So we are going on a trip to CA to see John's family this summer and I've been working on my bag of tricks to keep our crazies entertained on our 5+ hour flight out there (and of course, the 5+ hour flight back...). And since most of you know I love felt and quiet books, the biggest project on the list was quiet books for each of them. Overall it's taken me 2-3 months to get all the supplies and make all the pages, AND finally cover and bind them, but I am
thrilled with how they turned out!
We have blue for Spencer, and red for Nathan. I used
THIS tutorial to make the cover and bind the pages. Aren't the buttons a fun touch?
Here are the pages I made for Nathan's book. I had a lot of fun picking out pages for Nathan, now that he's at an age that he can really get/do the different activities. I also managed to find ideas/patterns that went along with his interests. :)
I've included links to where I found inspiration or patterns for each page, though most of them came from
this amazing book that I bought a couple of years ago - it would be a great place to start if you're thinking of making one of your own!
Title Page/Sock Matching Page
The laundry basket acts as storage for the loose sock pieces too!
Number Match Cookie Page
I'm particularly partial to this page. ;) The sheet pan pattern came from
this book, the oven page inspiration was found
HERE. I used magnets on the oven door.
Color Matching Gumball Machine/Artist's Easel Pages
Gumball machine pattern found in
this book, but I adjusted it a little based on inspiration found
HERE.
Artist easel pattern found in
this book.
Car Mat Pages (Spencer also has a set of these pages)
Pattern found in
this book.
Simple Puzzle Pages
Patterns found in
this book.
Button Maze/Zipper Pages
Pattern/Ideas found in
this book.
For the zipper page I added some beaded zipper pulls - they needed to be a little bigger for little fingers!
Minion Dress Up/Truck Button Wheels Pages
Minion Dress Up pattern found
HERE.
Truck Button Wheels pattern found
HERE.
Isn't the Minion one so fun!? The pattern includes several other props, like a mustache and a santa hat ;)
Bag of Letters/Name Spelling Pages
Inspiration found
HERE
I included letters to spell his first and last names.
Build-a-Car Page
Inspiration found
HERE
And here are Spencer's pages! It was a little trickier to decide on pages for Spencer, as he's not quite a year yet. So finding developmentally appropriate activities was challenging. I still think a lot of it is a little beyond him, but at least it will grow with him and the novelty of it should entertain him for a few minutes, right?!
Title Page/Color Matching Popsicle Stick Pages
Inspiration for popsicle match page found
HERE
I painted the popsicle sticks with non-toxic finger paints.
Bead Counting Pages
Inspiration found
HERE.
Build-a-Robot/Toolbox Pages
Build-a-Robot pattern found in
this book.
Toolbox pattern found
HERE.
Simple Puzzle Pages
Patterns found in
this book.
Texture Pages
Inspiration found
HERE.
Monkey Finger Puppets/Shape Matching Pages
Monkey Page inspiration found
HERE, though I used the finger puppet pattern from
this book.
Shape Matching inspiration found
HERE.
Ribbon Pulling/Zipper Pages
Zipper idea found in
this book
Ribbon pulling inspiration found
HERE.
Peek-a-Boo Mirror page
I made a similar page in
Nathan's church quiet book, but I can't remember where I found the idea...
I used pre-quilted fabric for the covers and bound the pages with 1.5in book rings.
The back also has a handy zipper for loose pieces - which is nice because I got lazy at the end and didn't feel like making 2 extra storage pages for the extra pieces I found myself with. (I also wanted to show you the buckle page I added to Nathan's book last minute ;)
Ta-da!! And there you go! With so many pages for each of them, I couldn't fit them all into their covers, but I guess it works out so that they have new pages for the trip home. I can't wait to give these to them on the plane!
