Sami's "On the Farm" Quiet Book

Good morning everyone! I am SO excited by the quiet books I get to share with you this week. There are three of them (one today, one Wednesday, and one Friday) all made by Australian stay-at-home mom Sami. You can find her blog at Diary of an Overworked Mum's Kid Spot. Sami's quiet books are FANTASTIC. They are seriously so cute and when I read that today's "On The Farm" quiet book was her first sewing project ever, I could hardly believe it.

Okay, so things I love about this quiet book: the purple border on all of the pages. It ties everything together so nicely. And the apple tree - look at those leaves! And the trunk! And the hand-stitching! And the barn, and the finger puppets, and the campfire and the butterflies and the teepee and pretty much every single thing in the whole book. I realized I'm listing every single detail so I'll just close my trap and let you enjoy this awesome book!

Interview
(The answers in this interview also refer to Sami's other two quiet books, which will post this Wednesday and this Friday.)

What is your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Sami. I am currently a stay at home in Brisbane, Australia.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
I made them for my three children who are 6, 4 and 2.

What is your level of sewing experience? 
Beginner. My "On The Farm" quiet book was my first ever sewing project.

How long did it take you? 
I honestly could not say exactly, maybe about a week or two for each book with about 2-6 hours a day. With them being my first sewing projects and having no one to teach me anything it was made up of a lot of trial and error.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
I used no templates; however, I did use some ideas that I found online.

How did you bind your quiet books? 
I just kind of poked a hole in the pages and stuck binder rings through them.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Felt.

What other materials did you use? 
Just felt and ribbon.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I don't know exactly but it was definitely in the hundreds.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
I think the ladybug is my favorite. Probably because it was my first zipper and press studs and I felt like they turned up really well.

To view Sami's "On the Farm" quiet book on her own blog, with more detail about each page, click here: On The Farm Quietbook. Thank you for sharing this adorable quiet book (and your two others) with us Sami!

I can't wait to show you all her other two 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!

Jill's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book was made by Jill from Montoya's Meaningful Memories and Musings, and it's an awesome one! She has some really cute and original pages. I especially love her elephant page and her Native American finger puppets. So cute!

The cover:

A front inside pocket and the elephant page with balloons:

Barn page with farm animal finger puppets, and an apple tree page:

Chicken, Horse, Cow, and Pig finger puppets:

A mailbox page (with a letter) and a flower page:

Shapes matching page and an Underwater page:

Teepee with Native American finger puppets, a campfire, and a back inside pocket:

Interview

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Jill. I'm a stay-at-home mom who loves chocolate, crafts, walks, games, and fall.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?

I made my quiet book for my soon. I completed it for his first birthday.

What's your level of sewing experience?

Probably somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I have a fair amount of sewing experience, but have never done anything very difficult. 

How long did it take you?

I made 3 pages when my son was first born but then got burned out and stopped. Then I took about 2-3 weeks to complete the book, spending an average of 3 hours a day working on it. I changed how I was doing the pages part way through and had to redo some things so it probably took me a good 70-80 hours of work. If you could count how much time I spent thinking about it, it was easily three times that much. :) I dreamed about quiet book pages and definitely lost sleep over it. 

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

Yes, the barn and finger puppets came from "Homemade by Jill" and the mailbox came from the blog "Imagine Our Life."

How did you bind your quiet book?

I sewed 3 button holes in each page and then used 2-inch binder rings for loops.

What material are the pages made out of?

The pages are made of the thickest interfacing you can find at a sewing store. Then all the pieces are made of felt.

What other materials did you use?

Felt, velcro, fleece (the elephant), snaps, buttons, zippers, ribbon, fabric markers, ladybug charms, a little bit of muslin and other fabrics for a few of the backgrounds, and lots of thread.

How much did the supplies cost you?

This was one of my first big sewing projects away from my mom's sewing supply, so I had to buy a lot of things to establish my own sewing supply. I spent around $50, but had lots of extra supplies, so the cost of what actually went into the book was about $30.

What's your favorite page? Why?

My favorite page is the ocean page. It is exactly how I imagined it and I love under the sea scenes. My son's favorite pages are the ladybugs page and the color balloons page.

Jill's whole book (with some more explanations) can also be viewed here on her family blog. Thank you, Jill, for sharing your awesome 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 quiet book!