DIY quiet-book ideas

Quiet books are a fun — and low tech — way to keep little hands busy and entertained when on the go. Plus, their quiet pages make them great toys to take along to church or when running errands.

These book page ideas are easy to craft yourself and will keep your little ones entertained for hours. Punch holes in the felt and insert individual pages into a binder for easy assembly.

Supplies and tools needed:

• One sheet each of felt in blue, white, yellow, dark yellow, purple, pink and green
• Four flower-shaped buttons
• White ribbon
• Blue yarn
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Sewing machine and thread

To assemble, first cut out the following:

Sizes are approximate

• 4 flower shapes, 2 inches wide
• 4 green stems, 1/4 inch by varying heights as shown
• 8 green leaves, 1 inch long by 1/2 inch wide
• 1 white cloud shape, 4-1/2 inches wide by 2 inches tall at its tallest
• 1 sun shape, 2-1/2 inches wide
• 1 sun rays shape, as shown, using sun as your cutting guide
• Grass, 9 inches wide by 2-1/2 inches tall, top zigzagged as shown
• 2 watering cans, 2-1/2 inches tall

Now, sew down the cloud, double layer sun, stems and leaves.

Then, securely sew down each of the four flower buttons on the top of the stems.

To assemble the watering can, carefully sandwich the white ribbon and blue yarn, as shown, between the two pieces, and hold together with pins. Sew the layers together around the outside perimeter, catching the yarn and ribbon in between. Trim as needed. Tie knots in the ends of the yarn to prevent fraying.

Now, pin your grass layer in place, catching the other end of the ribbon underneath the top seam. Stitch securely in place.

To create the petals , cut slits into each of the flower heads and stitch a seam around. Use the button widths to determine how wide you will need to cut the slits.

Supplies and tools needed:

• One sheet each of felt in turquoise, white, yellow, hot pink and purple
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Sewing machine and thread
• 9 sew-on metal snaps
• Needle

To assemble, first cut out the following:

Sizes are approximate

• 10 identical yellow hearts, each measuring 2 inches tall
• 4 identical blue flower shapes, each measuring 2 inches tall
• 4 identical hot pink circles
• 4 white strips, measuring 1 inch by 8 inches

First, stitch down the vertical bars, 2-1/2 inches apart onto the center of the purple felt. Next, attach the horizontal bars, 2-1/2 inches apart.

Now, attach the female version of each metal snap to the center of each square. Sew two hearts together to create each heart playing piece. Carefully sew a male version of the snaps to the back of each heart, in the center. Repeat until you have five heart pieces. To create the flowers, sew down a hot pink circle onto each flower shape, and attach male snap piece to the center back.

Shoes and laces

Supplies and tools needed:

• One sheet each of felt in blue, gray, white, hot pink, yellow and tan
• 45-inch long shoe laces
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Sewing machine and thread

To assemble, first cut out the following:

Sizes are approximate

• 2 pink shoe tops, 5 inches wide by 2-3/4 inches tall
• 2 white soles, 5 inches wide by 1 inch tall
• 2 white sock pieces, 3 inches wide by 1-1/2 inches tall
• 2 tan legs, 2-1/2 inches wide by 2 inches tall
• 1 gray ground piece, 12 inches wide by 2 inches tall
• 1 yellow circle decoration, 1 inch wide

First, stitch down the gray sidewalk piece. Next, stitch down the soles, and then the shoe tops. Add the yellow circles as shown. Stitch down the socks, adding a few rows of stitching to resemble socks. Stitch down the leg pieces. Finally, stitch down the laces, as shown, leaving the ends free so that they may be tied and untied.

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