Ruthie's Quiet Books

Today I get to share with you two quiet books made by Ruth of the blog Simply Ruthie for her friends' twin toddlers. These quiet books are twins themselves - similar at first glance, but each is unique. Each cover has the name of the twin whose book it is; once you open it up, you find tic tac toe pages (one with clouds and suns, one with flowers and butterflies), fruit trees (one with apples, one with oranges), barns (each full of finger puppets), shape matching and bead counting, ladybug clocks, and "under the sea" pages. The back covers have pockets for little dolls.

I like so much about these quiet books, starting with the fact that they mirror each other, but each has its own unique details. I think my favorite page is the orange tree page - it's such a fun twist on the traditional apple tree page and I like how bright the oranges are. I also really like the blue and white background on that page that makes it look like there's a sky. Each of the pages in these books looks so fun to play with, and I am sure that the twins are going to enjoy them a lot.

Thank you so much for sharing your cute quiet books with us, Ruthie!

 

To see the books on Ruthie's own blog with more pictures and explanation, click here: Simply Ruthie: Quiet Books for Toddlers.

 

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

Melissa's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book is absolutely adorable. It was made by Melissa of the blog I have found the paradox, and it is seriously just so cute. Hand sewn and made of felt, this book spells out the name of Melissa's daughter, with each letter getting its own page and activity. There's an "A is for Apple" page with an apple that opens to show you its seeds, a "G is for Garden" page with vegetables to pick and flowers to water, an "N is for Nest" page with a blue bird and nest, a "E is for Elephant" page with a cute grey elephant, and a "S is for Sheep" page with button flowers and peekaboo bushes hiding adorable little sheep.

I love the details she added on each page - the layered flowers on the cover, the little bee in the garden and the detailed petals on the flowers, the texture on the branches of the nest, the knotted sheep's wool. I also love how bright and cheerful this book is, and the colors that Melissa chose to have on each page. It's very fun and visually interesting. Anyway, I'll stop rambling so that you can enjoy Melissa's book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
Melissa. I am a crafty, coffee drinking, Catholic wife and mommy to two scamps.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
My daughter Agnes. She is ten months now, but since this is a Christmas gift she will be 1 when I give it to her.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I am definitely a beginner. I only sew for crafty projects like this one, and learned from tutorials online.

How long did it take you? 
About 3 weeks, on and off from start to finish. I would say I averaged about an hour a day, most days of the week.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
No, but many of the concepts were inspired by other people's books, and this blog!

How did you bind your quiet book? 
The pages are sewn together with a blanket stitch and I stitched a felt binding around all of the pages once they were done.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Felt.

What other materials did you use? 
Embroidery thread, buttons, and yarn.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
About $10. A lot of it was scraps and things I already had.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
Probably the page with the sheep. It is one of the only ones I came up with on my own, and it was the most time consuming, since the sheep are covered in french knots. I love how they feel, and I was really happy with the way that paged turned out as a whole.

To see Melissa's quiet book on her own blog (with more description), click here: I have found the paradox: Agnes's Quiet Book. Melissa, thank you so much for sharing your adorable 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!

Dolores's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book was shared with me in unique circumstances. I was contacted by Gerd from South Africa, who had found this quiet book in a charity shop.The last page in the book lists the contact information of a woman named Dolores, who made the book. Gerd was able to get in contact with her family, and found out that Dolores passed away in January of this year, at the age of 95.

According to Dolores's obituary, she "...was born April 22, 1918 in Shelby, Ohio, the daughter of the late Joseph and Gertrude (Tome) Heiland. As a homemaker, Dolores was an excellent baker and cook. Known as the “cake lady,” she baked and decorated thousands of cakes for graduations, birthdays and many other occasions for many area families. She also loved doing crafts and needlepoints and cherished time with her children and grandchildren."

Thank you to all the women who share their love and brighten the lives of their families by sharing their talents with them. I hope you enjoy Dolores's quiet book. :)

"What time is it?"

"Make my face" and "Ring the bell"

"I can count numbers up to ten"

"Shape my nose" and "Lace the shoe"

"Button my shirt" and "Find the rabbit"

"Open the barn door" and "Hide the acorns"

"Match the colors" and "Peel the banana"

"Braid my hair" and "What's inside?"

"Snap me on my shapes" and "Overhaul the tractor"

"Tie my bow" and "Surprise!"

Natalie's Quiet Book

Good morning! I have such a cute quiet book I get to share with you today. Natalie from the blog The Virginia Capells made this book for her son, using templates and inspiration from tons of different sites, and she did a great job!

Each page is so well made and looks so fun to play with. Natalie did a great job of choosing all the different pages and different activities - there are so many fun things in this book to keep someone occupied. It's really fun to see some made from The Quiet Book Blog's own templates! I don't think I could choose a favorite page from all of them, but one I haven't seen before and think is sooo darn cute is the piggy bank page. Also, I really liked how Natalie alternated blue and white pages for the backgrounds, and I really like the way the book is bound. Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Please enjoy Natalie's quiet book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
I'm Natalie; I'm married, love to craft and sew, and am a stay-at-home mom to an adorably active little boy.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
I made it for my son Hayden, who is just about to turn 2.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
Between Beginner and Intermediate. I like to do little sewing projects.

How long did it take you?
Well, I started in January and worked for a few weeks during nap time (2-3 hours each day) cutting, organizing, and doing a little sewing. I became burnt out and stir crazy so I put it away at the end of February. I picked it back up in May and worked solidly for two-three weeks for 3-5 hours a day. So, total assembly time, probably 3-4 hours a day for 4-6 weeks.

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

I used a TON of templates...

Potato Head: The Quiet Book Blog 

Barn: The Quiet Book Blog

Flowers: The Quiet Book Blog

Tic Tac Toe: Serving Pink Lemonade (I came up with my own thing for the X and O)

Toolbox & Tools: Serving Pink Lemonade (I just scaled it down to fit on the page) 

Road: Serving Pink Lemonade's Quiet Book Patterns, I got the house/building patterns from Camille's Casa

Noah's Ark: Free Patterns (I had to scale everything WAY down to make it fit, but it worked great!)

Dump Truck: All the Quiet Things (I decided to make it a counting page so just used the truck pattern)

Seasons Tree: Serving Pink Lemonade's Quiet Book Patterns

Mailbox: Imagine Our Life

The rest were inspired by things I saw online...

Baseball glove: Shouting for Ha

Shapes: Armelle Blog (I wanted more shapes so I used the patterns from Serving Pink Lemonade)

Piggy bank: The Crafting Chicks (We just made it look like the one in his room)

Cleat: All the Quiet Things

Balloons: Montoya's Meaningful Memories and Musings

Robot: The Riley's

How did you bind your quiet book?
Button holes & ribbon.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Felt (I added iron-on interfacing to the back-to-back pages to secure them better to each other).

What other materials did you use? 
Felt, freezer paper (to help cut out all the pieces), buttons, snaps, velcro, zippers, ribbon, puff paint, printable iron-on transfers, eyelets, cording.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Between $30 and $40. I didn't have much on hand to start with, and I wanted all my thread colors to match the felt, so I went a little overboard. I have leftovers of a lot of supplies so the next one won't cost as much.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
The mailbox. My husband and I typed up little notes to Hayden and I ironed them onto the felt, so he has actual letters from Mom and Dad in his mailbox.

To see Natalie's quiet book on her own blog (with more pictures and description), click here: The Capell Family: The Quiet Book.  Thank you so much for sharing your awesome quiet book with us Natalie!

 

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

Douaa's Sponge Quiet Book

It always amazes me how creative people can be when making quiet books, and I am so impressed with how Douaa from the blog Montessori World made this quiet book for her son. She made it using stiff sponges for pages, and using adhesive tape and glue to attach the designs to the pages. The whole book took her only five hours to make, in one day! That's definitely one of the fastest quiet books I've ever heard of. What a great, fast project if you want to make an easy quiet book!

I really like Douaa's page designs, especially the bunny that eats carrots. That is so cute and fun; I know I would have so much fun "feeding" the rabbit the carrots, let alone my kids. I'm totally making that page in the future. :D So, please enjoy Douaa's quiet book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Douaa; I'm a pharmacist, mom of one. I'm interested in early learning of him with beautiful and innovative activities and tools.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
18-months old Hamza.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
Beginner.

How long did it take you?
Five hours in one day.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
No, I drew them myself.

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I used a cable tie!

What material are the pages made out of? 
You won't believe! ... I used the firm dishes sponges. XD I hot glued each two together to make one page of the book.

What other materials did you use? 
Felt, compressed foam, velcro, pipes cleaner.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Less than $4.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
My favorite is the Rabbit page, I love the idea. Hamza's favorite is the chicken page.

To see Douaa's quiet book on her own blog (with more pictures and description), click here: Montessori World: Interactive Activity Book.

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

 

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