Front and Back Cover and Binding

I had planned to get a yard or two of felt for the inside of the fleece book cover. However, the lady in the craft section at Walmart unwillingly parted with some advice on the filler. She gave me 2 yards of something that is stiffer and more durable than felt as a filler. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of it, for she did not give it. And as she was oh so kind and generous thus far (going above and beyond her station in the craft department in Walmart) [please notice this as sarcasm], I did not think it wise to ask for anything further. It did turn out to work very well.

I first measured the fleece to be twice as wide as the book and a little longer in height. This way the front and back cover could be one piece to protect the pages inside. I sewed the fleece to the filler on all sides with the filler side by side. Then I folded the fleece over onto itself to create the cover 2 filler thick. Then I sewed the three sides that needed to be bound together to make it one piece. I measured for two sets of grommets to make the binding. I ended up needing bigger grommets for the cover than I needed for the inside pages. I then cut three pieces of elastic, and sewed a loop into both ends and threaded it through the book. I started at the middle page, went through to the back of the book, and then back into the first half of the book. This should tighten the elastic when the book is closed, but it should be relaxed when the book is open. I then threaded the loops through colored key rings. This will allow me to take the book apart when needed, but it won't come apart when Ayven is looking through it.

As is turns out, Ayven has found the rings on elastic great fun. It is an activity unplanned. Finally, I put two buckles (one at the top and one at the bottom) to keep the book closed.

I absolutely had a blast making this book. It was hard work. Especially for someone who has never actually used a sewing machine (except for that one time in home ec in 8th grade). But Ayven loves playing with the book, and it makes it all worthwhile. I believe I will be trying some more things with the sewing machine as well as one craft I saw with a glue gun here. I am very excited to begin something new.

Page 12 - Beehive

The beehive is very similar to the jacket page (Page 5). I sewed the zipper to the yellow felt. I then sewed black ribbon in stripes on the felt to make it look like a bee. When I sewed it to the page, I made sure it made a pocket for the bees.

The bees are made out of craft pompoms. I hot glued them together with a piece of ribbon behind the head, then hot glued googly eyes.

I sewed the bees in the beehive to keep them from being lost. However, with the first use of the zipper, the ribbon was stuck in the zipper. I had to cut them out of the hive. It turned out to be better this way. Ayven loves to have bee fights with them.

Page 11 - Tic Tac Toe

I found felt basketballs and baseballs in the craft section at Walmart. I sewed velcro to a piece of felt, and then hot glued the velcro'd felt to the balls. I then used ribbon and sewed it to the felt square creating the tic tac toe boxes.

I added a pocket on the bottom of the page for the extra pieces for tic tac toe.

Page 10 and 10 1/2 - I Spy

My I Spy page was easier in some ways and harder in others. The hardest part was sewing the small pieces of fabric to the plastic page protector. However, the rice in the pencil pouch was super easy.

I found all the wood pieces for the find and legend at a craft store. I glued the wood pieces in a page protector. Then I sewed the different pieces of fabric around the page protector for some flair. Then I sewed it to the page.

I colored the rice with a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and food coloring (more or less depending on the exact color you want) in a ziplock bag. I spread it out in a cookie sheet and let it dry. I put the match to the wooden piece and the rice in a zippered pencil pouch. Most of it is canvas but has a plastic window. It already had 3 rings in it for binder use. I removed the tab on the zipper and hot glued the zipper so it could not be opened.

The only problem I found with the wooden pieces is that they are lighter than the rice, so they are usually at the top of the rice instead of mixed in. They also flip over, but I don't see that as a big problem.

Page 8-9 Season Tree

This page took me the longest because of all the different pieces I made for it. I made 10 flowers for spring, 10 green leaves for summer, 10 brown/red/orange/yellow leaves for fall, and 10 snowflakes for winter. I cut out two of each of the 40 tree decorations and sewed them together for strength. Then I added the snaps. (I made sure that I added the same side of the snap to all of the decorations.)

For the tree, I drew this one out instead of using my Word outline. I drew it a lot to get the shape and branches I wanted. Then when I transferred the tree to the felt, the tree changed more because of the texture of felt. It sometimes will fuzz to nothing if cut too thin. I sewed the tree to the page first. Then I added a green hill for it to sit on. This was to be my pocket for the season decorations. However, this turned out to not be big enough for all of the decorations I made. I decided to add a pocket on the other side to hold all of them instead.

For the pocket: I took a full piece of felt, folded and sewed a 3 inch section down to create an edge. Then I sewed it down on the other three sides.

Page 7 - Barnyard

This page was relatively easy. I am not sure if this is because this was the 12th page I have done, or if it was just easy.

For my barn (which is all over the internet for quiet books), I started with my handy dandy Word outline. I took my red felt square and trimmed the top part of the sides to give the barn a pentagon shape. Then I added the top triangle portion of the pentagon. Then I used white ribbon to outline the barn and the barn doors. I sewed on the ribbon before I sewed the barn together onto the page. The doors and the window are two pieces thick for endurance. (See, learned my lesson.) I added a piece of tan felt behind the doors section of the barn to make a pocket for the animal puppets. I sewed the tan piece first, and then sewed the barn doors on top. I added the two buttons and ribbon for closure.

For the window, I sewed the black square down first. Then I sewed the two pieces of red felt together with the white ribbon, and sewed it to the black piece on the page. I decided that I didn't want the chicken to be a puppet, but to be part of the peek-a-boo window in the top of the barn. Then I sewed the chicken together and then sewed it to the window as well. To finish the window off, I added a sunflower button.

Finally, I made the puppets. This turned out easier than I expected as well. I traced around two of my fingers and then cut out two pieces of felt that size. I sewed them together leaving the finger hole. Then I flipped it inside out so the seam was on the inside. I then added all the embellishments to make the animals I wanted. Pink pig, brown dog, and white/black cow.

Page 6 - Balloon Monkey

Balloon Monkey idea came from Serving Pink Lemonade. When I saw it, I felt like it was a perfect way to play with colors and shapes.

I made two of every shape; however, I should have made three. On this page, again, I wish the removable pieces were two ply. I believe I will be able to take this page and sew another layer on the removable balloon pieces. This will make the pieces stronger and keep the stitches for the Velcro and ribbon unseen. I sewed the ribbons and Velcro onto the removable pieces. I then sewed the other matching pieces spread out onto the page adding their counterpart Velcro pieces. For the monkey, I used my Word outline for the body, arms, legs, and tail. I hot glued the head of the monkey over the stitched body on the page. I found the head at the store in the craft section. I hot glued the googly eyes onto the monkey head to add a fun touch. I also learned from the last time, and let the glue cool for a second before adding the eyes to keep them from melting. Finally, I matched all the balloons to their counterparts, brought all of the ribbons together and sewed them onto the monkey’s hand.

***UPDATE*** I did add layers to the shapes. The star got caught in the sewing machine and ended up getting squished a little. But they are all stronger now, and that is what I wanted.