Letters to Early Christians quiet book page - Interview with Jessica

Today I would like to introduce you to Jessica and find out how she came up with such a simple Bible quiet book page that keeps kids entertained for ages. When the pages are so easy to make, you might have to start coming up with other reasons for not making a start on a quiet book project!

Carissa D: Hi Jessica and thanks for letting me share your Letters to Early Christians quiet book page. I know you made this page as part of a New Testament quiet book swap because I participated in that swap and received this page (among others) back. 

You can read about what a quiet book swap is in my post about my participation in a Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap.

Carissa D: I must admit that your page was probably Tahlia's favourite from that swap, and she absolutely LOVED this page at around 5 years old. I can't remember if topics for each page were already chosen and we picked from a list or if we made up our own page topics, but this is a unique idea I haven't seen anywhere else. So I am wondering how you came up with the idea?

Jessica: I do believe we had topics for the pages. If I remember right we swapped about 10 pages but I ended up making a bunch more at home to complete an Old Testament Book and a New Testament book. I think the idea was just that the new testament letters are so hard to capture unless you only represent one single powerful verse such as John 3:16. But I wanted to capture all of it. The concept was that the original letters were written on scrolls and to provide the kids an image of a scroll and then they could point off the ABC's or trace over the letters on the page. For very young kids they can use a pretend feather pen that was tucked behind the scroll, and trace the letters. For older siblings they could practice reading the name of the Letters from the Apostles or even memorize the names of the books.

Carissa D: I love pages that can suit multiple age groups and can sort-of grow with the child. What significance do the New Testament letters hold for you? Was there a particular attraction to the topic of this page?

Jessica: I think I chose this page simply because I had an idea I thought I could do. I don't consider myself very artistic and so if I had any idea for a page I went for it!

Carissa D:  What do you think of quiet book swaps and would you recommend people join them?

Jessica: Many many mother's struggle through going to Mass with little ones. I love Quiet books because it is an activity that the kids can do that still keeps them at least in some way thinking about God, while not letting them have a toy that they can bang into the pew and make us Mom's worry about disturbing others. Little ones need to be active and they do belong at church with us. Anything that makes it easier for them is a worthy effort. We have made four quiet books now.

Carissa D: Well done! Could you explain how you made this page please?

Jessica: Supplies- 

Background color of your choice in Felt or Fabric
1 sheet of white felt
1 feather
1 bottle black puffy paint

To recreate this page is easy. Cut out a piece of felt in the shape of a scroll (maybe practice on paper and then transfer to white felt). Sew all sides down except one so that you can tuck in a feather behind it. If you feel conformable with a sewing machine sew your lines across to give the appearance of a scroll like you see in a line drawing or you can sew the edges and use puffy paint for the lines. I used a google image for "scroll line drawing" as an example. Once your sewing is done, write out the names of all the letters in puffy paint (hopefully your handwriting is better than mine), and keep a feather behind the white felt, on the side your didn't sew for kids to practice tracing with.

Carissa D: It does sound easy. I love the embossed felt you used (we don't have such a variety of felt available in Australia). It looks like you painted the tip of your feather as well which really makes it feel authentic when you are pretending to write. Was there anything about this page that you would change if you made it again?

Jessica: I would probably have someone with better handwriting write the names!

Carissa D:  What encouragement can you give to others who might be thinking of starting a quiet book?

Jessica: I think I would have never started quiet books if it wasn't for my crafting group. Getting the unique ideas from so many different people and only having to come up with one or two unique ideas yourself makes the entire project so much more manageable. Find a community online and start from there.

Carissa D: Did/do you use your quiet books to keep your children quiet in church or do you use them elsewhere? Do they live up to their name?

Jessica: I keep at least 1 in my car at all times when I have children under 2 years old, but we use them during car rides or at church most often. Quiet books work for us unless the kids decide to argue over who gets to hold which one. We have a Mass book, Old Testament, New Testament, and a generic baby book (that my 8 year old made for my infant when I was pregnant, it is a great project to teach young ones how to sew).

Carissa D: That sounds amazing, I am really hoping my daughter Tahlia wants to start making quiet books one day too. Thanks so much for sharing your page idea with us. Sometimes getting the ideas is the hardest part!

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

Do you have any simple busy book pages that your kids play with for hours? Comment below!

Leviticus 25 - Jubilee Calendar Quiet Book Page

In Leviticus chapter 25, God explains the Jubilee cycle.

Memory Verse: "‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family." Leviticus 25:8-10 (NKJV).

 

Materials needed to create the Jubilee Calendar quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used hot pink
• my free Leviticus 25 - Jubilee Calendar Bible Quiet Book Page Template Pattern
• 16 silver grommets with a 3mm diameter
• hole punch / grommet tool
• 1mm black elastic
• 42 wood coloured beads, 7 blue beads, and 1 yellow/gold bead - I bought these (not an affiliate link)
• small flat button

Punch holes and insert grommets in your background sheet using the template as a guide (where the x's are marked) - see the video tutorial in the difficulty level section below. 

Thread the black elastic through the holes in rows, adding beads as you go. The beads should be in seven rows of seven beads (six wooden and one blue for the six working years and the seventh year of rest) followed by a single yellow/gold bead to represent the Jubilee year. Since I wanted to save elastic, I threaded the elastic through the nearest hole rather than going to the start of the next row. That meant I had to add every second row of beads in the reverse order.

Ensure the elastic is pulled so it is not too loose on the front and cut it to the appropriate length to allow you to tie it off nicely. Thread the elastic ends through the button and tie them together in a tight knot to prevent the knot from moving to the front of the page.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sewing involved.

A very easy quiet book page!

You can watch the below video by Irina Sorokina from My Craft / Quiet books to see how to install grommets.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Leviticus 25 - the Jubilee year represents Eternity and what God is going to do for us - set us free, restore us to our families and give us our land back
• Counting - count seven lots of seven years until the 50th year - the Jubilee
• 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

Leviticus 25

Devotional

The Jubilee is such good news! I believe it represents eternity on the New Earth, when we will all be released from slavery, returned to our families and given land to inherit. The Jubilee year follows seven lots of seven year "weeks", where the land was given a rest every seventh year. It was not to be sewn and grape vines were not to be pruned, etc. This would rejuvenate the land, and God promised that if they would keep the Sabbath rest for the land every seventh year, that He would bless the harvest in the sixth year so there would be enough to feed everyone for three years (which would of course last until the harvest came in in the first year of a new Jubilee cycle, with a Jubilee resulting in two Sabbath years rest for the land in a row). This was reported to have occurred during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:29).

Although the first day of the seventh month (on the religious calendar) is New Year's day on the civil calendar, the Jubilee is not announced until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), which is ten days later. I'm not quite sure why that is yet, but I'm sure there is a reason. Nevertheless, I can certainly see the contrast the God is intending announcing a Jubilee celebration on a day of traditional fasting. And He does state that the four major fast days will be turned into joyous occasions (Zechariah 8:19) - and what more joy could you have than when set free from slavery, returned to your family, and given an inheritance?

Ron Kenoly - Jubilee (Official Live Video)

I have previously explained my reasons for believing that the Jubilee is the 50th year (and not the same as the 49th year as some people propose) in my Time to Celebrate: Jubilee Bead Cycle tutorial (plus bracelet craft) for the High Holidays post. 

Most people would have only experienced one Jubilee in their lifetime, at least only one that they remember. It is the countdown to restoration. Ultimately, the land belongs to God, and He divided the land between the tribes of Israel. Because the land belongs to God, it was not allowed to be sold permanently. At the Jubilee, if you had sold your land sometime during the 49 years, you would get it back. The price of the sale was to reflect the amount of time remaining until the Jubilee (if there were many years, the sale price would be more than if there were only a few years left). The family that the land had been given to always had the right to buy their land back (called redeeming it), with the price again reflecting how many years were left until the Jubilee. An example of this might be the story of Naomi and Ruth, where Naomi's husband sold his land because of a drought, and when Naomi and Ruth returned, Boaz became their Redeemer. Not only did he have to marry Ruth, but I imagine he would have paid the price due on their land. 

It seems that Sabbath rests for the land were not often kept, since the children of Israel were required to go into captivity for 70 years to allow the land to have it's rest (2 Chron. 36:21)! 

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

What does the Jubilee mean to you? Comment below!

Genesis 27 - Jacob Steals the Blessing Quiet Book Page

   In Genesis 27, Jacob deceives his father and steals Esau's blessing.

Memory Verse: "And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him." Genesis 27:23 (NKJV).

 

Materials needed to create the Jacob Steals the Blessing quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used pale peach
• my Jacob Steals the Blessing Bible quiet book free template pattern
• fake/leather scrap
• fake fur fabric scrap
• decorative trim scrap
• felt scrap
• sewing thread to best match the page

Cut out the hand shape from the fake leather piece and sew it down in position. Cut out the fake fur piece and zig zag around all edges to prevent it from fraying, folding back the fur as you go. Sew it down along the sides of the hands and between the thumb and fingers, leaving the top edges along the fingers open so you can feel the smooth leather underneath. 

Sew the decorative trim scrap to the edge of the arm end of the fur as the edge of Esau's good set of clothes that Jacob is wearing using zig zag stitch. Sew a section of felt to the edge of the page to finish the arm.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version (except on the edges of the fur - you will just have to hope it doesn't fray too badly, which it probably won't, but I like to be extra careful). Or you could fold and glue the edges of the fur, but will have to include seam allowance for that.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 27 - Jacob, the deceiver, deceives his father and steals Esau's blessing
• Touch and Feel - Jacob's hands were smooth, but Esau's hands were hairy - touch the tactile elements of the page (leather, fur, and decorative trim)
• 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

Genesis 27

Devotional

I think this is the first tactile quiet book page I have made, and I think it is quite fitting for this story. I was having trouble trying to think how to illustrate this story and thinking about a dress-up Jacob page with Issac in bed or something. But it was seeming too complicated, and as they say, simple is best. So when I thought about how I could simplify this page, this idea came to mind. I really love how something so simple can demonstrate the whole story so well.

This is another instalment to the Jacob the deceiver story-line. Originally Rebecca is surprised to find out she is pregnant with twins, and when they are born Jacob is a bit of a deceiver in that his fist came out first and a scarlet thread was tied to his wrist to mark him as the first born, but then he withdrew his fist and Esau was actually gets born first. That's how he got his name. Then he convinces Esau to sell him his birthright for a bowl of red lentil stew. A dumb thing to fall for, but I guess Esau feels gypped by Jacob, and now when he actually lives up to his name and deceives his Dad and steals the blessing, which Esau still has to look forward to, Esau gets mad. In a few chapters time, Jacob ends up getting deceived into marrying what may have been the wife intended for Esau. 

I read in the Mishna that since Issac and Rebecca had two sons, and Rebecca's brother Laban had two daughters, that there had been some kind of agreement or arrangement made that the older son would marry the older daughter, and the younger son, would marry the younger daughter. But to Rebecca's dismay, Esau never went to claim his bride, and married locally instead. Rebecca at least wants Jacob to marry right, and uses Esau's anger as motivation to finally convince Jacob to go and claim his bride. By this stage, Esau had two wives already. Apparently Jacob was already about 77 years of age when he went to Haran (you can work it out from his age when Joseph was born and how long he stayed in Haran).

There is a big Mamma's boy theme going on here too. Issac says to his son, and Rebecca says to her son... Esau seems to be Issac's favourite, and Jacob, Rebecca's. Esau is a hunter, a real man. Jacob is a dweller in tents, a home body who does domestic things like cooking lentil stew.

So Jacob buys, steals and is tricked into getting everything due Esau. He wants the birthright, he wants the blessing, but not so much the wife. But it seems that they come as a package. And that God had plans for Leah too. 

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

Have you made a tactile page? What unusual materials have you found to include?

Easy Peasy Tea Party Printed Quiet Book Page

This easy peasy quiet book page comes with a little disclaimer. I used a regular printer and fed some Korean hard felt through it rather than paper. I printed around ten pages worth, and they all printed fine. Not long after doing this however, my printer would no longer print correctly, and I had to get another one. 

It is certainly better if you can use the sublimation printing method to print on felt instead! See my post Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test. The colours would turn out much better too, no doubt. Although I think it is okay anyway, especially for a page like this. My Mum says it makes it look antique.

What little girl doesn't enjoy a tea party? I certainly enjoyed many on a cot blanket (think pretend picnic blanket) with my sister and all our dolls and teddies. This little girl has a puppy and kitty to spoil, and they are all totally adorable.

I found this ‘Little Miss Alice & Her Dolly – a commercial Paper doll book’ vintage paper doll set on Pinterest - and there you can find many others as well. I have saved quite a few that might work well for quiet books to my board Felt Sublimation and Printables, which needs a bit of re-organising. The link to the Marges8's Blog posts where you can find the image is here.

Tahlia demonstrates how to mess up a quiet book for a gift

I simply cut slits where indicated for the puppy and kitten to sit at the table and sewed around the outside edge of the felt section depicting the table, leaving the top open to form a pocket to store the dolly, puppy and kitten.

Finished!

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

Have you made something similar yourself? Let me know how it went. And which background do you like best for the vintage dolly tea-party?

Genesis 14 - Abram rescues Lot Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 14, Abram rescues Lot and receives Melchizedek's blessing.

Memory Verse: “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.” Genesis 14:18-20. 

Materials needed to create the Abram Rescues Lot quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used black
• Wonderwall scraps or velcro fabric in black
• stiff felt in black
• felt scraps in mid blue, light blue, tan, white, gray, yellow, purple and light purple
• sewing thread to best match the page
• velcro (black)
• hot glue gun and glue
• my free Genesis 14 - Abram Rescues Lot Bible Quiet Book Page Template Pattern

Wonderwall fabric

Cut out three larger rectangles of wonderwall or velcro fabric and sew them onto your background page vertically.

Cut out 9 rectangles of stiff felt and sew them down onto more stiff felt. Cut them out. 

Cut out all the pieces for this page and sew them onto the stiff felt rectangles in the following order: tunics, arms, coats, heads, beards, turbans and crown.

Cut lengths of velcro and hot glue them onto the back of the stiff felt rectangles.

Arrange and re-arrange the pieces to form Abram, Lot and Melchizedek.

Difficulty Level = Easy.

A very easy quiet book page!

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 14 - Learn how Abram rescued Lot when he was captured from Sodom
• Puzzle/Matching - Match the three body sections with each other - mix them up for fun!
• 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

Genesis 14

Devotional

Unfortunately I couldn't think of a very relevant activity for this Bible chapter. Perhaps I just didn't understand the story enough.

The obvious thing to talk about here is Melchizedek. He was both a priest and a king, which is very much unusual. And of course the book of Hebrews talks about how Jesus will be a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He will be both our Great High Priest, and our King. Thankfully He has proved Himself trustworthy and selfless by His willingness to take our place and receive the punishment for our sins in order to share His reward of righteousness. You wouldn't want anyone else to be holding all the power.

Perhaps I should have added bread and wine to Melchizedek's arms to make his priesthood clear. He is offering God's people (through Abraham) communion - a representation of Jesus' offering of His body (the bread) and His blood (the wine).

Abraham accepts and responds with a tithe of all. What will your response be?

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

Any ideas on how I could have made the activity more relevant to this Bible chapter?