Neli's Quiet Book

Today's book comes to us from Bulgaria, made by mother Neli for her daughter. It is an adorable book and I hope it can inspire you!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Neli and I am from Bulgaria.  

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made the book for my daughter's second birthday. Her name is Maria so we call her Mimi :)  

What's your level of sewing experience?
I don't have any sewing experience.
 
How long did it take you? 
It took me about 6 weeks, 2-3 hours a day.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I didn't use any templates. I looked on Pinterest and YouTube for inspiration and after that I drew it by myself.

What material are the pages made out of?
The book is made by felt.
 
What's your favorite page? Why?
My favorite page are the front and the back cover because they are all my idea.

Neli, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful 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!

Clara's Quiet Book

Today's post is special because we've never had a quiet book presented like this before. Clara from the blog Claras Nahkiste, instead of taking pictures of her quiet book, has made this video where she walks through the book and shows all of the interactive things that it does.

Clara's quiet book is huge and awesome. She has so many pages, and all of them look so fun to play with. Her video shows a clever cover and binding rings, a dress up page full of little clothes, a name page with moveable letters, a laundry page with socks that can go in a washing machine, an "I Spy" page with a removable bag full of things to find, a fruit-picking tree page (with multiple kinds of fruits and baskets, a weather and flower page,  a farm page (with adorable finger puppets - sooo cute), an igloo page with ice building blocks and snow characters, a car page with a big map of the town, an elephant with a tail you can braid, a camping page with a zipper tent, a clock page with moveable hands, and a mailbox with letters inside. Each page has more detail than I've summed up here, that's shown in the video. 

This book would be such a treasure to have as a child!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Clara, I'm 23 and I'm a crazy, sewing, Berlin teacher-to-be.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
 I made this book for my niece and godchild Sophie for her third birthday.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I sew for more than three years now and I think I'm advanced.

How long did it take you?
I sew it over three weeks, in my semester break, all in all it took 66 hours.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used some templates from this blog and many inspirations from Pinterest.

What material are the pages made out of? 
They all are made of cotton fabric in different colors, many details are made out of felt.

What other materials did you use? 
Felt, as mentioned and something that's called Vliesofix in Germany. It's used to make appliqués.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Because I bought nearly no fabric, the costs were small. I think about 30€.
  
What's your favorite page? Why?
My favourite page is definitely the car-page. I love, that the lights of the car can flash and that my niece can visit her grandmothers or grandfathers house. It's also the page, she likes most :)

To see Clara's quiet book on her own blog with some pictures and explanation of the book, click here: Claras Nahkiste: Quietbook Zum 3. Geburtstag.

Clara, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful 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!

Jessica's Colors Quiet Book

Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I've been MIA for the last two months. I'm pregnant with our second child right now, and I've been really, really sick. (If you've ever heard of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, that's what I have. Blech.) But I'm reaching mid-pregnancy and finally feeling better, and so I've returned! A lot of people have submitted really cute quiet books in the last couple months, and I can't wait to share them with you!

Today's cute Colors quiet book comes from Jessica of Just Enough Style. I really love the idea for this book and how well she put it together; my daughter is reaching the age where we're teaching her colors, and it would be so great to have a quiet book like this to help! Take a look!

Interview

What's your name? 
My name is Jessica, I'm a mother to 2 and love to create things for my children and home.

Who did you make this quiet book for? 
I made this quiet book for my daughter when she was 2 years old (she's 4 now).

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I would say I am an intermediate sewer. My mom taught me how to sew when I was younger and I've come to love it even more now that I have children.

How long did it take you? 
This book took me about 24 hours to make, which was spread over about a week.

Did you use any templates? 
I looked through some coloring books we already had and just used the pictures as templates.

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I punched holes in the sides and used office rings to bind it together.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Felt.

What other materials did you use? 
For the colors at the bottoms of the pages I used scrap fabric that I had on hand.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
About $5.

What's your favorite page? 
The color Orange. The fish are so fun to take out and play with on the other pages.

If you have anything else you'd like to add, please do!
Since it has been a couple of years since I have made this I learned that the grapes page was better by adding velcro. That way the pieces can be removed and played with.


To see more pictures and explanations of Jessica's Colors quiet book, check it out on her blog here: Colors Quiet Book.

Jessica made two more quiet books, an ABC quiet book and a Quick and Easy Quiet Book. She made both from patterns she purchased on Etsy.

To see Jessica's ABC quiet book on her blog, click here: ABC Quiet Book
To visit the Etsy shop where she purchased the pattern, click here: Shelley Wallace Quiet Book Patterns

To see Jessica's Quick and Easy quiet book on her blog, click here: Quick and Easy Quiet Book
To visit the Etsy shop where she purchased the pattern, click here: Bugga Bugs Activity Book Patterns

Thank you so much, Jessica, for sharing all of your quiet books with us!

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

Kristina's Quiet Book

For all those non-sewers out there, today's quiet book is for you! Put together by Kristina of Mother's Niche, this cute and fun quiet book is made on paper, laminated, and took her less than an hour to make. She made several versions of no-sew quiet books: magnetic, velcro, and vinyl. Below are pictures of her magnetic quiet book, and her printable quiet book available in her Etsy shop Mother's Niche on Etsy.

Magnetic quiet book:

Kristina's printable quiet book templates (available at Mother's Niche):

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.  
Kristina.  If life consisted merely of creative projects I would be living a dream.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?  
My daughter and future children (my daughter is 14 months old and I'm pregnant with #2).

What's your level of sewing experience?  
Very beginner.

How long did it take you?  
To design the pages was probably 20 hours, to make the quiet book was probably less than an hour.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?  
Nope.  Since I couldn't find any "printable" or "no-sew" options at the time, I set out to make my own.

How did you bind your quiet book?  
Coil binding.

What material are the pages made out of?
Cardstock and lamination.

What other materials did you use?  
Velcro, magnets, or magnetic paint depending on the version.

How much did all the supplies cost you?  
Under $20 with exception to the magnetic paint version which was more.

What's your favorite page? Why?   
Daniel and the Lion's Den.  The concept of changing the Lion's moods from hungry to more pleasant just makes me giggle.

To view Kristina's quiet books on her blog (with more instructions and explanations of how she put it together), visit:
Mother's Niche: No-Sew Quiet Books
Mother's Niche: Printable Quiet Book

To check out Kristina's printable quiet book templates available in her Etsy shop, visit:
Mother's Niche Etsy Shop

Kristina, thank you so much for sharing your awesome quiet books 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!

Shelley's Quiet Book

Our newest quiet book is kind of unique, as it was made in Guatemala! Shelley and her husband Jim from Livin'Our Dreams are missionaries serving the people of that country. When her twin boys turned one, Shelley made this beautiful quiet book for them. It's really well made, and each page features a different nature scene with lots of animal finger puppets to play with! This quiet book is so beautiful and looks so fun.

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Shelley, I am a Christ follower completely in love with the wonderful family that God has given to me!   

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
My twin boys (Jonah & Silas) for their first birthday.   

What's your level of sewing experience?
I grew up sewing with my mom. My seam ripper and I have a love/hate relationship. I read a lot of books and online tutorials to try and improve.   

How long did it take you?  
Probably 2 months worth of nap times. My twins were good sleepers. I only had templates for some of the animals and the barn, so the planning stage took extra time. Maybe a little under 20 hours.   

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
 Some of the animal finger puppet templates are for sale at The Idea Room  http://www.theidearoom.net/idea-room-store The barn is from Homemade by Jill http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/07/quiet-book-templates.html.   

How did you bind your quiet book?
I made some bias tape out of felt to bind my pages front to back. I found some cardboard-like stiff felt to put in between them before I bound them. Then I used grommets to reinforce the holes to attach all the pages on 3 metal rings.   

What material are the pages made out of?
Mine are all out of felt. I would have preferred to use fleece just because I think it might be a little more durable, but that is not available where I live.  (My family and I are missionaries in rural Petén, Guatemala.)  

What other materials did you use?
100% felt other than the metal rings and grommets. I used embroidery floss for all of the sewing. I did it by hand, since I didn't think I could be as accurate with my machine.   

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Under $10 probably, I had everything on hand, so I'm not sure.  

What's your favorite page? Why?
Probably the jungle page since that is where we live!
 
I made this for my boys' first birthday, but I think it is way more age appropriate now that they are 3. They love the animals, but I have since then made some Bible character felt finger puppets to tell stories with, and I think we have more play options with them. Just maybe a tad bit more educational. I love that my boys know that their mommy made this for them. They think their mommy or daddy could make anything and can teach them how too as well. Handmade really inspires creativity in children and a desire to know how things work when they are allowed to be part of the process!  So many learning opportunities together! 


You can see more details of Shelley's quiet book (and their life in Guatemala!) here on her blog. Thank you so much, Shelley, for sharing your wonderful 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!

Emily's Quiet Book

I am so excited to show you today's quiet book, which comes to us from Emily from One Lovely Life. It is so cute. Each page has a different (adorable!) animal that has something unique and fun for your child to do. There are snaps, there is peekaboo, there are zipper Crocodile smiles. Take a look at her beautiful quiet book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
I'm Emily! Lover of all things fancy, almost all cheeses, nearly all things girly, and absolutely all versions of "and they lived happily ever after."

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? I made it when I was expecting my daughter, though we didn't really start using it until she turned 1 (she's 18 months now). We play with it during the week and at church when we need to keep her busy. 

What's your level of sewing experience? Heh... sewing experience? Let's be honest. "Experience" in my case is a nice way of saying "8th grade home economics class." I have a VERY basic knowledge of sewing. I have a sewing machine, which I do know how to use, but this was a hand-sewn project, because I find that more relaxing. 

How long did it take you? As I said, it was hand-sewn, so that definitely increases the time commitment. I'd say I spent about 20 hours on it. I wasn't in a big hurry to finish it, so I worked on it while watching something with my husband in 1-2 hour increments and finished over the course of 2-3 weeks. 

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? I'm sorry! I've been asked so many times for templates or a pattern, and the fact of the matter is that I didn't use any. I made a few (rough) sketches, then went to town! For some of the trickier bits, I'd make a paper cut-out, then trace it onto the felt, but it's almost entirely freehand. 

How did you bind your quiet book? I stitched together the pages with embroidery floss, then made a "binding" out of another strip of felt and sewed that on with more embroidery floss. It's held up very well so far. 

What material are the pages made out of? The cream-colored background fabric is a wool felt I got on sale, but all the colored sheets are just the 8x10 or 8x11 sheets of felt you can buy at most craft or hobby stores (i.e. JoAnn's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc). 

What other materials did you use? I wanted everything to be attached to the book (so that I wasn't losing pieces all the time), and I thought it would be fun to try practicing using different "tools," so I also used sew-on snaps, a zipper, and some ribbons. I stitched everything with basic thread and bound the book using embroidery floss. Other than that, it's just felt, felt, felt. 

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I had thread and needles on hand, as well as the cream-colored felt. I don't remember what I paid for the cream-colored wool felt (though I do recall getting it 40-50% off around Christmastime when it goes on sale for people to make stockings). The colored felt sheets were only about $0.50 each, then I had to buy embroidery floss, embroidery needles, a zipper, a set of snaps, and a few rolls of ribbon, but the whole book cost less than $20 to make. If you have to start from scratch, you'll pay a bit more than that to account for things like thread. 

What's your favorite page? Why? 
Hands down the owl page! I can't get over the giant eyes, and my daughter Sophie LOVES playing peek-a-boo with the baby owl under the mama owl's wing. (Runner-up is the fish page.)

To see more pictures of Emily's quiet book and learn more details about it, view it here on her blog. Thank you, Emily, for sharing your delightful 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!