Paula's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book is so cute and it looks so fun to play with. Made by Paula for her two children, this book has lots of great activities for children to play with. Even the cover has an activity - a mailbox with a flag that goes up and down, and that opens to show letters inside that can be taken out. The cover also has a buckle to keep the pages shut, which is a smart way to keep everything together.

Paula says that her favorite page is her fridge and place setting, and I have to say, I love that page too. Her refrigerator design is so clever, cute, and easy. The food (sandwich materials) that go inside are adorable, and make me want to put together a felt sandwich right now. It looks so fun! I also like her barn and farm page, and like how she combined the apple tree and farm pages from the original template. I think it's a definite improvement, and looks really cute. Her cute music pages finish off the book, both of which are unique and fun!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Paula and I am a full time working mother of 2 children.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made the quite book for my almost 5-year-old son and almost 2-year-old daughter. I wasn’t sure if I could commit to making two books so I had to try to make it appropriate for both of my children.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
Beginner / Intermediate. I have always been into crafts but only really been interested in sewing for the past 6 months.

How long did it take you?
3 weeks. 2 to 4 hours a day on most days.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used mostly templates and inspiration from this blog (The Quiet Book Blog) and Pinterest.
Mailbox on the cover: Template - Imagine Our Life: Mailbox & Letters Quiet Book Page.
Refrigerator and Place Setting: Inspiration from: Sabrina’s Quite Book
Mr. Potato Head, Farm, Tree, and Lady Bug: Templates from Jocelyn's Quiet Book
Shapes and Music Pages: Inspiration from Pinterest but my own templates.

How did you bind your quiet book? 
Sewed it on the sewing machine.

What material are the pages made out of? 
The book was made from cotton and batting on each page. For most pages there is a full sheet of felt sewed to the cotton and batting backing.

What other materials did you use? 
A buckle to close the book, snaps, and velcro.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
About $40 to $50 but I have a lot of supplies left over.

What's your favorite page? Why? 
I like the refrigerator and place setting with sandwich. I think that is one of the pages that I can add to as I think of different things.

Paula, thank you so much 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 own quiet book!

Tiffany's Etsy Quiet Books

Today's quiet books are awesome. They are made by Tiffany of Always Sewin' Somethin!, the same talented seamstress who made the books featured on Monday and Wednesday of this week. The books featured today are both really cute and available for sale in her Etsy Shop.

There are a lot of pictures below, so let me take a moment explain what all of the quiet books are before you scroll down. First of all, there are three different versions of Color quiet books. These three books are different sizes and have different features, but are all focused on color. Secondly, there is a Shapes quiet book. Finally, there is full, twenty-six page ABC quiet book, and an example of the Personalized Name quiet books that Tiffany makes. You can also see any and all of these quiet books in Tiffany's Etsy Shop.

So let's dive in!

The three Colors quiet books:

Interview for the Colors quiet books

How long did it take you?
Since I intended to list this in my Etsy shop, I kept extensive notes on how my time/money was spent. The button version took about 10 1/2 hours, the regular version took about 7 hours and the mini version took about 5 1/2 hours. I worked mostly during naptime over the course of a month or two.

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

Nope. The designs are completely my own. I did do some google image searches to help come up with good shapes.

How did you bind your quiet book?

Two metal key rings.

What material are the pages made out of?

Pellon Extra Firm interfacing.

What other materials did you use?

I went to JoAnns and got a four inch cut of anything I found that had a unique texture. There is some minky, vinyl, toweling, velvet, mesh, denim, satin, ribbon, and even a little burlap in there.

I also used buttons and velcro for attaching the shapes.

What's your favorite page? Why?

The pink pages are my favorite because I just love the furry pink minky.  :)


The Shapes quiet book:

 Interview for the Shapes quiet book

How long did it take you?

This book took me about 6 1/2 hours to make.  I worked on it during naptimes over the course of a week or two.

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

I designed all the pages myself.  In fact, I have gotten so many views from Pinterest, I decided to write a pattern for it, which can be found HERE.

How did you bind your quiet book?

Two Metal Key Rings.

What material are the pages made out of?

Pellon Extra Firm interfacing.

What other materials did you use?
Felt, Buttons, Ribbon, Velcro, Thread, Flannel

What's your favorite page? Why?

I think the car page is my favorite.  I like the big button wheels.


The ABC and Personalized Name quiet books:

Interview for the ABC and Personalized Name quiet books

How long did it take you?
The ABC book took about 20 hours.  I've been working on it off and on for a LOT of months.  Connor's book took about 6 hours and about a week.

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

Nope.  All the designs are my own.  Although I did do a lot of searching on Pinterest and later google images for ideas.

How did you bind your quiet book?

Two binder rings and a hole punch.  The ABC book turned out SO FAT that I had to add a strap to keep it closed!

What material are the pages made out of?

Pellon Extra Firm interfacing.

What other materials did you use?
Felt, Buttons, Ribbon, Velcro, Thread, snaps, beads, craft sticks, googly eyes, yarn, zipper, faux leather.

What's your favorite page? Why?

I love how Connor's octopus page turned out (it's much cuter in real life) and I love the xylophone page.  My boys' favorite seems to be the puzzle page.

To see the Colors quiet books on Tiffany's blog, click here: New Quiet Books: Colors!
To see the Shapes quiet book on Tiffany's blog, click here: Shapes Quiet Book. 
To see the ABCs and Name quiet books on Tiffany's blog, click here: New Quiet Book: ABCs!
To see all of these books in Tiffany's Etsy shop, click here: Always Sewin' Somethin! Etsy Shop.

Thank you for sharing all of your fabulous quiet books with us, Tiffany!

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

Cortney's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book is from Cortney from Crafting With Heart. It's the first ABC quiet book we've had on the Quiet Book Blog, and it's adorable! I love all the hand-stitching, and I love that she includes actual pictures within the quiet book.

 Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Hi! I'm Cortney with Crafting With Heart. I'm a full time student, full time employee, full time wife, and full time crafter and I love every second of it! 

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

This quiet book was made for my baby cousin. She turned 1 in March of 2012 and I wanted to make her something special, which always means homemade. 

What's your level of sewing experience?
I actually got my sewing machine for Christmas of 2011, so I had only been sewing for a couple of months, although I had been practicing hand stitching for about a year. 
 
How long did it take you?
I started this project in January because my free time is limited. Overall, I would say that I spent about 20 hours on it. (Remember I'm a beginner!) :) 

Did you use any templates?
I didn't use any templates, I just free handed everything. I like this better because then everything is more original. I used felt for most of the project. 

What material are the pages made out of?
The pages are all felt and so are all the letters. 

What other materials did you use?
I did use plastic page protectors for a few of the items in order to protect the pictures I used. I also used a zipper and a few other small details to add some fun.  

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I used mostly scraps for the colored felt, but I had to buy the white felt for the pages. I would estimate the cost between $12-$15 for the whole book. It took more time than money.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I bound my quiet book by stitching the pages together first, then doing 3 eyelets down the side. I used 3 rings to hold the book together. 

What's your favorite page? Why?
My favorite page is definitely the O and P page. The octopus and pig just turned out so cute! I also love the last page though, because that is baby's favorite page. Quiet books are so much fun to make, and they make the most fabulous gifts! 

Come check out craftingwithheart.blogspot.com to see more exciting crafts!

Click here to see Cortney's quiet book on her blog, with more explanations and details. Thank you, Cortney, for sharing your quiet book with us! 

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