Post Binding Quiet Book Closure

Normally you would put a closure on a book before you finish binding and doing your cover... But I couldn't decide whether/how I was going to do it and kept going anyway. They say necessity is the mother of invention, so here is my solution:

As I was pondering how I was going to make a closure for my finished book without making it look terrible with stitching showing all over it, I came across these display cuff-links.

They inspired this closure idea for when you have already bound your quiet book, but find that you really do need to be able to close it and don't want to waste your energy re-sewing the cover.

Materials Needed to create a Post Binding Quiet Book Closure:

• Two large buttons
• short piece of ribbon or elastic
• thread
• sewing machine with buttonhole function
• one tiny button if using a one step buttonhole function

If using a one step buttonhole function, first do a practice buttonhole for both your small and large buttons. That way you can work out the length and center your buttonholes along the edge you want to put the closure on. Make large buttonholes along every page edge except the last, where you will make a very small buttonhole. This will ensure that the buttons and ribbon cannot fall out and get lost. 

Remember to change buttons in the measurement end of your one step buttonhole foot at the appropriate times! Also, I found that the button would often pop out of the foot when I removed each page because they were fairly thick. Watch out for that, or your buttonholes will get progressively smaller.

Instructions for how to use a one step buttonhole function can be found towards the end of my Easy Peasy Lei Flower Quiet Book Page.

Use a seam-ripper to open up the buttonholes. I sewed the buttonhole on this counting page twice since I would be cutting through a ribbon on the page.

Thread the ribbon through the button that you want showing on the top.

Then thread both ends of the ribbon through all of the buttonholes. Turn the book over and thread on the second button.

Tie a knot in the ribbon, then do a double-knotted bow so it can't come undone.

Done!

Here is Tahlia keeping herself busy barricading the kitchen while I was book binding.

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

Has this solved your problem of how to add a closure after you have already bound your quiet book? Comment below!

Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap

I recently went in a quiet book swap with a group on Facebook.

We each made seven copies of our own page and sent them to the host. She sent us back one of our own pages, and six different pages made by the other participants. It is a great way to build a quiet book. You only have to think about one page layout so it saves on supplies and effort.

With not a lot of time before Christmas, this was meant to be a quick and easy basic swap.  The theme was puzzles, and the size of the pages was reduced to 8"x8", which makes it an ideal book for occupying the little ones while travelling.

This is the page I contributed:

It is a themed button maze - there are a couple of mobs of sheep in a bunch of paddocks. The gates can be opened and shut, and the sheep can be fed on a lush pasture of clover or a pile of hay, and you can bark at them while you do it all - whatever your imagination can muster.

I drew out where I wanted fences on a piece of paper so I could organize the paddock layout in my head. After sewing the buttons under a piece of tulle, I laid strips of rik rak down for the fences and sewed them down, leaving it open where the gates were to go. Cut the rik rak where the gates go and melt the ends with a match to stop it unraveling.

Done!


One of the other pages contributed was an entirely hand sewn Little Bo Peep - now that is dedication! One sheep is detatchable with velcro, and you can trace over the different paths to find which one leads home.

Our swap host made a cupcake puzzle and pocket. The pocket was made by laying two pieces of fabric over each other, turning the top edge of the top one down and adding a piece of velco to each respective side, then stitching around the three edges of the top layer of fabric - I loved the idea because it was really easy!

There were three tangram pages done in this swap. They were all made with an embroidery machine. This first one is of a rabbit. The theme went great with this bunny material I had, so I made a pocket for the pieces like the one made for the cupcake. Unfortunately I forgot to get a photo of this page with the pieces laid on it before it got given to it's new owner...

The next tangram puzzle was of a cute little house.

And the last tangram puzzle was of a horse. I love the colours chosen for this page. It came with it's own pocket built into the page by sewing down three edges of the horse tangram outline which had been embroidered onto felt.

My sister, whose Fairy Tale Quiet Book you have already seen, contributed this I-Spy page:

Again, layer two squares of fabric over the top of each other, right sides facing up. She cut an 'x' shaped opening in the middle of the top square of fabric and folded back the edges on them. Folding them back on themselves several times is a good idea to avoid them getting in the way when trying to find items. Then she inserted a smaller square of clear vinyl underneath, sewing around the inside edge, and zig zaging around the outer edges. She used her machine to do the 'Find 10 Things' lettering at the top. Next, she sewed the two squares of fabric together leaving a 1" gap around the edges to allow for binding, as well as a small opening so she could fill the space between them with ten small items and bean bag beans. She was going to use rice, but since we had to post the pages to the host and back, she decided bean bag beans would be a lighter and therefore cheaper option.

The ten items in our I-Spy page are a small plastic baby, a flower button, a Lego block, a wooden leaf picture, a wooden drum picture, a small wooden painted peg, a small glitter button, a wooden cat head picture, a wooden number '2', and a large google eye. In other versions, she has included small plastic bugs and animals. Small shells, gum-nuts, beads, paper clips, and any small, non-sharp household items would also work well.

Here's another of my 8"x8" material pages - the Easy Peasy Lei Flower Quiet Book Page.

Here's another of my 8"x8" material pages - The Easy Peasy Pocket Quiet Book Page for an 8x8 material quiet book.

Before the pages were made into a book, they made awesome quilts for Elsa.

Find a tutorial link and YouTube clips of how to bind the pages and book together on my page of Quiet Book Making Tips.

How I made a closure after binding my book! Post Binding Quiet Book Closure.

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

Does joining a page swap tempt you? Comment below!

Easy Peasy Pocket Page 8"x8" Material Quiet Book

This page is so simple anyone can do it!

Materials needed to create the Easy Peasy Pocket Page for an 8"x8" material quiet book:

• an old shirt with a chest pocket, preferably one that has a closure
• a piece of paper to make an 8"x8" template

Make an 8"x8" template by marking 8" from the same edge at the top and bottom of a piece of paper. Line up your ruler and tear along it. Turn your paper onto the next edge to the left or right and do it again.

Place your template over a shirt pocket, lining it up so the pocket is in the center. Pin and cut it our. Don't worry if your piece has a small section of sleeve in one corner as this will get covered by binding when you sew the quiet book together. This is why your quiet book size can't be bigger than 8"x8", otherwise it might be difficult for you to find a shirt big enough. Although I guess you could add a border around the edge to make it wide enough to fit a bigger page size.

That's it!

I found a heap of old shirts at my local dump, where they give away clothes. It's also a great way to get interesting buttons and beads for free.

You can probably find a variety of pockets all with different closures, and make an entire book out of pockets recycled from old clothing.

Now, to fill them with fun activities....

• tetris shapes made from stiffened felt
• a prism to catch the sunlight like this idea by Anne from Left Brain Craft Brain
• a bead and fabric scrap dolly from the $2 shop
• toy cars
• a mirror
• toy skateboard
• coloured cellophane lolly wrappers to use as light filters to look through - don't get them wet though, or the colour will run and ruin your book
• Simple puzzles using iron on transfers by Amy from Serving pink lemonade, or just print and laminate them
• Printable lacing cards by Beck Clarke from busy Little Bugs
• dominoes
• a weaving rainbow by Mihaela from Best Toys for Toddlers
• foam finger puppets from a $2 shop
• a small slinky
• a button snake by Jackie from happy hooligans
• velcro cord ties from the harware section of a $2 shop to make a link chain with

The pocket on the left with pink edging came from one of my husband's old shirts that he wore a lot when we first met. It was my favourite, and I fixed it when it got a massive rip in the back and my husband kept wearing it! When he put it in the chuck out pile recently, I quickly saved it for this project.

Here's some more of my 8"x8" material pages:

The Easy Peasy Lei Flower Quiet Book Page.

Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap.

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

Does this page look easy enough for you? Comment below!

My Sister's Fairy Tale Book

This book was made by my sister for a friend's child.  She has some great ideas.  I hope you like it!

Front Cover:

The letter "O" pattern came from here. Happily, my sister's sewing machine does letters, so "upon a time" was written with that.


First and Second Page Spread:

The castle pieces are removable and rearrange-able.  The castle wall is a pocket.  She made her own Disney castle pattern, which she has generously allowed me to make available for you to download. She used one side of a gold zip to represent Tinkerbell. If she could have found a Tinkerbell trinket to add to the zipper head, that would have been awesome. It had to be one sided so that it would sew down around a curve easily. The cloud and moon page is a pocket to store the castle pieces.

Image Source

I have it in mind to modify the castle pattern and make a St Basil's type Russian/Eastern Orthodox Church for a Churches of the World Quiet Book. The problem is I can't think of many other ideas for the book... Please post any ideas you come up with below!


Third Page:

The Frog Prince's jewels are velcro-ed on, an idea she got from a page made for my neice, which I'll share with you later. His tongue has elastic sewn on the back so it can be stretched.  Although this version has been altered a little, you can buy the original frog pattern here.


Fourth Page:

Rapunzel's hair can be plaited and you can practice tying a bow with the ribbon.


Fifth Page:

Wardrobe for dress up princesses! Three outfits for a sewn down doll on the next page.


Sixth Page:

I think the dress up princesses look terrific, and the lace down the sides gives a boring page a luxury touch.


As you can see from the photos, the book has been bound with album rings and grommets.


Hope you enjoyed it!

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

What do you enjoy most about this book?

Psalm 9 - David and Unnamed Goliath Quiet Book Page

Although he is not named, Psalm 9 was probably written to remember the victory over Goliath. Here is a David and Goliath quiet book page I made from a printable I found online. David's arm swings his sling, the stone sails through the air, and when it hits Goliath, he can fall over:

Memory Verse: "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done." Psalm 9:10,11.

Materials needed to make the David and Unnamed Goliath Quiet Book Page:

• A4 felt background sheet, we used red.
• thick white felt big enough to iron the bushes scene on to
• white stiffened felt to iron David's arm, Goliath, and the stone on to
• three split pins
• white thread
• iron on transfer paper suitable for your printer
• the printable illustration by Carol Stevens at www.lds.org

Print out the image onto iron on transfer paper. If you want David and Goliath to appear on the same sides as they do in the illustration, make sure you flip the image first because it will get flipped back again when you iron it onto the transfer paper.

Cut out the David and bushes scene from the transfer paper. Try to use as many rounded edges as you can to minimize the chance of the transfer paper peeling off in the future. Iron it onto thick white felt, following the instructions of your transfer paper. You may not be able to use as high a setting on the iron as recommended if you are using acrylic felt as it might get burned. My image still stuck to the felt on a lower setting.

Cut out the David and bushes scene again, this time leaving a border of white felt. Fold the felt where the A, B, and C markings are, and cut two angled slits to make a small hole at each point.

Cut out David's arm, Goliath, and the stone as one section from the transfer paper and iron onto the stiffened felt following the instructions of your transfer paper. Again, use a lower setting so as not to burn the felt if it's acrylic.

Cut out David's arm, Goliath, and the stone from the stiffened felt but do not leave a border this time. Fold the stiffened felt where the A, B, and C markings are, and cut two angled slits to make a small hole at each point.

Line up the corresponding holes: A, B, and C. Make sure David's arm and Goliath are sitting on top of the bushes and the arm of the stone is behind the bushes. Insert a split pin in each hole and bend the splits at the back so they can't come out but allow the pieces to move fairly freely.

Sew the bushes scene onto the background sheet along the sides and bottom, ensuring you do not catch any of the pieces along the way.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy

This page involves very little sewing, and if you wanted too, you could hot glue that small section.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Psalm 9 - This page tells the story of Psalm 9, where David praises God for the victory given against Goliath, the unnamed Champion, and inadvertently, the victory He gives through the death of the son, Jesus, symbolized by the red felt background.
• Rotation - the circular movement of an object around a fixed point, like David's arm, the stone, and Goliath
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Psalm 9

Devotional

As I already have a David and Goliath quiet book page for 1 Samuel 17, I thought I might be able to find a Psalm commemorating the victory to use this page for. It is so cute, I couldn't resist doing it whether I could find something or not. I was very surprised that Goliath is not really mentioned by name anywhere else but in 1 Samuel 17, where the story of David and Goliath takes place, although his sword, his brother and his sons are mentioned. As a side note, there is an apocryphal Psalm, Psalm 151, which mentions Goliath by name. Click here to read about it on Wikipedia.

Nevertheless, Jewish tradition and Christian scholars both assert Psalm 9 was written to remember the victory over Goliath. It was probably written later in David's life when he was king in Jerusalem since Jerusalem is mentioned and before David conquered it, it was a Jebusite city.

Read Psalm 9 and see which sections you can identify with the story. I noticed:

• verse 1 - I will tell of all your wonderful deeds... i.e. helping me kill Goliath
• verse 3 - David mentions his enemies falling, just as Goliath did
• verse 5 - God has destroyed the wicked and blotted out their name, and this psalm, although about the victory over Goliath, refuses to mention his name!
• verse 10 - those who know God's name will put their trust in Him, just like David did when he went out as a child to meet a giant without any armor, sword, or the backing of his people
• verse 11 - declare God's deeds among His people, just as David is doing in this Psalm
• verse 16 - the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands, as Goliath brought about his own death by setting himself up as a poster boy against God 
• verse 20 - asking God to help people realize that they are but men, Goliath may have been a giant and champion warrior, but he was still mortal

The title of Psalm 9 says it is to be sung to the tune "The Death of the Son". This phrase is interestingly explained in the book The Titles of the Psalms, published in 1904, and written by James William Thirtle.

I read on page 71 that it can also be translated to mean "death of a champion" ie Goliath, and that it was interpreted into Aramaic by Jewish scholars as the death of "a man who stood between the two" (ie army camps) when Aramaic became the common language.

When I read about the death of "a man who stood between the two" I knew Psalm 9 had a double meaning referring to Jesus - the man who stood between Heaven and Earth.

Read Psalm 9 again with this context in mind and see what you find. I noticed:

• verse 1 - I will tell of all your wonderful deeds... i.e. the death of the son, the man who stood between the two realms mediating for man before God.
• verse 10 - those who know your name, Jesus, trust in you
• verse 11- proclaim among the nations what He has done. How the son loved us so much that He was willing to die in our place and take the punishment for our sin.
• verse 13,14 - lift me up from the gates of death (resurrect me) that I may declare your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion {(New) Jerusalem} and rejoice in your salvation, salvation being the meaning of the name Jesus! Jesus is the only one who is able to give life to those deserving of death, and proved that it is possible by His resurrection.
• verse 16 - the wicked are ensnared by the works of their own hands, as we all would be except we accept the covering of God's grace, Jesus.

If you notice things I have missed, please share and comment below!

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

What are your thoughts on this quiet book page?