Caed's Quiet Book

The book. 

As I mentioned in my last post I took most of my ideas for Caed's book from Stephanie at Imagine Our Life. She has some really fun ones AND she gives the pattern. Double bonus. She does each of her pages separately and then "binds" them with binder rings. I liked this. I could add to the book as I went. If I ever wanted to take out a page I can, and since I think I'll keep making a second book, because I had so much fun, we can pick and choose which pages we want on any given day.

Because I didn't make it an actual book, I wanted some way to keep it all together. I saw lots of ideas for quiet book covers and this is what I came up with:

 Handles so it can be carried like a bag.

 A strip to clip the binder rings around.

 

I used interfacing to keep it a bit stiffer and so it would sit nice.

I'll probably put "Caed's Quiet Book" on the front at some point. I should have done it before I sewed it all together, but live and learn. I'm also a little hesitant because I don't want it to be too busy... and the pattern is pretty cute. Opinions? I think I'll also put a pocket inside for some of the pieces that might not stay in so well during travel... I am NOT losing pieces in the airport!

 Here we go!

 Tie the shoe laces and a mail box!

Now most people who have ever had a quiet book will have seen a tie the shoe laces page. Classic. I got that pattern from here. Caed saw them and chanted "shooes, shooes" for about 3 minutes straight. He may not be quiet old enough to tie them but he knew what they were! The mail box was from Imagine Our Life. (Surprise!) It opens up and there are envelopes inside. I need to put some letters in them!

 (Like my stripey socks?)

 Planets! (Imagine Our Life.) It's mostly a button page. It was more of a planets learning page on her pattern, but I wanted a button page and decided it could be both. Do you know your planets?

Wait for it...

Bam! Shapes. And colors. They're supposed to be cookies which you can place on the cookie sheet (which they are already on in my picture.) There is a button on the lifter so you can move the cookies all proper-like, and of course a glass of milk to dip them in. (There is plastic over the glass of milk so you can actually dip them "into" the cup.) You, obviously, match the cookies to the shape in the cookie dough and when moving them back (with your lifter...) match the icing color to the button. (Imagine Our Life.)

 This is the pattern that got it all started. I was doing a preliminary, kind of a perhaps I'll make a quiet book, some day, maybe, if I find anything I like, web search and came across this page. I thought it was pretty super cool. Match the socks! They come out of the drier and then you match them. Simple matching game, plus life skills disguised at a fun game. There are magnets in them which I thought was pretty fun too. (Imagine Our Life.)

 And last but not least. My baby loves his cars, so I made him the city pattern from Imagine Our Life. I did magnet roads (because I think magnets are fun. Caed thinks they taste good...) with magnets on the back of the vehicles. You have your ice cream parlor (because what good is a town without ice cream?) and its delivery truck. The church. A school and school bus. The grocery store with a fruit truck, fire station and fire truck, and apartment building and car. It took the longest to make, so many tiny parts to cut and sew, but was super amounts of fun. The last page is hanging clothes on the line. Even though the concept was simple enough I used the pattern from here. Once again, I am not artistic. And her pattern was really cute. The clothes can go in the basket and you can hang them on the line. I think I'll need bigger clothes pins, these ones are a bit hard to use, but super cute, so that's something...

 The end.

And this is Caed's quiet book #1. I had a blast making it. He needs help with most every page, but I think, at the very least, he enjoys the shapes and colors. I guess it will give me something to do on the plane anyway...

Thank you again wonderful people who share their patterns! You make life a little easier and my quiet book a lot prettier.