Val's Quiet Book Adventures

Quiet Book-- Finished Product!

2011-03-07T10:28:00.001-08:00

I posted about the completion of the book on my other blog, check it out:

http://valfrazier.blogspot.com/2011/03/quiet-book-finished-product.html

Finishing the pages

2010-10-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have really worked on the books- and so today I decided that I had to do SOMETHING... so I finished the pages for David's book. Now to figure out how to get them in the cover... :)

Overall, I think they came out ok. I could have called my friend and borrowed her serger- but who wants to take the time to learn that?? :) ha, ok... so I just wanted to try it this way. And figured it looked good enough!

Next up-- figuring out getting them INTO the cover... got a few ideas, but not positive what I will do yet.

Page 24: The Monster at the End of the Book...

2010-09-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here's to hoping that their parents have read the book "The Monster At The End Of This Book" (starring Grover)... it was one of my absolute favorites as a child.

Anyhow, this page loosely relates to this book- the title for the page is "The Monster" at the end of the book .... is LOVED!

I did call my brothers and make sure that they wouldn't oppose to having their angelic boys called "monsters". They assured me that it was a-ok with them.


There's a mirror (plastic) and the title, surrounded by the "stars" who love them! :)

Here's a picture that shows the whole scene... along with my reflection while trying to take the picture... :)

This is the last page, granted I have some finishing touches to put on some of the pages still, and then of course to actually "finish" the edges, create some sort of system to keep them all together in the cover, AND find a way to personalize the cover a little bit. (Still haven't figured that one out). So, I still have a LOOOONNNNGGGG way to go with this project, but the pages are done (well, mostly!)

Page 22-23: ABCs

2010-09-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

"ABC it's easy as 1 2 3" has been running through my mind the whole time I have worked on this page. I got my inspiration for this page here. I had to make the pocket twice, the first one I made was just too small for ALL those letters. I did have to add a couple of letters so that they will be able to spell their names... so there's about 55 letters.


When you open the page- this is how it will look. Thinking about a title, but not sure there's really room for one...


The pocket flips down- and the letters are stored there.

The alphabet. With a couple of punctuation marks.

There's enough letters to spell out a few different words, and like I said their names for sure! :)

This page took a little bit of time- I had to cut 3 inch squares of cloth, then I ironed on letters I bought at Micheals (1 letter per square), then pinned the squares of materials onto felt- whatever I had left over from this quiet book project, and then zig-zagged around each letter, then cut them out with pinking shears. The tutorial I was following suggested using velcro- but I think felt against felt sticks well enough.... and if not, then I guess I will be ironing on velcro. ... or maybe their mothers will be? :)

Just one more page. I am not sure exactly what it will be yet, but there's some ideas trying to take form in my mind that will eventually result in the last page! :)

Page 20 -21: Make a Face

2010-09-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well this page was a great idea in theory. I am not sure that I am super happy with the results, but at this moment in time... it will have to suffice. :) I got my inspiration for this page somewhere out there on the web, but who knows, I didn't bookmark this page. Probably should have cause I needed a little help! lol


So the face is blank, and made out of felt, the face pieces have velcro on the back of them...


And tilted your head.... to the right, and you can see one option of a funny face

Here's another option.

And another option.

I don't know. I guess this page required a bit more artistic ability then I possess. The part that I am most unhappy with is the mouth, I think I need to make a new mouth, then I may be ok with this page.

Oh well, it's supposed to be goofy- and I guess it is! :)

Page 19: Barn & Finger Pupppets

2010-09-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I have been WAITING to do this page for so long. From the very first time I saw this page here, and then again here, I KNEW I was doing this one. I have resisted moving it forward in the book, but I thought about it more than once, cause I was so excited to make it! :)


Here's the barn. I am thinking about adding a rooster and putting him up in the window, what do you think?


And tilt your head to the right to see this one (thanks a lot auto-rotate!!) There's a little pocket for the puppet animals to hang out in when they are not in use.


And here's the puppets... they turned out so cute! :)

I am getting down to the very end of this book, I think I will have 3 more page posts (page 20-21, pages 22-23, and then page 24). I can't believe that I am almost finished with the pages. Of course, then I need to actually "finish" the pages and get them into the cover- which may prove to be an entertaining challenge... BUT I will cross that bridge when I get there.

Page:18 - Family Tree

2010-09-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the page. It's not really quite completed-- but close enough. I still need to laminate the pictures, once they are "approved" by Jared and Clayton. For now, I have included the pictures that I think will work.


David's Family Tree

Van's Family Tree


The pictures all in the pocket underneath the tree, and then they just place them in the correct location on the tree.

I borrowed my aunt's embroidery machine. I learned a lot about how to use it! :)

Pages 16 & 17: Puzzles

2010-09-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this page was going to be a page with a train on it, that you remove the wheels by unbuttoning them. But I just wasn't into it... so, I did this one instead! :) And I think it turned out pretty neat!


Here they are- the page on the left has pockets that contain the puzzles, and the page on the right is where you assemble the puzzles.

The assembly square is made of felt, so are the backs of the puzzle pieces- and they stick together decently.


The pocket page.

Talk about a learning process. I made the middle one first, but didn't bother to measure anything, just eye-balled it. And then I needed to make 2 more, so I tried to use it as a pattern, but as you can see, my other 2 pockets are just a little bit bigger. Oh well. Character matters, right?! :)

Oh, and I hand stitched the titles "Puzzle 1, 2, and 3". Not too hard, but I doubt I will sign up to do that again any time soon. Just time consuming, but it turned out quite cute! :)

Assembly page. Kinda plain, I know.


The pocket is open.

Pocket with the puzzle pieces showing...

Puzzle 3: The Helicopter assembled

Puzzle 2: The Truck assembled

Puzzle 2- showing the felt on the back of the puzzle.

Puzzle 1: The Train assembled

The puzzles weren't too bad to make. I found some printable puzzles online here, and printed them onto printable fabric, ironed on some iron on backing, and then ironed them onto the felt. Then I just cut out the pieces. No big deal, and totally adorable! :)

Oh and I chose the "easy" puzzles they have more complicated ones for older kids. I figure these are complicated enough for now! :)

Page 15: 3..2..1...Blast Off (Rocket Ship Page)

2010-08-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, this one has been mostly done for about a week. But I have been waiting for some of the materials I needed to arrive.... and they finally came in the mail yesterday!! :)

Anyhow... on to the page. It's sort of simple, just slide the rocketship from the earth to the moon. And I know, I know, the rocketship is out of proportion with the earth and the moon, but here's my take on it: it's the perspective from which you are viewing the rocketship that makes it look bigger... ha ha! :) Ok, truth is-- I found them (the rocket ships) on clearance at Micheals for 29 cents a piece. Now, would you have walked away from that deal??!! :)


Here are the 2 pages I made, side by side... amazing that even though they are similar, they are still different...


A little bit of a close up...


And thanks to the auto-rotate you will need to tilt your head to see this one right side up, but it's a close up of the earth I made...


And here's a somewhat close up of the moon, and the rocket ship.

I used eyelets to thread the ribbon through, and then the rocket just slides up and down fairly easily.

I got my inspiration for this page--- well, somewhere out there. It surely wasn't an original idea on my part! :)

Page 14: The Counting Page

2010-08-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

This page was fairly simple in the scheme of things... although I learned that the cricut does not like to cut material that only has pellon on the back of it. But it did well enough that I could just use my scissors to cut them out in the places that weren't so great.


Dang auto-rotate... anyhow, this is it. I was a little disappointed that the cars and trains are sideways, but that's just how it's gonna be... cause I already bought them and used them... lol


A closer look


And an even closer look! :) Not perfect, but lots and lots of character.

I got my inspiration for this page somewhere out there in this vast "internet universe"! Thanks to whomever posted the picture that inspired me! Oh, and I more then 1/2 finished! yay me!

Pages 12 & 13: Head Hunter

2010-08-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this page isn't completely done.... but close enough for me! I am waiting on the velcro to come in the mail. The point of this page is to match the heads to the correct animal. :) Of course, they can choose to put the wrong heads on the animals too.... which is my favorite!

With the correct heads

With some mismatched heads

A close up with some mismatched heads! :)

I got my inspiration for this page here.

Pages 10 & 11: Help me get dressed

2010-08-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, this has been a page full of learning how to use my Cricut machine to cut material! :) Also, a page of thinking- "hey, they are probably going to lose those tiny pieces.... what to do about that?" and I came up with a solution, that I hope will work! :)

Page 10 and 11

Again with the annoying auto-rotation of the page.... grrrr....


Page 10- the Closet

Page 11- the kid who needs to be dressed-- who's dressed as a cowboy! :)

The "naked" kid

The "clown" kid 1

The Clown Kid 2

The goin' to church kid

Just another possible outfit

And another possibility

Superboy 1

Superboy 2

What an adventure this page has been. I hope that clothes hold up to little fingers and mouths! :) I loved playing with my Cricut --- the paperdoll cartridge. I think it turned out cute! :)

I got my inspiration for this page here.

Page 9: Pick the Apples

2010-08-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here's this page sans title. I just want to use the printable fabric as completely as possible and don't want to waste a bunch of it to print to tiny titles... :)

Here's the two pages side by side... I had slightly different greens, but both look good! :)

The point here is to "pick the apples" and put them in the basket.

Here's a close up on my basket. I decided I couldn't just do a plain old basket, it had to have more character than that! :)

I got my inspiration for this page here.

Page 8: Help Peter Catch The Fish

2010-08-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this was a fairly easy page to do. And I think it turned out sooo cute! :)

So here's a few close ups:

They have to unbutton the fish and put them in the net...

I got my inspiration for this page here.

Page 7: Tie My Shoe

2010-08-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, this one was an interesting page to make. I don't know if I am totally thrilled with the results, but happy enough not to do it over.

How do you like the bright colors? :)

I found some pretty short laces for this page. They seemed to work out. The eyelets were a real gem to install, let me tell you. They look nice, but they tended to pull right through the material, so I had to reinforce it.

And here's my brainy idea- to "label" the shoes! :) Above is the shoe for Van's book, and below is from David's.

Inspiration for this page came from here.

Page 6: Noah's Ark

2010-08-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an adventure this page has been, but fun too! I loooooove how it turned out! The animals are adorable, if I do say so myself, AND they even all fit into the ark! (Wade knows what I am talking about here... I was certain they wouldn't all fit....)

So, I got my inspiration for this one- well all over the place, but here is the page that I "loosely" followed! I also looked online and found a quilters pattern for an ark, which is what led to the "striped" look, besides I wanted to practice my "installation of zipper" skills! :) I downloaded the animals from here for $2 (well worth it, since I don't have any drawing abilities). I used my Creative Memories Storybook Creator 3.0 software to piece together the rainbow background, printed it on ink jet friendly fabric I bought at the Walmart, and used some blue material for the background.

Ok, here are the pics...

Here's the page, zipped, and ready to go....

Here's a few of the animals looking at ya from the pocket! :)

Here's all of the animals. I couldn't leave any of them out... they were too darn cute!

Here's a close up of a few of them

I think that giraffe is my favorite, it's just so stinkin' cute!

Oh, and to make the animals have a little more "substance", I ironed fusible fleece to the back, then pinned a material on the back, and sewed around each of them, then cut them out. It was a fair amount of work, but I love the results! What do you think?

Page 5: Shapes

2010-08-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

There it is, Page Number 5 in all it's glory.

With a title like, "Shapes", you would think- hey, that's easy.... at least that's what I thought.... and then I got into the process.... and wow, I learned a lot:

1. how to sew on snaps (I heard a rumor that there's some cool tool that will put on snaps.... must.get.tool. before my next attempt at using snaps as fasteners!) No, I bought the CHEAPO snaps from the dollar store-- the kind you have to sew on, and don't even have the hole that runs through the middle so that you can properly center the dang thing.... I guess you get what you pay for!! Consequently-- my snaps aren't exactly "centered"... but there's no way I am going back and redoing them. Not in this lifetime, or the next!

2. How to sew on buttons with machine - VERY cool by the way! So glad for that particular feature. After the snaps I was soooooo not hand sewing on any more notions (is that the right word? in scrapbooking they'd be called "embellishments").

3. How to sew a buttonhole. Very cool also. Love my machine for this!! I did a couple of "test" holes on random fabric scraps, and it seemed to work just like it was supposed to.... and I had no problems with the process.

4. I think I didn't necessarily LEARN this, but I sure did it... I had to hand sew the "shapes" together (each shape is made from 2 layers of felt.) Which was ok, BUT I would have MUCH rather sewn them on the machine. I tried, really I did. But it wasn't agreeing with me, and after picking out the stitching from the same shape 3 times I gave up, and just hand-sewed them. I have decided they have a lot of "character". :D

Just showing off the pocket here, not sure WHY it changed the picture orientation on me, it was fine the other way.... grrr. Oh well, it's just a simple pocket, a place to store the shapes!

And the picture above is what it looks like when they open the book to this page. The point is to open the pocket, and match the shapes.

Anyhow, I am glad that page is done. It was no where as near as fun to make as my last few have been. Oh well, guess that's how it goes! :)

Oh, and I got my inspiration for this page here

Page 4: Zipper Page

2010-08-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

I got my inspiration for this.... somewhere, I can't find it now, but I loved the idea, and it stuck with me! I definitely learned how to sew on zippers... of course, the page I saw only had the zippers on top of the page, but I actually sewed one in and made a pocket on the page.... wow, that was quite the process! :) But I did it!!

Overall, this is very bright page!! What do you think? Too bright?

And here's a close up on the title- I was not going to add a title, but just couldn't do it.... so, I caved, and did.

Pages 2 & 3: On the Move (or the "Car Page")

2010-08-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

So, this page turned out to be more fun to make than I thought. I also learned a lot doing these pages times 2. My inspiration for these pages can be found here. I added a few embellishments of my own, and had fun doing so! :)

Here's the 2 page spread:

Here's a close up of page 2:

The "garage opens, and there's a red truck that lives there. Also the lights on the stoplight are attached by Velcro and can be moved. Here's page 2 with the truck and one of the lights removed:

And page 3, up close:

I was quite proud of my little "pond" with the ducks. :)

Here's my pages from my second book:

And there they are folks! :) My next 2 pages.... hoping the next page is as fun to put together as this one. :)

Page 1: Peek A Boo

2010-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the first page I made, I got my inspiration from here.

Here's the Peek-A-Boo page!!

Closed & Open

Not sure why I chose Orange and Yellow-- but why not?? :)

Oh, and the picture is removable- so that it can be replaced as the kid/family grows! :) That way there can always be a current picture in there. I just used a page protector, cut it down to size (~3x5in) and zig-zagged it to the muslin. I used the material you can put through an ink-jet printer to do the lettering and then just cut out the titles and sewed them on. I don't really trust my handwriting to put directly on the muslin!

One page down.... lots more to go!!

Page Bases

2010-08-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

The pages are made of muslin with a fusible pellon on the back to make them sturdy. I only ironed one to the ironing board... ha ha! Instructions for the pages are here.

Ready.... Sew! (The Cover)

2010-08-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

So, the first things that are sewn in the project were the handles and closures for the book-- not as easy as it sounds. :) My material is fairly thick, and on top of that they have fleece adhered to their backsides... and that makes them down right fat when you have to fold them in 1/2 to sew!! So, this was a true test of my brand-new machine, my patience, and Wade's patience! :) As ypu can see in the picture, he's sewing one of the handles--- and is doing a splendid job! (if you look closely at the handles- pick out the 2 that have the straightest stitching... and they are bound to be the two he sewed!!)

The next thing that she suggests is to sew a pocket and then sew it on the outside of the cover... and I figured I would throw in one of the 58 decorative stitches that this machine has... I think it turned out pretty good!

Here's the pocket all sewed on- which was a trick to figure out for the first one, but I had my rocket scientist on hand to figure it out for me, so the second one went pretty smoothly! :)

Next came the handles and closure... if I thought the handles were thick to sew through... try sewing through the handles and the fusible fleece... but the machine did it without a hitch! Go new machine!! :) (The striped material is the inside of the cover)

Here's my completed cover (outside)-- had to stitch the two sides together, turn it, and try and figure out how to stitch up the hole I left to turn it... that was entertaining.. but maybe I learned how to do it... maybe.

Ignore the messy island above-- but I was just showing the inside/outside of the cover. All I have left is to figure out how to use "close" the book. I was thinking velcro... but ended up buying those overall-buckle things (don't know their name) and they seem to work, sorry -- no pictures yet!!

Next up... pages! :)

Getting ready to sew...

2010-08-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

So, after wondering around Joann Fabric for about 30 minutes, I finally decided on material for the cover of the book, denim, and another cool striped print for the inside. I already knew I needed to get muslin for the pages, so I did that-- here's a few pictures of my materials.

I got 3 yards of each- denim, the striped material for the inside of the cover, and fusible fleece. I had some left-overs of everything (this is for 2 books).

Then I cut out all the pieces of my cover--

I followed these instructions to make the cover.

Amazing to think that in just a little while from the time this picture was taken I had constructed something... which I hope will be useful! :)

After fusing the fleece to the back of the striped material- I was ready to sew!!

Quiet Books for my new nephews

2010-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

So, I got this BRAINY idea that I should make quiet books for my nephews for Christmas. Quiet books are those cloth books that you often see young kids looking at/playing with during church. But they can be used for any time that you need them to be quiet.

The funny part of all of this is that I do not sew. Well, at least that was true up until a week ago when my new sewing machine arrived at my door!

Here's my new machine. I have been really happy with it since I got it last Thursday. :) It hasn't been too hard to figure out, and that is a major plus! Here's a fun story about it, I ordered it Wednesday morning from Amazon. It arrived at my house on Thursday morning. And no, I did not pay to upgrade shipping, in fact, I qualified for free shipping. Luckily for me, it came from Goodyear... who knew?! :)

Here's Wade showing me how to sew a straight seam... not sure that that particular lesson has "stuck" quite yet. But I am doing better. :)