Ever since my kids started sitting in the church service with us, I have wanted an activity book to keep little hands busy and busy minds engaged. Well, my kids still don't have one, but one of my top secret Christmas projects was this book for my nephew, Graeson.
Since this books is ultimately designed to stimulate a toddler's senses, I decided to use a wide wale corduroy for the cover. I made the cover slightly larger than I planned the pages to be, folding in the top and bottom edges, then stitch. I added two handles, which I sewed to the cover, for easy transportation. I chose a very fine wale corduroy for the lining of the cover, which I pinked to avoid fraying and attached with fusible interfacing. (Iron-on both sides, Super easy!) This nicely hid the edges of the handles.
I also pinked the edges of all the felt pages, the felt won't fray anyways, but it looks fun. I chose to assemble my book before I made up the pages. That way I didn't have to worry about getting the placement mixed up. Knowing how many I would need for my plan, I cut large rectanges from felt, about 10x17 inches. I laid them on top of the cover, and ran a length of 1/4 inch ribbon down the center for decoration, then stitched straight down the center. That's it for assembly, now on to the fun stuff!
Number practice- Count the beads and see the numeral above.
The tee-pee zips open to reveal a surprise inside. I attached the zipper with fabric glue. I used a lot of felt, but tried not to feel limited. The horse's tail is plain cotton string. Also, I chose to use fabric paint for the picture that are not felt, but you could use permanent markers instead.
The apples on the tree can be "picked" by unbuttoning.
This apple was already picked and can be removed from the page by the velcro.
The traffic light circles are also attached by velcro.
The bed of the dump truck opens with a snap to reveal the load inside.
This puppy's bone can hide inside the dog house. The ribbon around his neck is great for learning to tie a bow.
I stopped there, but you could do as many pages for which you can think of ideas. This project can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be difficult. You can make it as detailed as your skills and time dictate. However, if you're not so creatively inclined, you can also buy them
here. Of course, the great thing about making your own is that you can customize it for your child's interests and skill level. Thanks to both this
site and this
site for sparking my creativity with their great ideas. I hope I've started your creative juices flowing. Have fun!
