This page is a birthday page you could place anywhere in the holiday book, or make it as a stand-alone page. You can convert it to a 2-page spread by having two background pages and moving the balloons to the second page. It is an easy page to swap up the colors on, though I do like having the primary colors for the balloons and numbers.

To make this page I used:
The Pattern: download it here
Felt in:  aqua, red polka dot, flamingo, orange juice, lemon, big apple, white, pool party, and glitter stripe
Sequins in: white snag-free, red, yellow, and blue
Assorted Ribbon: I used thin teal ribbon for the balloons and thin silver for the candle wicks.
Your Choice of Binding Method: I’ve always used 3 grommets, but I’m testing out three 2″ hook & loop strips.
Other: felt glue and embroidery floss to match felt

Sewing the Background

I used an appliqué stitch to sew down red polka dot felt onto the lower half of the page (mine was 12″ wide by 4.5″ high.) Refer to the picture above for where to sew three colored squares of hook and loop (soft side) for the balloons. I recommend doing that after the cake and balloons are sewn so you know everything has room.

To attach the triangle flags, I just did a light line of glue across the top to tack them on to the top of the page. They got sewn down when I attached the backing onto the page with my sewing machine.

Sewing the Cake

The cake is actually a bit more complicated then it looks. It has a shallow open pocket on the top and the rest is a pocket you access from the bottom and snap closed.

Start by decorating the cake. Sew down the icing swap and the top edge of the bottom icing. There is a larger bottom icing piece that goes on the other side of the cake. I glued it down lightly while lining it up with the front bottom icing, then I blanket stitched around the bottom edge through both layers. Sew three white snag free velcro bits onto the cake. I prefer to use snag free wherever I need the rough side of hook and loop on an actual page. Even though it doesn’t quite hold as well as traditional Velcro, the rough side is just too snaggy with felt.

Sew two snaps onto the inner bottom icing to hold the bottom pocket closed. Scroll down to the end of the cake section for a picture of the snaps.

The tricky part is sewing the cake down to the page. You need to make a good crease where shown on the pattern. (I can use a light ironing on my felt, but test yours first! Sometimes using a straight edge to crease it works fine.) Place the cake piece as shown above: upside-down and wrong side facing out with the fold a bit above the table line. Make sure your cake fits well on the page when folded back down before sewing down the three sections shown above in hot pink.

When folded back down, you’ll have a shallow pocket at the top for the candles to sit in (or be stored sideways in.) Finish the cake by sewing down the sides of the cake. I did sew down the sides of the pink parts as well as the white cake sides. The last step is the sew the other halves of the snaps down to the page.

Sewing the Candles

Start your candles by sewing each yellow flame onto three of the orange flames, lining up the bottoms. I tacked them down with a touch of glue first. Then sandwich a bit of ribbon between the flames and the rest of the orange flame pieces. The ribbons should stick out of the bottoms. The candle part is made of of the glitter stripe material and white felt. When you blanket stitch around it, be sure to catch the other end of the ribbon/wick in the top of the candle.

Sewing the Balloons & Numbers

The balloons are fairly straightforward. Sew a square of white snag-free Velcro to the backing pieces. Sew a bit of matching hook and loop (soft side) to the fronts. Blanket stitch the fronts and backs together, catching a thin ribbon for the balloon string in your stitching at the bottom.

The numbers are done very similarly, but without a string and no hook and loop on the front.

Finishing the Page

You can finish the page however you prefer. I normally sew a backing on, reinforce the binding edge with a couple rows of stitching, and add three grommet holes. This time I am trying something new. So far, so good! The two pages I’ve done this way are holding together nicely. I’ll definitely need a back cover to stop snagging, though.

I did everything the same as I normally would, except I sewed three 2″ strips of hook and loop tape to the page and the backing in the binding area. I put the rough side on the backing and the soft side on the page. The idea is you can stack the pages together but the child and separate them easily. I plan to do a cover that will attach to the top and bottom pages in the stack, once I see how big this holiday project ends up. Or maybe I’ll make separate front and back covers… We’ll see how it goes!

If you sew along with me on this holiday project, please tag me on any Instagram photos you post! My IG is @iolstephanieand you can use the hashtag #imagineourlife. You can also post to my Facebook page. I love our little community there and I hope we can all be more active in 2019! I’m not the best at social media as I try to spend my time creating. I don’t even watch tv, as I’d need more hours in the day!!

Something fun we’ve been doing is daily vlogging on YouTube! I include clips of sewing projects whenever I can. Please subscribe here, and click the bell to be notified of new videos. I post every night! Leave a comment to let me know you came from the blog!

A Valentine page is up next! I’ll see you soon with that!

This pattern features New Year’s Eve. It has numbers to match, snaps to close, a NYE ball to “drop” and sequins that encourage little fingers to trace, much like Montessori sandpaper letters do. There are also two fireworks that add fun textures to feel.

To make this page I used:
The Pattern: download it here
Felt in: grape, royal purple, hot pink, key lime pie, orange juice, sunshine, and grey flannel
Sequins in: silver streak, hot pink, dragonfly, goldfish, and buttercup
Star Sequins: assorted colors, plus three silver (mine are this brand but bought in a craft store)
Assorted Ribbon and Ric-Rac: I used 3″ – 4″ pieces from my stash
Your Choice of Binding Method: I’ve always used 3 grommets, but I’m testing out three 2″ hook & loop strips.

Sewing the Number Pieces

To make each of the number pieces, start by sewing a line of matching sequins down the middle of the front piece as shown. I like to make two stitches for each sequin. It looks like back stitch when they are all lined up. Sew a snap to the backing piece. I usually put the female side on the page and the male side on the loose piece. Use blanket stitch to sew around the edges of the piece.

You can definitely chose any color you’d like for the numbers. I let Sebastian choose. But it would look amazing in colors like black/silver/gold!

Sewing the Background

Allowing about 2″ on the side for the binding, sew down the purple numbers. Make sure to catch the end of a ribbon under the top of the 0. It need to be long enough to go past the top of the page. Sew the other half of the snap sets to the numbers, making sure they line up.

The orange firework is created by folding a bundle of 4″ – 5″ ribbons and ric-rac in half, stitching them down, and sewing a star sequin on top. I used two pieces each of orange mini ric-rac and ribbon. The pastel firework uses 3″ – 3.5″ ribbons and ric-rac laid out in a starburst shape with a star sequin sewn onto the intersection. I used two pieces each of pick and blue ric-racs and two each of pink and blue ribbons.

Choose and color combination you’d like for the fireworks! They are good for using up ribbon scraps.

Sewing the NYE Ball

Start by sewing silver sequins to the front piece. I added 3 star sequins for extra sparkle. When sewing the front and back pieces together, you will need to leave a tunnel for the ribbon the slide freely through. I started my blanket stitch a bit off-center and continued just short of halfway around (see diagram). I then blanket stitched across the ribbon opening only through the top layer. I wrapped the piece around the ribbon before sewing the other side (leaving a gap at the top for the ribbon to come out) so I didn’t have to thread it through later. Along the top ribbon opening, I again blanket stitched only through the top layer. This made the stitching look consistent and gave the openings a bit more strength. Your finished ball should slide up and down the ribbon easily.

Finishing the Page

You can finish the page however you prefer. I normally sew a backing on, reinforce the binding edge with a couple rows of stitching, and add three grommet holes. This time I am trying something new. I haven’t tested it yet so I can’t let you know how it goes yet! I did everything the same, except I sewed three 2″ strips of hook and loop tape to the page and the backing in the binding area. I put the rough side on the backing and the soft side on the page. The idea is you can stack the pages together but the child and separate them easily. I plan to do a cover that will attach to the top and bottom pages in the stack, once I see how big this holiday project ends up. Or maybe I’ll make separate front and back covers… We’ll see how it goes!

If you sew along with me on this holiday project, please tag me on any Instagram photos you post! My IG is @iolstephanie and you can use the hashtag #imagineourlife. You can also post to my Facebook page. I love our little community there and I hope we can all be more active in 2019! I’m not the best at social media as I try to spend my time creating. I don’t even watch tv, as I’d need more hours in the day!!

Something fun we’ve been doing is daily vlogging on YouTube! I include clips of sewing projects whenever I can. Please subscribe here, and click the bell to be notified of new videos. I post every night!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy making this quick little page! I’d say the slowest page is the sequins, but they aren’t too bad. They really add a lot to the page. I’ll see you soon with a birthday-themed quietbook page!

It’s bittersweet having my first born outgrow quiet books. Thankfully, my toddler is ready to use them, so I’ve begun sewing a new batch! I can’t wait to share those with you… But, that lead me to ponder: what can I make for the 6 year old and up age range? Board games!

Showers or Flowers is a sweet felt game that is fun for all ages! It features simple counting and colors. It’s a beautiful heirloom that folds up small and portable just like a quiet book page. I can see it being great for travel, waiting rooms or just a fun family night!

To play with your older child, roll the white die to see how far you move. If you get a rainbow, roll the rainbow die and move forward to the next space of that color. Use the instruction chart if you land on a special space. Have a little one who wants to play too? Use only the Rainbow die to play the toddler version. First one to the finish line wins!

This is a pay pattern available in my Etsy shop. Purchasing my pay patterns will let me move towards making a living at crafting and give me more time to devote to both pay and free projects. This is my goal over the coming year! I really need to make this happen and am so grateful for your support!!

I hope you’ll find the pattern files to be clear and helpful! Many hours have gone in to creating and editing them. The pattern includes a stitch guide and full tutorial with photos and illustrations. There is also a page with the printable instructions (for printer fabric, or laminated paper.) You will also receive a coupon for $5 off at American Felt and Craft to help you get started on your felt stash.

You can purchase this pattern for $6 in my Etsy shop, Imagine Our Life. If you would like to sell the finished product, you can purchase commercial licensed version for $20 (coming soon this weekend!). This is a one time fee, and you’d be able to sell as many Flowers or Showers games as you’d like after purchasing it.

I really hope you enjoy this pattern! I would love to design more board games if this one is enjoyed. Please stop by our Facebook page to let me know what you think! I have several free and pay quiet book projects underway at the moment. I’ll post some sneak peeks on Instagram. Come follow along!

My baby is 1! Oh, it’s so bittersweet… My sweet final baby is now a year old, walking, and beginning to talk. I refuse to switch to saying “toddler” until 2 – what about you?

While it’s sad that time is going so fast, I’m also excited for the things to come. Like soon I’ll have a new little one old enough to design quietbooks for!

We hosted a party for Sebastian and I chose a woodland theme because he loves owls and I loved the idea of “Wild One”.

I mainly focus on decorating one portion of our kitchen at parties now, due to limited time. I start a week or two in advance and pick away after baby goes to bed.

The food table has two cheap green tablecloths (they were fairly see-through) and an artificial grass runner from Amazon.I got the 8′ runner for $13. I pulled flowers off of dollar store bunches and spread them around.

The three tissue balls were $2 each from Walmart, and the fabric leaves and dollar store cake stands were leftover from Jax’s bug party.The chalkboard sign was from AC Moore, I think. I was bummed because the chalk wouldn’t write on it at the center top, but I ended up gluing fake flowers there. All of the wooden trays and bowls were thrifted, with the exception of two faux wood chargers from Walmart for $1 each. I hand cut the bunting and cake topper. The tiny tree was from Amazon, but no longer available.

Because I had very little party planning time (busy baby is busy!), I purchased illustrations this time from Etsy. The woodland and bakery clip art was from Le Petite Market’s store. The two fonts I used were from Creative Qube Design’s store (90% off sale!) I designed the tent cards and cupcake toppers in Indesign, cut them (I used a circle punch for the picks) and mounted them on card stock. I hand-colored the cupcake picks with colored pencils, and they got mini kabob sticks (point cut off) and fake flowers as well.

Some of the food pictured here: Meadow cakes (yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing and flower sprinkles), Brown bears (cinnamon Teddy Grahams), Bunny’s Garden (fresh veggies) and Hedgehogs (chocolate iced madeleines with sprinkles.

The hedgehogs came out so so cute! To make the faces, I stuck sprinkles into the cookies for eyes and mouths.

More food pictured here: S’more bites (baked by my friend), Trail mix (Golden Grahams, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips), Tree tops (Pirate Booty) and Twigs & Sticks (pretzel sticks).

Even more food pictured here: Berry blend (Sebastian’s favorite fruits) and Cheese and Crackers (yep).

We had water bottles and Liquid sun (lemonade served in a sun tea server I thrifted for that bug party years ago.)

The cake was a lemon strawberry swirl cake with vanilla icing and fresh strawberries between the layers. I just swirled two cake mixes. I level the layers and did a crumb coat, but that was the extent of my fancy decorating! I bought toy animals and made tiny party hats for them out of paper and mini pompoms (from my stash, so some I dyed with sharpies). I purchased a miniature cake from Etsy to put on top with them.

Seen here: deer, fawn, fox, cub, bear and barn owl. (The fawn I bought on Amazon, the others were from the craft store with coupons. Please note I use affiliate links that don’t affect your purchase but help me buy supplies.)

I made a smash cake for Sebastian (who didn’t really eat it, but oh well!) that was the same flavor. I put the owl on top, as well as a candle (we didn’t light) and some flowers.

My year-long project of photographing Sebastian was a feature wall. I covered the art we have hanging with green streamers (funny story…) and hung flower garlands from Jax’s 3rd birthday party. I used mini clothespins my husband found on Amazon to hang my prints. I bought two poster prints that had all of the monthly photos laid out in a grid from Vista Print, then cut them out.

I always do a craft table and this one was a bit last minute. I ordered foam owl sticker sets and color your own woodland masks. Both worked great at the party!

The party favors were fairly simple, as I’m not a fan of getting lots of plastic junk in favor bags. Kids over 3 got rainbow stacker crayons from Target, a pack of gummy bears and an owl water squirter. Babies and toddlers got baby bath toys and a pack of Teensy Fruits.

Some behind the scenes photos:

I know that first birthday parties are more for the parents, but I hope Sebastian felt how loved he is! We had a great time celebrating our littlest man. We love him so!

Sebastian wasn’t sure what to make of being sung to or the cake, but it will be a treasured memory. ? #bazturns1yearoldiol

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jun 24, 2017 at 8:45pm PDT

Here is Sebastian’s wishlist for those who have asked. A little late, sorry… You are sweet to think of us!

Sebastian’s birth was easier on me than Jax’s. I didn’t need Pitocin and everything progressed steadily on its own. When it was time to push, he was out in 10 minutes because his heart rate was dipping with every contraction and I wanted him safely out. He was healthy and beautiful. The hospital was amazing about skin to skin and breastfeeding time right away. We had quiet time to meet him and decide his name. We spent one night after his birth and got permission to leave late the next day.

He’s so perfect! Sebastian William Segall, 7lbs 8oz at 7:08 on June 14th 2016. ???? #2016iol366 #2016baz366iol

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jun 14, 2016 at 5:00am PDT

The next day, as we rushed to go to Jax’s science class graduation with our newborn, I suddenly felt funny. The room spun, my arms moved in stuttered slow motion and I couldn’t get my mouth to move. It was like a bad dream when you can’t speak or run away, but it was real life. It only lasted a few seconds. I called my OB’s nurse from science class and she suggested I was tired and hungry, but to watch for it to happen again. Later that evening my left hand went numb and tingly. I was sore from nursing and assumed I’d pinched a nerve. It became clear when I woke up the next morning that it was much more serious than that. I couldn’t move the lower left side of my face much. After a hot shower while my big boys slept to help me build up courage, I called my OB again. She sent me to the ER.

I got some stretches of sleep last night, as I’m figuring out what this little bean likes. However I’m having some worrying symptoms and and waiting on word from my dr…

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jun 17, 2016 at 5:51am PDT

After hours of tests, doctors and uncertainty, they confirmed that I’d had multiple mini-strokes (TIAs) based on tiny infarcts seen on my MRI. It being Friday, I was told to expect to be there all weekend waiting on testing. Imagine being told you’re getting admitted back into the hospital while holding your 3 day old baby you’re determined to breastfeed. Luckily, they did not stop us from keeping Sebastian with us. We just had to always have an adult with me in case I was taken off for testing without warning. (And I was.) They provided a bassinet from the mom/baby floor and my OB visited and had postpartum supplies and a pump sent to my room, as I had nothing and the PICU was not at all prepared for my situation.

One of my many brain scans that I go copies of this past autumn:

Idk what the heck this is besides my head, but it’s hypnotizing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Nov 12, 2016 at 7:38pm PST

I stayed in the hospital Friday through Monday, begging each day to go home. I missed Jax so dang much!! I had many, many tests. Every sort of heart, head and neck scan possible, it seemed. So many blood draws that once a second blood cart arrived within minutes of a big draw and I sent her away because I was near tears from being overwhelmed. Everything was looking normal, besides my brain, but they wanted a closer look at my heart. Clots normally go to the lungs, from the heart – not the brain. On Monday they put me under general anesthesia and did a TEE (trans esophageal echocardiogram) and discovered a congenital hole in my heart. They have been calling it a PFO, the slightly milder type, but the cardiologist says it acts like an ASD, with blood mixing back and forth between my heart chambers constantly. This is how the clots found a way through to my brain.

Happy face because today’s hospitalist just came in and agreed to let me switch to lovenox twice a day and drop aspirin (we were doing it very short term, but no one on my team wants me to nurse on it after they all talked today). I’ll be taught to give myself the shot tomorrow after my procedure. I assume there is still a chance the EE will show something that requires aspirin, and then that’s the end of nursing. I need to stay alive. Hoping and praying it doesn’t go that way. Oh, and he ordered the iv fluids stopped if I am good about drinking water. My second bff of the day.

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jun 19, 2016 at 12:00pm PDT

No one has been able to say why I clotted. One could guess that pregnancy caused a hyper-coagulated state (thicker blood), as it could. But with additional strokes such a huge risk, every possible blood disorder has been tested for They’ve all been negative. I have been on coagulants that I inject every morning. It isn’t the most fun thing in the word, but other options are less breastfeeding friendly. I may switch the baby aspirin at some point, as a consultation with a breastfeeding and medication expert informed me that if I can wait a few hours after taking it it would be gone from my blood/milk but I’d still get the thinning benefits. This is likely to be life-long.

#2016jax366iol July 4th. All about his baby brother today. He was upset when I moved him away.

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jul 4, 2016 at 6:54am PDT

Throughout this all, I’ve felt good. By the time I’d been admitted to the hospital for the TIAs, I’d been down to one fingertip numb and a slight tingly feeling in my cheek. These remain 8 months later. I otherwise feel healthy. Breastfeeding has been a joy and a privilege I won’t be taking for granted.

“Oh my gosh, I love our baby so much! I need to kiss and hug Smasher Basher!!” #bestbigbrother #jaxsttackandsmasherbasher ????????????

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jun 16, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT

The part that hurts the most about this is that I am too high risk for any more babies. It doesn’t matter that we’d decided on two… I love babies, and having the what if’s taken away… Oof.

????

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Jul 12, 2016 at 12:41pm PDT

But I am blessed! So blessed! Sebastian is a dream come true for me. He is sweet and smiley. The best dimples ever! Jax has been such a good big brother. These two boys complete my heart, even though I never thought I’d be a “boy mom”.

My boys ???? (And we need our carpet stretched among other things… I don’t even have house cleaning time with a newborn that feeds every 1-2 hours!)

A post shared by Stephanie Segall (@iolstephanie) on Aug 2, 2016 at 9:54am PDT

I hope this new year has found you well! I’ve been crocheting – and now knitting – as it is easier than sewing with a baby in your lap. I’ll be sharing my projects soon! As Sebastian grows, I’ll be designing him his own quietbooks. I’m really looking forward to sharing that chapter with you!

I’m queuing up post ideas and leaping back into the blog! On my list: our current homeschool shelves, my recent crochet and knitting projects and Jax’s 7th birthday penguin party. (Speaking of my now 7 year old (what??!), he has this biggest heart ever, and is raising money to save penguins!)

I adore crochet, and while pregnant, I seem to have super speed with it. Jax homeschools, but I enrich his learning with outside classes. That means I have times when I’m waiting outside classrooms – sometimes twice a day. Our nursery bedding was so cute with its fun colors and patterns, that I felt inspired to design a blanket to crochet to match.

Let me preface this by saying I can’t write crochet patterns. I’m terrible at keeping track of what I do while I’m crocheting, as I tend to make it up as I go along. I’ll be giving an overview of what I did for each pattern area, as well as the basic materials and starting size I went with.

Big thank-you’s to two Instagram friends who helped me name this pattern after fun and colorful licorice allsorts candies!

What I Used:

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in: Black, White, Lemonade, Mango (Brites series), Chartreuse, and Robin’s Egg. I ordered mine from Joann’s during a sale for under $3 each. I used 2 each of white and black, one each of the colors. I did buy an extra skein of each, and have been doing small projects with those. I used this exact 4mm hook, ordered from Amazon. Very comfy! I also used metal yarn needles to weave in the 10 bazillion ends.

Stitches I Used:
sc, hdc, dc and bobble

Starting:
I started with a chain of 102 in black. (I actually did my blanket with a chain of 100 and the dot pattern divided awkwardly, so in the second blanket, I used 102. These instructions assume a starting width of 102 chains.)

Stripes:
The stripes are made with two rows of hdc, alternating black and white. I did 4 black and 3 white. To transition to the zigzags, I did one row of white sc under the final black stripe.

Zigzags:
The zigzags are V-stitch. I already had a row of white sc. V-stitch is made by doing 2 dc in one stitch, skipping a stitch, and repeating. In the following rows, make your 2 dc in the space between the 2 dcs below. (I like to start my dc rows with a chainless dc.) I did 5 rows of white and 5 rows of aqua/lime. After the last row (aqua or lime), I did a row of sc in that color.

Dots:
A note about the three dot rows: I carried the white yarn along as I went so I could switch colors, stitching overtop of it with the yellow/orange until I needed it. To switch colors, I’d do all but the last yarn-over of the stitch before the color change, then switch threads to the next stitch’s color and do the final yarn-over. (In the linked video, she doesn’t enclose the carried thread in her stitches as I did.)

I started this section with a full row of dc. Row one of the dots was 2 dc in the color, followed by a white bobble stitch and 5 colored dc, repeated across. I ended with 2 colored dc. The middle dot row was 5 colored dc and a white bobble repeated across, ending on 5 colored dc. The final dot row is the same as the first. I ended the section with a full row of dc.

My Layout:
Here is what I ended up doing (from the bottom up).

1. Black and white stripes
2. White and lime zigzags
3. Yellow and white dots
4. Black and white stripes
5. White and aqua zigzags
6. Orange and white dots
7. Black and white stripes
8. White and lime zigzags
9. Yellow and white dots
10. Black and white stripes

Border:
For my border, I worked white sc all the way around. How many you do isn’t a big deal. You just want good coverage and to be consistent. I then did three black rows of dc. I ended with a row of aqua sc. (In all the rows, I did 3 stitches in each corner. In the next row, the corner stitch will be the middle of those three.)

This blanket came out so colorful and fun! And it is a very versatile pattern in terms of colors and the order of the sections.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to also make a girlie version of this blanket as a gift. Being on my second boy, there isn’t a lot of pink in my life, so this one was a lot of fun!

I made the body of this blanket the same way as the original, but changed the colors around. Black was swapped for grey and pink for the orange. I rearranged the colors so pink and yellow were featured. The yarn for this one is Knit Picks Brava Worsted.

The biggest change was the border. I started with a row of grey sc, followed by two white rows of dc. I made 3 stitches in each corner, as with the original. My final row was time consuming, but super sweet! I did a pompom border, modified from this tutorial. For mine, I did 4 sc in between each pom. I started the pom with 4 chains, then did the step for 3 dc in the 3rd chain from the hook. I made the second cluster as instructed and after I slst’d it to the bottom of the pom, I chained 1 and then made one sc in the same stitch that the whole pom started in. (I hope that makes sense!)

You really could do anything on the border to change the whole feel of the blanket!

I hope you enjoy this crochet blanket pattern. Please share with me here, or Facebook or on Instagram if you make your own!

Want to share the love? Here’s an image ready to pin!

We are finally feeling somewhat ready to meet our newest little man. We have a car seat and a pack of diapers, a bit of clothes (mainly from the great thrift stores around here) and our DIY’ed nursery. Allow me to show you around!

The nursery is a small bedroom with both its own door and a door into the master bedroom. It was once Jax’s nursery, then it evolved to a school room and finally a craft room. We’re back full circle with a brand new nursery!

Furnishings: Jax’s old crib, shelf from Ikea, the rocker my mom nursed me in (painted and cushions sewn), ottoman from Target, rug from Ikea. Walls: thrifted alphabet card, Etsy song quote, DIY penguin painting, DIY Beatles quote, DIY ModPodge “Keep Calm” canvas, DIY penguin chick drawing, Etsy song quote, Beatle album cover and Etsy penguin chick with balloon print.

The room was already Mermaid’s Treasure turquoise with a green rug that Jax no longer needed in his big boy room, so I was excited to find a penguin-themed nursery set with those colors! Jax adores penguins and wanted them to be the nursery theme. I bought the bedding set for under $50 on Zulily, but you can find them on Amazon for more. (I think it is being discontinued, so the prices are going up.)

The wall art is a combination of DIY projects, Etsy downloads that I had printed through VistaPrint and thrifted or Dollar Tree frames. I crocheted a blanket and round cushion with fun, bold patterns to compliment the bedding set. Stay tuned for my instructions on how to make your own!

Wall: geo penguin Etsy art, DIY pop art penguins, dollar aisle penguin flashcard, DIY Beatles quote, Target mirror and chalkboard. Misc: thrifted/painted diaper basket, hamper from AC Moore, lamp and plant from Ikea, curtains from Ikea.

The room already had a large vintage desk that was in the house when we purchased it. It had been painted white before we inherited it, which was pretty, but I really wanted it to be apple green! After a few sample pots, I went with English Apple by Glidden.

The closet was on of my biggest projects. A couple years back, my husband built shelves for craft and homeschool supplies that were very much in use still. After a month of sorting, I got all the school stuff organized in bins and hidden behind an old, ripped muslin swaddle (attached with dollar store stick on Velcro.) I removed one of the shelves so baby’s sleepers could have room to hang. He doesn’t have much clothes yet – a few gifts and what I have thrifted so far – so they are just sorted by size on the shelf for now.

The room feels fresh and soft, while still having the bright, bold colors I love and plenty of black and white. Hanging sheer, white curtains from Ikea helped with that. How perfect is that Target Threshold ottoman?! And it was 25% off after I’d been eyeing it for 6 months.

The door to our master bedroom. Upper right photo art: photo printed from Wiki Commons in a thrifted frame.

Here are a few more details from around the nursery.

What are your newborn must-haves? It’s been 6 years (and I donated everything!) so I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do!!

You can find links to our registries in the sidebar for a little while longer.

What We Used:

• Sculpy Clay
• Acrylic Craft Paints
• Mod Podge Gloss
• Nylon Beading Cord
• Necklace Clasps
• Tools: Skewers, Paint Brushes, Oven and Baking Tray, Scissors

We used Sculpy oven bake clay so that we wouldn’t have to wait too long for it to harden. I got a large white pack with a 50% off coupon. It left him with plenty to play with. He’s quite fond of making clay Kirbys!

To make the beads, Jax rolled various sizes of spheres and I poked holes in them with a bamboo skewer.  We used the skewers to add texture to some of the beads. We made stripes and dots.

The small bowls started as a larger ball of clay that I had Jax dent and squeeze into a bowl shape. Younger kids will need help with this. In some of them, Jax used a foam snowflake sticker to stamp an impression in the bottom of the bowl.

Jax also make a few other fun things with the clay while I poked all the holes and pre-heated the oven (follow your clay’s instructions). I baked ours in two sessions, since the bowls and beads were fairly thick (and bedtime was approaching!)

The next day, we spent some of our homeschool time painting all our beautiful beads, bowls and crafts! I stuck the beads on skewers and toothpicks to paint them. Jax found them to be too tricky, so he told me colors and patterns to use while he painted the bowls.

We traced Jax’s hand in clay to make this rockin’ ornament for a guy friend!

That evening I coated them with glossy Mod Podge to seal in the paint. Any acrylic sealer would work. To coat all sides of the beads, I strung them on cord and painted them while they hung.

To make our necklaces, I had Jax choose 3-5 beads to string onto a long cord. I tied on copper-toned lobster clasps and tab rings, then sealed the knots with Fray Check. I think he chose beautiful combinations!

We really enjoyed working on this craft together. I think a child just a couple years older would be able to do it all (besides the oven) themselves.

Jax has been so proud to hand out his gifts! He’s been telling everyone that they were made with love.

Marie-Claire is a momma of twin boys, a graphic designer, the owner of SO Awesome, and the creator of Children’s Wallet Cards. You’ll remember her from our post and giveaway last September. Her wallet cards have so many uses and fit well into your Montessori and homeschool supplies.

She’s at it again seeking micro-funding from moms and homeschoolers like you on Kickstarter. She has four new sets in development, Emotions, Seasons, House and Pets.

Funding pledges start at just $1. Kickstarter is all-or-nothing funding for creative products, supporting new projects is quick and easy. The campaign is open until April 29, 11 am EST.

So Awesome’s alphabet deck from their previous Kickstarter campaign.

Giveaway

SO Awesome has generously offered a $100 store credit to the winner of this random giveaway. To enter, visit SO Awesome’s Kickstarter page, then leave a comment here letting us know what your favorite new deck is. Then use the Rafflecopter widget below to let us know you’ve commented (email address or Facebook required). There are bonus entries available to anyone who enters. The lucky winner will be randomly chosen on April 29, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About SO Awesome

SO Awesome offers gorgeous, educational, non-toxic, extremely durable card sets designed for how kids play and work. Montessori-inspired. Made in the USA. Their cards are perfect to engage children in carseats, strollers, shopping carts, and long airplane rides.

Graphic Designer and mother Marie-Claire Camp created the durable, non-toxic card sets for her twin boys. Using the crowdsource-funding site Kickstarter, Marie-Claire produced five sets of cards and an companion iOS app.

Visit SO Awesome on:
So Awesome Website • Facebook • Twitter • Pinterest • Instagram

Thanks for entering, and good luck!

I used fabric that I custom designed and ordered through Spoonflower.  I made a question box tumble in three colorways: red, green and blue. I ordered one fat quarter of each. I needed a dozen 9″ zippers, so I ended up buying this zipper assortment. It came with a good assortment and only one of them was the wrong size out of 54. I also bought three additional fat quarters in coordinating colors. With 6 fat quarters (3 outer fabric and 3 lining) you can make 12 bags.

What I Used:

• Two 9″ x  5″ rectangles in my outer fabric
• Two 9″ x 5″ rectangles in my lining fabric
• One 9″ zipper
• Matching thread
• Iron, sewing machine (with zipper foot) and scissors

The Video:

I don’t talk in this video – turn on CC if you’d like written instructions. And enjoy one of my favorite classical pieces – The Blue Danube!

The Basic Overview:

You start with a “zipper sandwich” – take one rectangle of each of the fabrics and lay then stacked, right sides facing. Place the zipper inside the sandwich facing the outer fabric. Line its edge up with the long side of the fabric on the inside of the sandwich. Sew along the zipper with a zipper foot (moving the zipper pull partway). Flip the two rectangle so their wrong sides are facing and the zipper is sticking out of the sandwich. Make a new sandwich around it, right sides facing in, putting the lining on the lining side and outer fabric on the outer fabric side. Sew the edge with a zipper foot (moving the zipper pull partway).

Open up the rectangles so right sides are out and the zipper is in the center. Iron it smooth, then flip the sides so the linings are together (right sides facing) and the outer fabric pieces are together (right sides facing). Press the zipper/seam towards the lining. Open the zip halfway. Starting on the short side of the lining near the bottom of the zip, carefully sew across the zipper. (Make sure you do not sew over the metal crimp at the base of the zipper. It will break your needle!) Sew all the way around until you get back to your starting side, then stop when you have 3″ left to go. Leave that open for turning.

Clip the tails at both ends of your zipper, then clip all four corners. Flip the bag right side out through the hole, unzipping the zipper the rest of the way when you are able. Make sure you poke all the corners out. With the outer fabric and lining on each side, iron it smooth. Fold in the hems of the lining opening and iron it to crease it. Stitch it closed close to the edge. Push the lining into the bag and iron it inside and out, making sure to iron the fabric away from the zipper.

All done! I’ll be filling ours with Dollar Tree pencils, sharpeners and faux mustaches.

They turned out super fun!

If you make some Nine Minute Pencil Bags, I’d love to see them! Share them on my Facebook page or mention me on Twitter or Instagram ( @iolstephanie ). Enjoy!

I used wool-blend felt and colorful sequins from American Felt and Craft. I chose a color palette that was slightly retro with honeydew, poppy, pink and teal.

What I Used:

• The Pattern
• Wool Blend Felt
• Clear Vinyl
• Assorted Sequins
• Baker’s Twine
• Felted Ball or Pompom
• Stuffing or Batting

Step 1: Layer the honeydew felt dome between the two vinyl dome pieces and sew from A to B with a blanket stitch. Fill each side of the dome with sequins as desired. Sew the top closed.

Step 2: Sew the curved top to the two poppy cap pieces together with a blanket stitch, then place it over the top of the dome and sew across the cap’s bottom.

Step 3: Sew a row of red sequins down the side of each poppy machine piece. Sew a pink heart to each side and add sequins. Sew the hatch to the front machine piece and add a silver sequin.

Step 4: Sew the machine together from C to D with a blanket stitch and fill with stuffing. Stick the dome inside the open end and sew the machine pieces closed.

Step 5: Thread a large needle with baker’s twine. Attach the center of the twine to the top of the cap then run the tails through a felt ball or pom. Tie off and enjoy!

Thank you to American Felt and Craft for all of the beautiful supplies used in this project!

What I Used:

• The Pattern
• Two 31″ x 17″ Felt Pieces in teddy bear
• Assorted Felt (in white, flamingo, lipstick, orange juice, lemon meringue, key lime pie, fresh cut grass, sparrow and lavender)
• Assorted Sequin Colors (in classic red, goldfish, buttercup, dragonfly, orchid,
  grape soda, baby pink and crystal)
• Glitter RicRac (red)
• Hook & Loop Tape (I used brown and yellow, but any color works.)
• Pearl Button
• Felt Glue
• Scissors, needles, thread
  (sewing machine recommended for pockets)
• Hanger (full size)
• Optional:
  Advent Pre-Cut Adhesive Number Set

I started sewing this project before I had the brown background felt, so I began with all the smaller pieces. I will list the tutorial sections in an order that makes sense, but there is definitely some flexibility.

The Roof
I created the advent calendar with the ability to come off the hanger. The roof is a separate piece that sits on top of the hanger like a hat with a hole for the hook. I cut my roof pieces out of 9: x 12″ sheets, so each side is made of two halves sewn together. On the front half, I decorated it with crystal sequins. When sewing the two sides together, I only sewed the tops, leaving a 2″ hole at the center-top for the hanger hook.

The Calendar & Pockets
There is a diagram in the pattern showing how I cut and laid out the calendar body. Once you cut two rectangles that are 31″ x 17″, lay your hanger and the top and trim off the corners, leaving a 0.5″ seam allowance. Set aside one calendar piece to use as the back. (Optional – leave an extra bit at the lower right corner if you want the Christmas tree to extend a bit past the edge. Once the tree is on, you can trim it down. Otherwise, just cut off the extra tree.)

Attach your numbers to the pocket squares. I used adhesive numbers, which saved so much cutting time. If you are cutting them yourself, gluing them on with felt glue will work just fine. On pocket 1 (a rectangle), layer white swirls on top of a red circle to make a peppermint swirl candy. Sew it to the pocket and add red sequins. On pocket 19, sew on the red heart and add some red sequins.

Take your time laying out and pinning all the pockets. I’ve provided measurements for between each row. Unless you have many hours to fill, you probably want to use a sewing machine for all the pockets. I got mine done in under an hour that way. One pocket without a number goes at the center bottom of the calendar. It will be behind the door. (The tree pocket – 23 – is sew separately.)

Snowy Sills
Cut out 8 snowy window sill pieces and sew sequins on them. Using felt glue, tack them on to the bottom of the blue pockets. I glued mine on before sewing on the pockets, but you can do it either way. Sew down the tops of the snow pieces, leaving the bottoms hanging loose.

Fruit Slices
For each fruit slice, tack down the white rind with a light layer of glue (too much and it is hard to sew though) then sew it down. Add matching sequins to the colored parts, then sew them down directly over pockets 3 and 5.

Candy Sticks
For the red and white candy sticks, tack down then sew on the red stripes, added red sequins. Sew them down above pockets 8 and 10. For the pink and red candy sticks, tack down and sew on the thinner red stripes. Using a back stitch, sew a stripe on each side of the red felt stripes. Add a few pink sequins, then sew them down above pockets 18 and 20.

Jelly Beans
I tacked down the jelly beans directly onto the calendar. White sewing them down, I alternated their direction and added matching sequins. Four jelly beans go over pocket 13 and pocket 15.

Door
On the front piece of the door, sew on a green peppermint swirl candy (using the same technique as the red). The number 24 goes below that with room for a pearl button door knob on the right. I added yellow sequins to the door. On the back door piece, I sewing on a piece of hook tape. I sewed it on high enough to be above the pocket on the calendar. On the calendar, I sewed down some loop tape lined up to close the door. I sewed the two sides of the door together starting at the left side of the curved top. When I got around to the straight left side, I stitched both layers down to the calendar to make the hinged side of the door.

Candy Canes
The candy canes are sewn the same way as the red and white candy sticks. I provided a pattern for all of the stripes around the cured part, then one stripe you can repeat down the straight part. I sewed the candy canes down on either side of the door at a slight angle.

Christmas Tree
The tree sticks out a bit past the lower right edge of the calendar. You can either cut your calendar to have a matching bump-out like I did, or trim your tree to fit the corner. Using felt glue I attached my glitter ric rac down and folded the ends behind the tree. It held really well once dry. Once I decided the position of the tree’s pocket, I glued on more ric rac to the pocket square to match what was under it on the tree. I added assorted sequins to the tree and the pocket, stuck the number onto the pocket, then sewed on the pocket and tree by hand. The tip of the tree extends a bit onto pocket 21.

Gumdrops
The stack of gumdrops overlaps the right side of pocket 22. I tacked them down in a tospy turvy pile, sewed them down and added sequins.

Lollipop
The lollipop stick is glued down to the calendar. If you plan to sew it as well, use a light layer of glue. I didn’t bother sewing mine. On the lavender circle, sew a purple sequin to the center. Add sequins in a line making a spiral. (To add sequins in a line, bring your needle up through the felt beside your first sequin and through the hole of sequin 2. Come back down through sequin 1. Repeat, coming up beside sequin 2, through sequin 3 and down through sequin 2. Repeat. The last sequin gets a second stitch to tack it down.]

Construction
When sewing the back on, I used a sewing machine. I sewed the left, bottom and right sides completely, but only sewed halfway up each slope at the top. On either side of where the hanger hook goes, add some hook and loop squares. The snowy roof just slides on top.

All done! I hope you enjoyed this free pattern. You can find the rest of my Christmas projects here. If you make one of my projects, please share a photo! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you follow me on Facebook but are not getting my post, I apologize! FB is only showing my posts to 10-15% of those of you who have liked the page, and wants me to pay to show it to more. I can’t afford that, but feel terrible that many of you miss out on advanced copies of patterns, sneak peeks and polls for new projects. You can set your account to get notifications when I post (no more than once per day) by clicking the “like” button a second time and setting your notification preferences. Hopefully that will help.

Thank you for all the well wishes for Jax as he recovered from pneumonia. We are finally back to normal here! If you’d like to support this site of send a little surprise to Jax, you can find his wishlist here. We are saving up to surprise him with a Wii U from GameStop.

Children can sort the costumes into their matching sets or have fun making silly combinations. This page would work great with my Halloween Jack-o-lantern page!

What I Used:

• The Pattern
• Felt (in Wild Blueberry, Favorite Jeans, White, Black, Bisque, Orange Juice, Lemon Meringue, Honeydew, Limeade, Monkey, Ice, Lavender, Gold Nugget, Tobacco, Sweet Potato and Big Apple)
• Backing Felt (in Embossed Pumpkin) optional
• Scraps of gold trim
• Sew-on Snaps (two for ghosts; you can add snaps to the clothes and body if you’d like)
• Felt Glue

Are you ready to sew a fun Halloween costume match page?

Background
I started by cutting a 12″ x 4″ strip of denim blue felt into a sloping hill, then I sewed it down to the background. (When adding details to your page, be mindful of the way you bind your books. My way requires 2″ of width on the binding edge.) I then sewed down the moon and two clouds. Sew two snaps down where you want the ghosts to be. Pin the body and undies in place and sew them down. If you’d like to add snaps or Velcro to the backs of your costume pieces, sew them to the head, torso and groin of the body. (If you use Velcro, I recommend the snag-free kind for use with felt.)

Ghosts
For each ghost: Sew the other half of the snap onto the back of the ghost. On the front, make two French knot eyes and sew down the mouth. Sew the front and back together with a blanket stitch.

Pumpkin
To make the pumpkin pocket, I cut a scrap of yellow felt large enough to go behind the cut-outs of the pumpkin face. I tacked it behind the face with a bit of felt glue, then sewed it on around the eye and mouth holes. I then layered another pumpkin piece behind the yellow to hide it, and sewed both layers together across the curved top with a blanket stitch. I positioned the pumpkin onto the page and sewed through both it and the background the rest of the way around. This makes a pocket that is open at the top.

Costumes
To finish each costume piece: cut out a piece of backing felt to match the shape of your final piece, then sew it on with a blanket stitch, matching your thread colors to the felt. (If you are adding Velcro or snaps, do it before the blanket stitch.) I used the same “wild blueberry” dark blue felt as my costume backings.

Princess: I started by stitching on her face. I made aqua French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. I used red-brown for her eyebrows and made a long, loose stitch and tacked it down into a curve with a tiny vertical stitch. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the bottom lip, one longer one for the upper lip. On the upper lip, I made a small “v” of stitches in the center as shown. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down her hair and crown. I stitched the hair down around her face. I took a small piece of gold trim and stitched it down to the crown with the ends tucked under. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

For her blouse, I made a series of French knot pearls, then attached the backing. On the skirt, I stitched the skirt puffs on, then stitched more gold trim along the hem. I glued the feet to the back of the skirt after confirming their positions by laying it on the body pattern. I tacked down the shoes with glue then stitched them on. I then attached the backing.

Witch: I started by stitching on her face. I made purple French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. I used lavender for her eyebrows and made a long, loose stitch and tacked it down into a curve with a tiny vertical stitch. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the bottom lip, two longer one for the upper lip. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down her hair, hat and hat band. I stitched the hair down around her face and stitched down the hat band and where her hat meets her hair. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

On her blouse and skirt, I glued and sewed down the two patches using large, uneven stitches. I continued on with the skirt by positioning her stockings using the body pattern and gluing them and her shoes into place. On her stockings, I made long horizontal stitches to add stripes before attaching the backing.

Cowboy: I started by stitching on his face. I made brown French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. Using the same dark peach, I made teenie stitches for freckles. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the mouth. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down his hair, hat and hat band, then stitched all the inner edges. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

On his shirt, I tacked down the vest and then the scarf. I sewed down all the inner edges, then attached the backing. On his pants, I layered the jeans and shoes behind the chaps, using the body pattern for positioning, and tacked them with glue. I tacked down the belt buckle, sewed all the inner edges, then attached the backing.

Skeleton: For all parts of the skeleton, I tacked the bones down into place with a light layer of felt glue and them stitched them down. I added the red heart on top of the ribs because it was easier to see. I then attached all the backings.

And there is something that makes it even more fun… Flocked pumpkin felt on the back of the page! The jack-o-lanterns are fuzzy and a little glittery. Super cute!

I hope you enjoy this free pattern! The commercial license for selling completed products from this pattern will be available in my Etsy shop.

Do you have a special pattern request? Stop by my Facebook Page or my Instagram (@iolstephanie) and let me know! Happy Halloween!

I recently sat down and worked out a layout in Microsoft Word that is very similar to mine. The main difference is there is no spot for an image credit. Being a graphic designer, I am very big on not using photos without permission. For my free printables, I first look to my own personal photo library, then search on Wikipedia Commons. I always put the required attribution tag under photo I use publicly.

Weather 3-Part Cards

What You Need:

• The Microsoft Word template
• Digital Images
• D’nealian Font (or your font choice)
• Scissors or paper trimmer
• Printer paper and colored cardstock
• Glue stick
• Laminator
• Lamination Pouches

Start by selecting the box you’d like to add a photo to.

Right-click and choose “Change Picture…” I am on a Mac, so your view may be a bit different.

Choose your photo and insert it. If it wasn’t a nice square photo, no worries! We can crop it! I like to make mine square when I can, but sometimes I have to leave them as-is to avoid cropping something important.

Drag a corner of the picture to make it larger. Don’t worry about it getting too big. You want the main area to be a good size for you final square. (In this case, it is the sea turtle.)

Next you’ll want to open the “Format Picture” window. You can get to it from the menu bar (“Formatting” menu), right-clicking or via the “Formatting Palette” that appears when an image is selected. You will want to go to “Crop” and use the arrows to gradually crop the photo down to a square that you are happy with. Pop over to the “Size” tab to make sure the width and height are the same. If you are going for the size of square I always use, you can set the width to 1.97″ once you have it cropped to a square.

After that, you are ready to change the text. You can also change the font. Do this for each card.

This file is for the cards you cut into two pieces each: pictures only and labels only. In most cases you’ll also want the full labeled card. I recommend you set up your whole sheet as instructed above and then either copy/paste it to a second page or save it as a second file. With that second page or file, you’ll take out the dividing line.

Select the two rows that make up a card’s table. In the Formatting Palette, choose borders. You’ll want to turn off the box with the middle horizontal line (highlighted green here). The line will still be there on your file after you turn it off, but it will be lighter. The light gray line is just to show you where the table is. Remove the line for each card to have a set of full cards.

Musical Instrument 3-Part Cards

Once you have your cards printed and cut, use a dab of glue to attach them to card stock. Trim the card stock to have about a 3mm border. I like to match the color of the card stock to the theme of the cards. For my continent cards, I used the color that represents the continent in Montessori. Then I’d make cards for each continent’s animals and use that same continent color for the card stock. Sometimes my choice is arbitrary. I chose gray for music. Whenever I make a new set of cards for music studies, I mount them on gray card stock.

This next step is really what makes the 3-part cards look beautiful and last for ages. Lamination! This is my favorite laminator. I bought it is June of 2013 and it is still going strong. I bought these laminating pouches. I have about a quarter left int he pack after all that time.

Continent 3-Part Cards

My hint for laminating: when laying your cards out on the laminator sheet/pouch, put a dab of glue stick on the back of them. That way, they won’t slide around when you are feeding it through the machine.

Once they are out of the machine, trim them down (I leave about 2mm of clear plastic border). All done!

Here are some links to some of my previous free 3-part cards:

Autumn Leaves 3-Part Cards

Solar System 3-Part Cards

• Animals of Africa 3-Part Cards
• Animals of Antarctica 3-Part Cards
• Animals of Asia 3-Part Cards
• Animals of Australia 3-Part Cards
• Animals of Europe 3-Part Cards
• Animals of North America 3-Part Cards
• Animals of the Ocean 3-Part Cards
• Animals of South America 3-Part Cards
• Autumn Leaves 3-Part Cards
• Continent 3-Part Cards
• Money 3-Part Cards
• Music 3-Part Cards
• Musical Instrument 3-Part Cards
• Recycling 3-Part Cards
• Sea Creature 3-Part Cards
• Solar System 3-Part Cards
• Weather 3-Part Cards
• Winter Olympics 3-Part Cards

Find more Montessori-inspired ideas at Living Montessori Now’s Montessori Monday!

This is a pay pattern available in my Etsy shop. Purchasing my pay patterns will let me move towards making a living at crafting and give me more time to devote to both pay and free projects.

The 6″ square quiet book features 3  double pages: Reduce teaches turning off lights and faucets to save resources. Reuse promotes using reusable cups and bags whenever possible. Recycle introduces sorting recyclables (and compost items!) into their bins. The cover has a recycle symbol and an earth with a heart.

All of the sorting items can be used with the recycle truck that features a working back hatch. Pull the loop to open the hatch, then pull the ribbon to close it up again. There is also a recycle bin and a felt doll that is compatible with my other dress up felt dolls (fire station and dollhouse.)

I hope you’ll find the pattern files to be beautiful and helpful. A lot of time went into them! The pattern includes a stitch guide and full tutorial with photos and illustrations. You will also receive a coupon for $5 off at American Felt and Craft to help you get started on your felt stash.

You can purchase this pattern for $8 in my Etsy shop, Imagine Our Life. If you would like to sell the finished product, you can purchase commercial licensed version for $20. This is a one time fee, and you’d be able to sell as many recycle quiet books as you’d like after purchasing it.

As a free add-on to this felt set, I am providing my matching 3-part cards and recycle sorting game free for educational use! Click here to download the pdf.

The cards and game include the same sorting categories as the felt set, giving you an additional way to teach the new vocabulary. (I include both the North American spelling on “aluminum” and the world spelling of “aluminium”.) The game features illustrations that were hand drawn by me.

To assemble, print out the cards and cut them out. Glue them to card stock backs, then laminate and trim. I use this laminator. To make laminating a bit easier, you can try adding a dab of glue stick to the cards when you position then in the lamination sleeves. It keeps them from wiggling and overlapping.

I purchased two 3-packs of blue drawer organizers from Dollar Tree to use as my sorting bins.

If you liked this free homeschool printable and want more homeschool ideas, visit Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now.

I hope you enjoy this pattern! I can’t tell how much your support means to me. Big thank yous to all of you who are a part of our Facebook page. You have given me so much inspiration! Please feel free to comment here or on Facebook if you have suggestions for new projects. I am sketching patterns and ordering felt for all my fall projects this week. I’ll post some sneak peeks on Instagram. Come follow along!

Recycling Quiet Book Pattern

My love of all things Montessori is well known, but what you may not know is that I am a graphic designer and have a BA in studio art. Combine beautiful art with Montessori-inspired educational materials and I’m in heaven! SO Awesome teams up with talented illustrators to create their card sets, so each one is a treasure.

My Wallet Card Set

If you come over to our house for a playdate, one of the first things Jax will ask you to play is “store”. We have a beautiful wooden store set, and Jax is finally old enough to have play money. This wallet play set is a perfect addition to our role playing and pretend play.

The wallet comes with play money, membership and bank cards – even a license! (To see what is included, click here.) At the moment, we are playing with this at home, but how great would it be to toss in your bag to bring along for a toddler to take apart – instead of YOUR wallet?

The cards all have reverse sides to explore and realistic details. If I could add anything, it would be a personalized license with Jax’s name and photo. But perhaps that would be a fun DIY project for us to do together.

Alphabet Card Set

Jax was really drawn to the colorful set of alphabet cards. One side features gorgeous illustrations, the other has a large lowercase letter, the word that was illustrated and pictures of other words that begin with the letter.

These cards would be great on a stroller or card seat for younger toddlers. The removable ring is an easy way to store the cards together and bring them on the go without losing any. (But if you do, they offer single replacement cards!)

We have been pairing the cards with out Montessori movable alphabet to make a fun matching game. I put one of every letter in a bowl and Jax matches them up with the correct card.

I asked Jax which card was his favorite. He said he liked them all, but P for Playground was his favorite!

Number Card Set

The numbers card set features whimsical illustrations depicting quantity on one side and the number and corresponding Montessori beads on the other. The title card has a picture of the Montessori bead stair. Another card features the different base ten quantities in the golden bead materials.

I’ve been working on DIY Montessori bead materials as a long-term project, so these cards fit in so well with our works! Click here to learn how I made my bead set and grab my free printables.

Jax has always enjoys how colorful the bead stair is, so he was drawn to the small tray I set up with the number cards 0 – 9.

I made another small tray with the 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 cards to reinforce the golden bead materials he’s begun using. It is a quick activity, but it is always good to match physical objects to pictures and writing.

SO Awesome provides a handful of free printable resources and suggested activities as companions to their card sets. You can check them out here.

For free shipping on your next order from SO Awesome’s online store, use code imagineourlife.

Giveaway

SO Awesome has generously offered a $45 store credit to the winner of this random giveaway. To enter, visit SO Awesome, then leave a comment here letting us know what your favorite product is. Then use the Rafflecopter widget below to let us know you’ve commented (email address or Facebook required). There are bonus entries available to anyone who enters. The lucky winner will be randomly chosen on Wednesday, September 10th.

Congrats to the winner, Andrea, L.!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About SO Awesome

SO Awesome offers gorgeous, educational, non-toxic, extremely durable card sets designed for how kids play and work. Montessori-inspired. Made in the USA. Their cards are perfect to engage children in carseats, strollers, shopping carts, and long airplane rides.

Graphic Designer and mother Marie-Claire Camp created the durable, non-toxic card sets for her twin boys. Using the crowdsource-funding site Kickstarter, Marie-Claire produced five sets of cards and an companion iOS app.

Visit SO Awesome on: So Awesome Website • Facebook • Twitter • Pinterest • Instagram

Thanks for entering, and good luck!

We received these products in exchange for our honest review.
All opinions are our own, I promise! Have something for use to review? Contact me!

You could use any size sock, but would need to scale the pattern pieces to match. One knee-high sock is perfect (mine were thigh-high and I had 7″ leftover before the cuff. (See my sock measurements on the pattern as a guide.) I can use two socks if yours are shorter.

Other materials needed are: the pattern, poly fill, felt (white, orange, black and an eye color) and needle/threads.

The tutorial is included in the pattern file, as well as a stitch guide. (The stitch guide is a new feature in my pay patterns. Let me know what you think of this sample!)

If you sew a sock penguin from my tutorial, Jax and I would love to see yours! Show us a picture via our Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram.

I keep my sequins in a vintage canning jar beside my sewing area, and all the pretty, sparkly colors have been calling to me recently. I wanted to make a quick project with them, so I combined my love of felt and fun, dangle earrings!

No patterns needed for this one – just have fun!

What I Used:

• Wool blend felt scraps
• Assorted sequins
• Embroidery floss and needle
• Earring wires and jump rings

I started by cutting out shapes in my felt and laying them out with sequins to create a design I enjoyed. I then cut out a second set. Make sure you cut a backing piece for each earring body. Decorate the earring fronts by sewing down the felt shapes and adding sequins and French knots as embellishment.

Here is how I made mine:

I cut my base out in a rounded teal diamond shape. I had a honeydew green circle the size of a nickel and a blue-gray square, slightly bigger than a sequin. I laid the pieces out and started by sewing down the center square. With the same thread, I sewed on the center sequin. I then switched thread colors and sewed on 4 contrasting sequins around the circle.

With the same thread color, I added a French knot to the center sequin. Switching thread colors to match the circle, I stitched it down. I then started alternating adding matching sequins and stitching French knots.

Repeat everything for the front of the second earring.

I then created a tassel. I cut a length of three colors of floss, cut those in half and then tied then together at the midpoint. I then folded them in half and used one of the thread colors to tie knot loops around the bundle. After my last knot, I ran my needle up through the top of the tassel and let the tail stick out with the others at the top. I trimmed the bottom, then made a second one to match.

With thread matching my background, I stitched the tassels to the backsides of the earrings. I made stitches that were hidden by the sequin on the front. I then began sewing the front and back together for each earring. I paused at the top and sewed on a jump ring. Make sure the rings face the way they need to in order hang the right way from your earring wires.

Finish the earrings by attaching the earring wires. I had fun with the colors and made a bright pink and purple set that is slightly smaller.

I really enjoyed making these and may design some more to give as gifts or sell in my Etsy shop. Let me know if you make some! Stop by our Facebook page or share a photo with me on Instagram or Twitter (username @iolstephanie). Be sure to share the project with a friend who sews!

Tic Tac Yo-Ho-ho!

Jax has recently taken an interest in learning how to play tic-tac-toe (Noughts and crosses, Xs and Os, etc…) so I thought it would be a fun and quick page to sew up. This project would also work great as a stand-alone 9″ square felt tic-tac-toe set. We’ll be going to the beach in September, so I thought up a pirate island theme!

This page can be made as a stand-alone game by sewing it to a 9″ square background.

Pair this page with: The Treasure Quiet Book Page

What I used:

• The pattern
• Wool blend felt from American Felt and Craft in pastry, doe, gold nugget, big apple, ice, black and white. I also used some dark brown 100% wool felt for the chest because it is very thick and sturdy. Mine was a few dollars at the craft store. You can use thinner felt, but I recommend doubling each side of the pocket.
• Felt glue
• Stuffing or batting
• Sequins: small blue crystal iridescent and large/XL gold
• Faux pearl buttons
• One small sew-on snap

Sewing the Island

Following the template, sewing the tic-tac-toe grid onto the island piece.

Pin down the island with a bit of stuffing or batting underneath for dimension. Sewing it down, then embellish it with French knots and tiny stitches to show the sand texture.

Decorate the water’s edge with blue crystal sequins. Decorate the sand with some pirate’s treasure: gold sequins and pearl buttons.

Treasure Chest

Stitch two gold bands onto each side of the treasure chest. I used thick 100% wool felt, so I didn’t line the chest. If you are using regular felt, place a blank chest piece behind each side of the chest and sew them together along the long top side.

Place the two finished sides together and sew the right sides and bottom together, then place it on the page as shown and sew the left side together through the page. This will make a pocket that is hinged to the page. You can flip it out of the way when it is time to play. Add a snap to the back of the chest on the loose side, then sew the matching half to the page. This holds the pocket still while you flip through your quiet book.

Cross Bones

Using a light layer of felt glue, tack down two of the bones into a cross shape onto black felt. Once it is dry, cut it out and sew it all around the outside. Repeat so you have 5 X’s.

Ruby Rings

With on strand of pink thread, sew the gem lines onto each felt ruby. Start with a long horizontal line, then make two V’s above it and one large V below it. Use the template as a guide.

Using a light layer of felt glue, tack down a gold ring onto brown felt.  Glue a ruby on top as shown. once it is dry, cut it out and sew it all around the edges. Repeat so you have 5 O’s.

Arrrrh! Have Fun!

Quick Links: Purchase this pattern for personal use or commercial use!

A colorful, handmade invitation to learn & play…
The Learning Laptop!

Introducing the newest pattern in the Imagine Our Life Etsy pattern shop.

The Learning Laptop project makes a laptop-style quietbook with multiple activity sheets that pull out of a storage pocket and attach to the screen. The “keyboard” is made of letters attached by hook and loop tape. Activities include: the alphabet, numbers (quantity, addition & subtraction), colors (matching & mixing) and tangrams (two difficulty levels). The keyboard lifts up to reveal storage pockets for all the loose parts and activity pages. This book is perfect for a broad range of ages, but I recommend children under three have adult supervision due to small parts.

All the wool blend felt and vinyl in this project was provided by American Felt & Craft. The colors are all so beautiful, and I have a lot of leftovers to create more projects from. You do use quite a bit of hook & loop tape in this project. So much that I ended up not putting it on any of the loose parts beyond the alphabet. I used white Snag-Free Velcro for the screen and keyboard, then gray and black for the case. The only other special supply that is used is an assortment of colorful mini buttons. Mine were 7mm Favorite Findings Basic Mini Buttons in Ocean, Fun, Primary and Clean. I collected mine in craft stores, but I generally can find them online too. I have plenty leftover for other projects.

Alphabet

The first thing you see when you open the Learning Laptop is the alphabet. It isn’t in qwerty, as it is meant to teach alphabetical order. (You would need to scale your letters down a bit to convert it to qwerty, as you’d need 10 instead of 9 on the top row.) The letters can all be pulled off and put back in the correct order, or used to make works on the screen. The basic pattern calls for one of each letter, but you can make extras and store them inside. I’d recommend extras if there are double letters in your child’s name.

I chose two shades of aqua for my letters, separating the vowels with a darker shade. You can change them to all the same, or perhaps the classic Montessori red and blue combination. I added a little heart to fill in our extra space.

Numbers

There are two sets of number tiles that range 0 through 9. One set has buttons to show the quantity, the other has written numerals. I chose not to match the felt colors between the two sets so that a matching game will be harder for my 4-year-old. A younger child who is just learning number quantities might benefit from having the felt colors correspond.

A math page is included in the storage pocket to introduce addition and subtraction. It includes one line for each, with space to have up to two tiles as the answer (for example when using the 1 and 0 to make a 10.)

Colors

The Learning Laptop has three simple color puzzles. You could create additional pieces and add more button combinations if you wanted to. Included is a page that lets the child either sort the three primary colors into three puzzles, or they can follow the mixing equations to make the complimentary colors.

The outer pieces are the same primary color on each side. The inner pieces are primary colors (red, yellow and blue) on one side and complementary colors (orange, green and purple) on the other.

Tangrams

The tangram puzzle are Jax’s favorite! The pattern includes two sheets of full-size puzzles that have guide lines and two pages with smaller color examples of additional puzzles. This gives the child two difficulty levels to work through.

The tangrams are colorful and fun. Jax started out struggling with the easier puzzles, but after working out how to rotate and flip the pieces, he soon was able to move on to the harder puzzles. Now he is showing interest in creating his own!

Everything tucks away into the storage section to keep it safe, though I help Jax clean up so we know nothing is missing.

Jax in his Montessori homeschool room. Learn more here.

Jax really adores this laptop quiet book and was so anxious for me to finish it! In honor of the tangrams being his favorite, I created a free pdf file with 12 additional puzzles in matching colors. Download it here.

I worked hard to really make the pattern and instructions look beautiful. I’ve included a full tutorial and a brand new stitch guide! As an added bonus, there is a $5 American Felt & Craft coupon to help you purchase beautiful felt!

The Learning Laptop pattern can be purchased for personal use for only $8.00 here. Your purchase helps me towards my goal of making this site my full-time job so I can share so many more projects with you. And, don’t worry! I will be mixing in plenty of free patterns!

Plan to sell the finished product? Purchase a commercial license for $25 and sell as many as you like! You will also be listed on my Authorized Sellers page.