Arahia's Quiet Book

Happy Monday, everybody! Happy Independence Day to all the Americans out there; I hope you had a good holiday weekend.

Today's quiet book comes to us from Michelle of the blog Sew Little Time. It is absolutely adorable and has so many cute pages. She made it for her daughter Arahia, and the cover has her name spelled out in letters that she can velcro on and off. It also has a little felt doll of Arahia, which is just as cute as can be.

The pages inside the book include a Disney princess dress up page, with outfits for Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, and the wardrobe from Beauty and the Beast. Another page has an adorable toadstool (mushroom) house that zippers open to reveal three fairy finger puppets, and a door that opens to show a little gnome. The next page has a flower whose petals have numbers on them, and ladybugs on ribbons with numbers of dots on their backs that correspond to the petals. There's also an awesome cupcake decorating page, clown stacking rings page, owl puzzle page, ballerina shoe lace-up page, Rapunzel hair-braiding page, and a dog page with a collar that buckles. Enjoy!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Michelle, I have two beautiful children and I love to craft in my spare time.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
This book was made for my daughter, Arahia. She is only 8 months old but my four year old son is currently enjoying it. Although, he does tell me it’s a bit too girly for him.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I am probably an advanced beginner.

How long did it take you?
This took me a couple of months of mainly sewing during nap times.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
I copied, adapted and stole most of my ideas of Pinterest. I have tried to list all of these over on my blog: http://craftyexpatmamanz.blogspot.co.nz/

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I bound this book together using eyelets and binder rings.

What material are the pages made out of?
Mainly fabric and felt.

What other materials did you use? 
Lots of bits and pieces from my stash.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Probably around $25.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
I love the dress up doll page. I loved all the Disney movies as a child.

To see more pictures of Michelle's quiet book, check it out on her blog: Sew Little Time - Quiet Book Page 1.

Michelle, thank you so much for sharing your super 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!

Amanda's Quiet Book

Hi everyone, happy Friday! I hope you've all had a good week. The quiet book I get to share with you today comes all the way from São Paulo, Brazil. Made by Amanda for her friend's son, this book is seriously awesome and just bursting with fun activities.

Amanda's has so many fun pages. It starts right off with an interactive cover, where the child's name is spelled out in letters that can velcro on and off of the page, and be stored in a pocket on the front. After the cover is unclasped and opened, you see a clown holding several colorful balloons. These can are also attached with velcro, and they can be switched around to the different color strings, or stored in the clown's sleeve. Opposite the clown is Mike Wazowski from Pixar's "Monster's Inc." Mike's mouth can be unzipped to reveal shapes that match the shapes on his page.

The next page has a car scene, with roads to drive on, a traffic light whose lights can be changed, and lots of different vehicles including a fire truck, ambulance, and cement mixing truck. The next page has a train with many different colored cars, each with a number to help practice counting.

The next page spread is an outer space scene, with a rocket, astronaut, comets, planets, aliens, and spaceships.When you turn the page again, you find a boy at a table. His mouth can be unzipped and you can pull a lot of different kinds of food out (a carrot, egg, watermelon, cookie chicken, etc.) that can be put on the plate in front of him and then "eaten." Next is a dog with a collar to buckle, a bone, and a dog house.

After the dog, the next page spread is a forest scene with all sorts of animals to play with and fun things to do. There's finger puppets of a rabbit, bear, squirrel, hedgehog, garden gnome, and fox, plus trees, a sun and raincloud that can move, a rainbow, a mushroom house, and more. I think this is my favorite page!

Next come an apple trees that also has a bee you can string through loops to get back to his beehive, and a frog that catches flies with his tongue. Then there's a sports page with a soccer ball to weave and a shoe to lace up, and finally, there's a dress up page with a little boy and a wardrobe full of clothes for him to wear.

Watch for yourself to see all the cool pages!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
Hello! My name is Amanda, from São Paulo, Brazil. I love to work with my hands; I'm a dentist and a seamstress aspirant.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
My friend asked me to make this quiet book for his son, Bernardo, who is 2 years old.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I'm a beginner. I learn something every day!!

How long did it take you?
I did this book on my vacation. I spent 15 days about 8 hours per day.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
The templates were designed by me and my husband, Samuel (he is art director and he helped me a lot!), always inspired by many google images.

How did you bind your quiet book? 
The pages are sewn to each other by a piece of fabric on sewing machine.

What material are the pages made out of? 
The cover was made in fabric and the inside pages of felt. For the "stuffing," acrylic blanket.

What other materials did you use? 
I also used thread, ribbon, rings, buttons, velcro, pearls and zipper.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
I probably spent about R$ 150 (US$ 50).

What's your favorite page? Why? 
My favorite page is the Enchanted Forest and its finger puppets.

Amanda, your book is amazing. Thank you for sharing it 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!"