.

What other materials did you use?
Some fabric for the “changing table” where the diaper is supposed to be on.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I have no idea. I used scraps I already had at home.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
The one where the poop is sliding down after being flushed down the toilet, just because I think it’s funny.

To see Catia's potty-training quiet book on her own blog, click here: Terra Estrangeira: The Book of Poop. Thank you, Catia, for sharing your unique and helpful 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!

Havalah's Quiet Book

Happy New Year! I hope you had a good New Year's Eve and that today looks out on a bright year for you. I love the freshness of a new year and, like many of you, have some resolutions that I'm starting today. If you're trying to think of a resolution, might I suggest making a quiet book? Putting your ideas into action and actually creating this keepsake for a child you know could be a great project for you this year. :)

Going along with the freshness and brightness of the new year, I get to share a bright and crisp quiet book with you today! This awesome quiet book was made by Havalah from the blog Sisters, Sisters. (She, with her friends, also recently made a second quiet book in a quiet book exchange, which you can find here!) Her pages include activities based off art, scripture scenes, and nature scenes. And they are so colorful and fun! I know my own toddler would love her ocean page with all the different animals, and it makes me want to start making one right away. So enjoy Havalah's book, and be inspired!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Havalah. I love to sew, to be challenged creatively and make something that would make my little one smile.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
I made it for my little boy when he was 18 months but he is now almost 3!

What's your level of sewing experience?
 Beginner to intermediate, depending on the project.

How long did it take you?
I have no idea.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
I used a few, they are linked on my blog: Sisters, Sisters: Quiet Book Pages

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I did individual pages and made button holes then used big rings to hold it together.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Cotton fabric, heavy duty pellon, felt, and some fleece.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
I'm not sure exactly; it took me some time to do all the pages.

What's your favorite page? Why?
I love my shape pages and maze pages.


To see Havalah's quiet book on her on her own blog (with more info and links to the templates she used), check out these pages:
the Beastly Sunday Quiet Book - Churchy pages
Quiet Book Pages: non-churchy pages
Shapes Quiet Book Page Tutorial

And to see the quiet book Havalah and her friends made in a quiet book exchange, click here:
Quiet Book Pages Take 2

Thank you so much for sharing your awesome quiet book with us Havalah!

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