Quiet Book (so far!)

I decided having 2 babies a year apart is going to be REAL fun for sitting through 3 hours of church, so I am on a major rush to get some projects done that will keep them entertained as they get older. I looked online at SO many places for ideas, I'm sure I won't give credit to everyone involved but I will do my best! (See bottom of post for websites.)

The Pellon: I purchased Pellon, or Interfacing, at my local JoAnn store. It was EXPENSIVE ($5.99a yard for the thick stuff!) I was able to get 16 pages out of 3 yards. It was 20 inches wide, so I cut the pages so they are each 12 inches across and 10 inches up. (Left a little bit extra room for the button holes on the sides.)

The Binding: I looked at a lot of different ways to bind it together. (Like glue, or not cutting the pages but sewing them together right down the middle then folding the whole book together.) The one I liked the best was sewing 3 button holes in the side of each page and using rings. I prefer this way because I can take pages out and add to it as I go. Eventually I will make a fabric case for everything so the little parts can't get lost.

The Designs: Some of the templates I used from Homemade By Jill, but most of them I either hand cut, or printed clipart off the computer and traced it onto my felt.

The Felt: The felt on rolls at Joann's is usually $6 a yard, but it was on sale 50% off. Felt is a lot wider than other fabrics, so I only needed 1/3 yard of each color. I got 15 colors off the roll and bought some of the 8x11 felt sheets that were not offered on rolls (Like sparkly red, sparkly white, sparkly black, tan, and hot pink!!) Buying the felt off the roll is SO MUCH CHEAPER (if you get it on sale) than buying the felt sheets so don't be deceived!!

Here's what I have so far. Definitely not finished but it's a word in progress.

Rocket Ship that blasts on the string all the way to the moon!

Boy playing Peek-A-Boo!! I would love to add words to this page, but my handstitching looks terrible so I am still trying to figure out what to do. (I know, the hands on are backwards...I'll fix it later!)

Fish tank and fish food. Fish food is velcro'ed on. When you feed the fish, you pull them up the string to make them swim to the top to eat!

Tree with snap on apples and a bucket to put them in after they've been picked.

Balloons to match and snap on. (I went for snap vs velcro because they are quieter for church!) Decorative stitch on the strings!!

Winter Mittens so baby can put his hands inside!

Farm House with barn doors and finger puppets inside!! Also not shown, an owl hiding in the upper flap.

Plate and items to build a sandwich. Still debating if I should velcro these. They stick together pretty well already!

Fall Tree with a little flap and a birdie! Decorative stitching of my Singer came in SO handy!! It made the leaves look like they had veins without any extra work from me!

Where I got my ideas:
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/10/audreys-quiet-book.html
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/06/finished-quiet-book.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15920304/Quiet-Book-Instructions
http://www.drycreekdesign.com/quiet-books.html
http://www.simplicity.com/p-1986-crafts.aspx
http://naptimejournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/quiet-book-ideas.html
http://sewcando.blogspot.com/2009/09/quiet-time-part-2-quiet-books-abound.html
http://www.quietbook.blogspot.com/
http://swishina.blogspot.com/2009/10/quiet-book.html
http://sewing.about.com/od/toysanddolls/ss/childshapebook.htm

Sorry if I left anyone out!!

Family Home Evening Chart

I saw something like this on display at Robert's MONTHS ago and bought the plaque but never got around to it. I decided this would be a CUTE Christmas present for my brother and his family so here it is!! Sorry I didn't take pictures along the way, but I'll tell you how I did it. (The plaque is usually $20, but it was on sale for $12, AND I had a 50% off coupon!)


1. Measure your paper and cut it to the correct size to cover the metal sheet. Remember your seams and how you want them to look. (i.e. Try to make stripes match in the middle etc.)

2. Paint the wood whatever color you want. I choose dark dark brown. It's ok if you get paint on the metal because you can scratch it off with your fingernail. Paint front and back with 2-3 coats.

3. Mod-Podge your paper to the sheet metal. This can be tricky if you've never Mod Podged before!!

4. Let the whole thing dry for a couple of hours before you mess with it again. While it dries you can prepare your name plates/job plates.

5. Place the family name and FHE words on the wood. I used stickers from American Crafts (Thanks to the M-I-L!) because I don't have a cricuit but I imagine a Cricuit would be PERFECT for this job because you can customize the size/font you want.

6. Spray over the whole front and back with Acrylic Spray. Let it sit for a few hours before touching it and DO NOT lay anything on top of it for a few days!

7. Measure the ribbon and tie it through the holes. I used green grosgrain.


Name Plates:
1. Buy the needed number of name plates and the color of paper you want to cover the front. I bought wooden rectangles from Robert's for $.40 each. I also included a couple extra for when the family has more kids.

2. Measure the paper for the front of the name plate. Paint the sides and back of the name plate the color you want. (I used brown, the same as the wood.) Repaint with 2-3 coats.

3. Let the paint dry, then Mod Podge the paper to the fronts of the name plates. Do not stack them or lay them upside down for at least 4 days! If my paper ends up hanging off of the sides on parts, I turn it upside down WHEN IT IS A FEW DAYS DRY and razor blade the extra paper off. (The problem with this is I usually knick the wood and have to retouch up the paint on those parts, but the paper fits better.)

4. When your name plates have dried a few days, put you stickers/vinyl names on. To make sure the name is in the middle, I put the middle letter or letters on first right in the middle of the rectangle, then work my way out.

5. Spray your name plates with Acrylic Sealer. ($5 at Michaels.) Spray front and let dry a few hours before you spray the back.

6. Glue a magnet onto the back of each name plate.


Job Plates

1. Buy the needed number of mirrors for your FHE chart. (You could use wooden pieces too, but I thought mirrors would look different!)

2. Apply your letters. (I used Coffee House sticker rolls from Robert's. $.50) You can use vinyl letters from a Cricuit or rub on letters ($8 from Robert's). I tried using the rub on letters first, but there is no way to really seal them on, so if the letters get knicked they will look crappy. Vinyl would be ideal, but stickers did it for me. I had a hard time finding letters small enough for that little mirror!

3. Glue a magnet onto the back of each mirror.

Put your name plates/mirrors into place and you have yourself a pretty dang cute, changable, add-to-able, take-away-able FHE chart!!!