Courtney's Quiet Book

A few weeks ago I came across the quiet book of Courtney from Adventures of a Stay at Home Mom, and I loved it! All of her pages are so cute and well made (I know I've said it before, but I love handstitching), and she has some really great ideas and pages I haven't seen before.

Some of the pages are new ones of her own design, and some of the pages are from patterns from Imagine Our Life that Courtney's put her own details on. For example, the train page from Imagine Our Life is usually only two pages, but she made it four pages long and then bound the pages cleverly so it could all fold out into one really long train. She also added a bottle of Tide to the laundry machine page, which is such a great idea. One of the pages of Courtney's own design that I absolutely adore is her weaving picnic basket page - it is so cute! I can't get over it.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling so you can look at her pictures. Enjoy!

Dinosaur page (pattern here):

Kitty tie-the-ribbon page:

Owl page (pattern here):

Igloo page (pattern here):

Train page and finger puppets (pattern here):

Here's how Courtney bound the train pages - with a clever "hinge" in each page:

Pocket for the finger puppets:

I Spy page:

Sock matching page:

Shiny fish and fish peekaboo pages:

Ants in the Picnic Basket Weaving page:

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Courtney. I am a stay-at-home mom and I love making things for my daughter.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
I made this book for my 2 year old daughter but I started making it when she was about 16 months old.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I have to admit, my sewing experience isn't very high. I decide I want to do something and I do it. It may take me longer than other people but I try to do my best and learn as I go. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I'm slow.

How long did it take you? 
As a guesstimate I would say each page took anywhere from 2 to 10 hours. However, I choose to hand sew almost everything even when you have an option to use a machine. I really don't know how long it has taken me to make my whole book. A long time! :)

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
For the picnic page, fish pages, and kitty page, I designed them myself but haven't really made full patterns for them. The rest I got from imagineourlife.com. She has tons of great patterns!

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I used imagineourlife's patterns for the basic page and cover patterns which use 2 grommets in each page and then you can use giant rings to attach the pages in the book. I have had a difficult time finding large enough rings so I have just temporarily tied mine together with ribbons or bungee thread. Whatever works :)

What material are the pages made out of? What other materials did you use? 
The main material I use is felt and thread,(some people use embroidery floss but I just use normal sewing thread folded over once or twice to make it thicker). In some pages you can use ribbons and colorful fabrics and really whatever you want to add to it. One of the funnest parts about making the quiet book pages is making it your own. The cover is made with flannel or really whatever fabric you would like. You can use a clip or a giant button to close the book.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Supplies are generally very cheap. That's one of the best things about felt crafts. I get my felt at Hobby Lobby for $0.25 each and thread is a couple dollars per spool. The cover and binding will cost a little more but part of that depends on what fabric or method of binding you choose.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
My favorite page is probably the circus train. I extended the pattern to make is a much longer train and used the basic animal finger puppet patterns to design some more animals of my own. I added my own background, switched up the colors, and changed a few other minor things. I made my train four pages long! In order to get it to fit in the book I made it so that each side folds in. It's pretty fun to open it up and have a giant train! :) I also made an envelope pocket on the back side of one of the train pages to keep the animals stored in. The best thing about making a quiet book is seeing kids get excited to play with it. Just a few minutes ago my little girl was playing with hers. I love being able to make things for her!

To see Courtney's quiet book pages on her own blog (with more pictures and explanations), check out these posts: Quiet Books, Matching Socks, My Fishy Page, Picnic Basket Quiet Book Page. She also makes cute crochet flower headbands for babies and women. To check out her Etsy shop, click here: Cabin Fever.


Thank you so much for sharing all of your adorable pages with us, Courtney!


Also, everyone, don't forget to enter into this week's Bible Quiet Book Template giveaway! Click here to go to the post where you can enter, or click on the picture below!

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