Mouse House

A Quiet Book for Samuel

My third quiet book is for Samuel, another sister's Grandson.

Samuel likes all things fishy and my sister gave me several fat quarters of fishy fabric.

Once again I got a lot of ideas from looking at pictures on Pinterest. I've repeated some of the pages that I've used in previous books but not all as I thought it would be more interesting for me to try different things.

A strap on the front is held in place by a decorative button [hard to see] and Samuel's name is spelt with alphabet beads.

On the first page there is a jigsaw, this is an amalgamation of several of my tablet/digitally created pictures. I printed the design t-shirt transfer paper [inkjet] and transferred the design onto non-fray Evolon fabric. Attached with Velcro.

I numbered the pieces on the back with a pen and on the page just in case there was any difficulty with placing the pieces in the right order.

Next we have a jellyfish with numbers. There are beads on strings to correspond with the numbers.

Then there is a food page. Once again I used t-shirt transfer paper, this time I just drew and coloured on the paper with pens, no inkjet printing required. The pens I used for the sausages didn't quite agree with the paper but I think it makes the sausages look cooked.

Once again I used velcro to attach the food to the page. I've outlined with stitching where the foods fit on the plate, so good for matching shapes. I stitched elastic on the page to hold the cutlery in place.

Next a cat and then an octopus.

I've made a similar cat for my first quiet book which I liked so I made another one. This time I used goggle eyes which are sewn on. I attached threads to the pieces that come off so they don't get lost. I've not done this with all the bits in this book as I thought it may be better for playing without them.

On the octopus page there are five metal rings to thread a fish through. The orange fish and crab are held on with large press studs. I painted the felt crab with a clear acrylic wax to make it more crusty.

Next a family page and a whale.

Samuel's little sister has recently been born so I produced a page with baby and pram. I didn't use a photo of her as she wasn't born when I did this page. I used photos of Sammy's mum and dad and Samuel's face but I've disguised them here. Mum and dad are in photo frames hanging from chains and Samuel is held in place by a magnet.

The whale has a zip for his mouth and three fish hide in there when closed.

Dungarees and flowers

Here we have denim dungarees with dungaree clasps, metal buttons and a belt.

The removable felt flowers are held on with buttons.

Two boat/sea pages

A yacht with sales to lace up. When opened a bird finger puppet can be removed. The anchor and wheel can be pulled from each end. There are two metal fish hiding under the waves.

This boat can be moved along the cord. There are fish to be found in the waves which can be put in the net bag. The fish were made with t-shirt transfers again, inkjet prints this time. I printed the fish twice [one lot mirror imaged] to sew together so that it looks like a fish both sides. Some were my drawings, others I found on the net.

A horse and a plastic pocket.

I saw this horse on Pinterest and just had to have a go at making it. I used wool for his tail for braiding.

I used the kind of plastic used in bag making for this pocket and filled it with beads, shells, sequins etc. The pocket can be lifted up so the beads get a good mix up.

Buckles and the back page.

I've got a lot of these buckles so I thought I would repeat this page. It can be used for colours as well as opening buckles [I find these a bit stiff to undo]

Another removable Sammy doll kept in a pocket. Real photo for face [disguised again] and a clipart body. I once again used t-shirt transfer paper to make him.

A Quiet Book for Alysia

This is the second quiet book I have made and it is for my sister's granddaughter Alysia

She likes dogs so there are a few in the book

Two dog finger puppets

A page of removable flowers held on by buttons

A snail, the beads can be moved around his 'house'

A kitchen double page spread

The fridge door opens and food can be removed, the drawer fronts can be pulled off

The pan lid is removable and the food can be put into the pan

The family are held on by magnets. On the real book their faces are actual photos but I've disguised them for privacy

Another dog, this one with a zip

The zip opens to reveals a tongue and bone

A shoe to tie a lace

Numbers to the side and beads for counting

A furry teddy bear with squeaker in his paw

Another dog, this one with a removable lead

Lift the flaps to reveal faces with different expressions

A plastic pouch filled with beads, sequins, fish and shells

Lift up to reveal the felt fish

Colours, weaving and buckles

And the inside of the outer cover, a pocket with another Lissy doll