Tag Archives: Sewing

Holiday Quietbook: Birthday

I’m back with another pattern in my new Holiday Quietbook series. I’m planning to create these throughout the year, and I hope you sew along with me!

This page is a birthday page you could place anywhere in the holiday book, or make it as a stand-alone page. You can convert it to a 2-page spread by having two background pages and moving the balloons to the second page. It is an easy page to swap up the colors on, though I do like having the primary colors for the balloons and numbers.

To make this page I used:
The Pattern: download it here
Felt in:
 aqua, red polka dot, flamingoorange juice, lemon, big apple, white, pool party, and glitter stripe
Sequins in: white snag-free, red, yellow, and blue
Assorted Ribbon: I used thin teal ribbon for the balloons and thin silver for the candle wicks.
Your Choice of Binding Method: I’ve always used 3 grommets, but I’m testing out three 2″ hook & loop strips.
Other: felt glue and embroidery floss to match felt

Sewing the Background

I used an appliqué stitch to sew down red polka dot felt onto the lower half of the page (mine was 12″ wide by 4.5″ high.) Refer to the picture above for where to sew three colored squares of hook and loop (soft side) for the balloons. I recommend doing that after the cake and balloons are sewn so you know everything has room.

To attach the triangle flags, I just did a light line of glue across the top to tack them on to the top of the page. They got sewn down when I attached the backing onto the page with my sewing machine.

 

Sewing the Cake

The cake is actually a bit more complicated then it looks. It has a shallow open pocket on the top and the rest is a pocket you access from the bottom and snap closed.

Start by decorating the cake. Sew down the icing swap and the top edge of the bottom icing. There is a larger bottom icing piece that goes on the other side of the cake. I glued it down lightly while lining it up with the front bottom icing, then I blanket stitched around the bottom edge through both layers. Sew three white snag free velcro bits onto the cake. I prefer to use snag free wherever I need the rough side of hook and loop on an actual page. Even though it doesn’t quite hold as well as traditional Velcro, the rough side is just too snaggy with felt.

Sew two snaps onto the inner bottom icing to hold the bottom pocket closed. Scroll down to the end of the cake section for a picture of the snaps.

The tricky part is sewing the cake down to the page. You need to make a good crease where shown on the pattern. (I can use a light ironing on my felt, but test yours first! Sometimes using a straight edge to crease it works fine.) Place the cake piece as shown above: upside-down and wrong side facing out with the fold a bit above the table line. Make sure your cake fits well on the page when folded back down before sewing down the three sections shown above in hot pink.

When folded back down, you’ll have a shallow pocket at the top for the candles to sit in (or be stored sideways in.) Finish the cake by sewing down the sides of the cake. I did sew down the sides of the pink parts as well as the white cake sides. The last step is the sew the other halves of the snaps down to the page.

Sewing the Candles

Start your candles by sewing each yellow flame onto three of the orange flames, lining up the bottoms. I tacked them down with a touch of glue first. Then sandwich a bit of ribbon between the flames and the rest of the orange flame pieces. The ribbons should stick out of the bottoms. The candle part is made of of the glitter stripe material and white felt. When you blanket stitch around it, be sure to catch the other end of the ribbon/wick in the top of the candle.

Sewing the Balloons & Numbers

The balloons are fairly straightforward. Sew a square of white snag-free Velcro to the backing pieces. Sew a bit of matching hook and loop (soft side) to the fronts. Blanket stitch the fronts and backs together, catching a thin ribbon for the balloon string in your stitching at the bottom.

The numbers are done very similarly, but without a string and no hook and loop on the front.

Finishing the Page

You can finish the page however you prefer. I normally sew a backing on, reinforce the binding edge with a couple rows of stitching, and add three grommet holes. This time I am trying something new. So far, so good! The two pages I’ve done this way are holding together nicely. I’ll definitely need a back cover to stop snagging, though.

I did everything the same as I normally would, except I sewed three 2″ strips of hook and loop tape to the page and the backing in the binding area. I put the rough side on the backing and the soft side on the page. The idea is you can stack the pages together but the child and separate them easily. I plan to do a cover that will attach to the top and bottom pages in the stack, once I see how big this holiday project ends up. Or maybe I’ll make separate front and back covers… We’ll see how it goes!

If you sew along with me on this holiday project, please tag me on any Instagram photos you post! My IG is @iolstephanieand you can use the hashtag #imagineourlife. You can also post to my Facebook page. I love our little community there and I hope we can all be more active in 2019! I’m not the best at social media as I try to spend my time creating. I don’t even watch tv, as I’d need more hours in the day!!

Something fun we’ve been doing is daily vlogging on YouTube! I include clips of sewing projects whenever I can. Please subscribe here, and click the bell to be notified of new videos. I post every night! Leave a comment to let me know you came from the blog!

A Valentine page is up next! I’ll see you soon with that!

The Nine Minute Pencil Bag

The Nine Minute Pencil Bag
My little man is turning 5! He’s very into his Wii and anything Super Mario, so it was easy to pick his party theme. I always like to include a handmade party favor for our guests. This year, I’m making pencil bags! Since I am making 12 of them and my free time has been so limited lately, I had to make them quickly. And so, the Nine Minute Pencil Bag was born!

I used fabric that I custom designed and ordered through Spoonflower.  I made a question box tumble in three colorways: red, green and blue. I ordered one fat quarter of each. I needed a dozen 9″ zippers, so I ended up buying this zipper assortment. It came with a good assortment and only one of them was the wrong size out of 54. I also bought three additional fat quarters in coordinating colors. With 6 fat quarters (3 outer fabric and 3 lining) you can make 12 bags.

The Nine Minute Pencil Bag

What I Used:

  • Two 9″ x  5″ rectangles in my outer fabric
  • Two 9″ x 5″ rectangles in my lining fabric
  • One 9″ zipper
  • Matching thread
  • Iron, sewing machine (with zipper foot) and scissors

The Video:

I don’t talk in this video – turn on CC if you’d like written instructions. And enjoy one of my favorite classical pieces – The Blue Danube!

The Basic Overview:

You start with a “zipper sandwich” – take one rectangle of each of the fabrics and lay then stacked, right sides facing. Place the zipper inside the sandwich facing the outer fabric. Line its edge up with the long side of the fabric on the inside of the sandwich. Sew along the zipper with a zipper foot (moving the zipper pull partway). Flip the two rectangle so their wrong sides are facing and the zipper is sticking out of the sandwich. Make a new sandwich around it, right sides facing in, putting the lining on the lining side and outer fabric on the outer fabric side. Sew the edge with a zipper foot (moving the zipper pull partway).

Open up the rectangles so right sides are out and the zipper is in the center. Iron it smooth, then flip the sides so the linings are together (right sides facing) and the outer fabric pieces are together (right sides facing). Press the zipper/seam towards the lining. Open the zip halfway. Starting on the short side of the lining near the bottom of the zip, carefully sew across the zipper. (Make sure you do not sew over the metal crimp at the base of the zipper. It will break your needle!) Sew all the way around until you get back to your starting side, then stop when you have 3″ left to go. Leave that open for turning.

Clip the tails at both ends of your zipper, then clip all four corners. Flip the bag right side out through the hole, unzipping the zipper the rest of the way when you are able. Make sure you poke all the corners out. With the outer fabric and lining on each side, iron it smooth. Fold in the hems of the lining opening and iron it to crease it. Stitch it closed close to the edge. Push the lining into the bag and iron it inside and out, making sure to iron the fabric away from the zipper.

All done! I’ll be filling ours with Dollar Tree pencils, sharpeners and faux mustaches.

The Nine Minute Pencil Bag
They turned out super fun!

The Nine Minute Pencil Bag
If you make some Nine Minute Pencil Bags, I’d love to see them! Share them on my Facebook page or mention me on Twitter or Instagram ( @iolstephanie ). Enjoy!

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament

I love sewing felt ornaments every year to hang on our tree. This year I picked the theme of sweets! This simple but colorful gumball machine sews up in just one evening but will make a big impact!

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament
I used wool-blend felt and colorful sequins from American Felt and Craft. I chose a color palette that was slightly retro with honeydew, poppy, pink and teal.

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament
What I Used:

Step 1: Layer the honeydew felt dome between the two vinyl dome pieces and sew from A to B with a blanket stitch. Fill each side of the dome with sequins as desired. Sew the top closed.

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament
Step 2:
Sew the curved top to the two poppy cap pieces together with a blanket stitch, then place it over the top of the dome and sew across the cap’s bottom.

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament
Step 3:
Sew a row of red sequins down the side of each poppy machine piece. Sew a pink heart to each side and add sequins. Sew the hatch to the front machine piece and add a silver sequin.

Felt Gumball Machine Ornament
Step 4:
Sew the machine together from C to D with a blanket stitch and fill with stuffing. Stick the dome inside the open end and sew the machine pieces closed.

gumball-ball
Step 5:
Thread a large needle with baker’s twine. Attach the center of the twine to the top of the cap then run the tails through a felt ball or pom. Tie off and enjoy!

gumball-ontree

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Last year I had so much fun sewing Jax a Christmas Tree Play Set and 24 Mini Advent Ornaments, but I didn’t have time to make a calendar to put them in. This year I started off my Christmas sewing season by creating a hanging gingerbread house advent calendar.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar
Thank you to American Felt and Craft for all of the beautiful supplies used in this project!

What I Used:

I started sewing this project before I had the brown background felt, so I began with all the smaller pieces. I will list the tutorial sections in an order that makes sense, but there is definitely some flexibility.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar   Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

The Roof
I created the advent calendar with the ability to come off the hanger. The roof is a separate piece that sits on top of the hanger like a hat with a hole for the hook. I cut my roof pieces out of 9: x 12″ sheets, so each side is made of two halves sewn together. On the front half, I decorated it with crystal sequins. When sewing the two sides together, I only sewed the tops, leaving a 2″ hole at the center-top for the hanger hook.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar
The Calendar & Pockets

There is a diagram in the pattern showing how I cut and laid out the calendar body. Once you cut two rectangles that are 31″ x 17″, lay your hanger and the top and trim off the corners, leaving a 0.5″ seam allowance. Set aside one calendar piece to use as the back. (Optional – leave an extra bit at the lower right corner if you want the Christmas tree to extend a bit past the edge. Once the tree is on, you can trim it down. Otherwise, just cut off the extra tree.)

Attach your numbers to the pocket squares. I used adhesive numbers, which saved so much cutting time. If you are cutting them yourself, gluing them on with felt glue will work just fine. On pocket 1 (a rectangle), layer white swirls on top of a red circle to make a peppermint swirl candy. Sew it to the pocket and add red sequins. On pocket 19, sew on the red heart and add some red sequins.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Take your time laying out and pinning all the pockets. I’ve provided measurements for between each row. Unless you have many hours to fill, you probably want to use a sewing machine for all the pockets. I got mine done in under an hour that way. One pocket without a number goes at the center bottom of the calendar. It will be behind the door. (The tree pocket – 23 – is sew separately.)

Snowy Sills
Cut out 8 snowy window sill pieces and sew sequins on them. Using felt glue, tack them on to the bottom of the blue pockets. I glued mine on before sewing on the pockets, but you can do it either way. Sew down the tops of the snow pieces, leaving the bottoms hanging loose.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Fruit Slices
For each fruit slice, tack down the white rind with a light layer of glue (too much and it is hard to sew though) then sew it down. Add matching sequins to the colored parts, then sew them down directly over pockets 3 and 5.

Candy Sticks
For the red and white candy sticks, tack down then sew on the red stripes, added red sequins. Sew them down above pockets 8 and 10. For the pink and red candy sticks, tack down and sew on the thinner red stripes. Using a back stitch, sew a stripe on each side of the red felt stripes. Add a few pink sequins, then sew them down above pockets 18 and 20.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Jelly Beans
I tacked down the jelly beans directly onto the calendar. White sewing them down, I alternated their direction and added matching sequins. Four jelly beans go over pocket 13 and pocket 15.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar  Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Door
On the front piece of the door, sew on a green peppermint swirl candy (using the same technique as the red). The number 24 goes below that with room for a pearl button door knob on the right. I added yellow sequins to the door. On the back door piece, I sewing on a piece of hook tape. I sewed it on high enough to be above the pocket on the calendar. On the calendar, I sewed down some loop tape lined up to close the door. I sewed the two sides of the door together starting at the left side of the curved top. When I got around to the straight left side, I stitched both layers down to the calendar to make the hinged side of the door.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Candy Canes
The candy canes are sewn the same way as the red and white candy sticks. I provided a pattern for all of the stripes around the cured part, then one stripe you can repeat down the straight part. I sewed the candy canes down on either side of the door at a slight angle.

Christmas Tree
The tree sticks out a bit past the lower right edge of the calendar. You can either cut your calendar to have a matching bump-out like I did, or trim your tree to fit the corner. Using felt glue I attached my glitter ric rac down and folded the ends behind the tree. It held really well once dry. Once I decided the position of the tree’s pocket, I glued on more ric rac to the pocket square to match what was under it on the tree. I added assorted sequins to the tree and the pocket, stuck the number onto the pocket, then sewed on the pocket and tree by hand. The tip of the tree extends a bit onto pocket 21.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Gumdrops
The stack of gumdrops overlaps the right side of pocket 22. I tacked them down in a tospy turvy pile, sewed them down and added sequins.

Lollipop
The lollipop stick is glued down to the calendar. If you plan to sew it as well, use a light layer of glue. I didn’t bother sewing mine. On the lavender circle, sew a purple sequin to the center. Add sequins in a line making a spiral. (To add sequins in a line, bring your needle up through the felt beside your first sequin and through the hole of sequin 2. Come back down through sequin 1. Repeat, coming up beside sequin 2, through sequin 3 and down through sequin 2. Repeat. The last sequin gets a second stitch to tack it down.]

Gingerbread House Advent CalendarConstruction
When sewing the back on, I used a sewing machine. I sewed the left, bottom and right sides completely, but only sewed halfway up each slope at the top. On either side of where the hanger hook goes, add some hook and loop squares. The snowy roof just slides on top.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

All done! I hope you enjoyed this free pattern. You can find the rest of my Christmas projects here. If you make one of my projects, please share a photo! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you follow me on Facebook but are not getting my post, I apologize! FB is only showing my posts to 10-15% of those of you who have liked the page, and wants me to pay to show it to more. I can’t afford that, but feel terrible that many of you miss out on advanced copies of patterns, sneak peeks and polls for new projects. You can set your account to get notifications when I post (no more than once per day) by clicking the “like” button a second time and setting your notification preferences. Hopefully that will help.

Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Thank you for all the well wishes for Jax as he recovered from pneumonia. We are finally back to normal here! If you’d like to support this site of send a little surprise to Jax, you can find his wishlist here. We are saving up to surprise him with a Wii U from GameStop.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PageThis is a fun quiet book page that would be a great addition to a holiday, seasonal or month activity book. The free pattern comes with 4 mix and match costumes, and you can easily make you own. There is a jack-o-lantern pocket for storage and two ghost friends that snap off.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page

Children can sort the costumes into their matching sets or have fun making silly combinations. This page would work great with my Halloween Jack-o-lantern page!

patternWhat I Used:

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Are you ready to sew a fun Halloween costume match page?

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Background

I started by cutting a 12″ x 4″ strip of denim blue felt into a sloping hill, then I sewed it down to the background. (When adding details to your page, be mindful of the way you bind your books. My way requires 2″ of width on the binding edge.) I then sewed down the moon and two clouds. Sew two snaps down where you want the ghosts to be. Pin the body and undies in place and sew them down. If you’d like to add snaps or Velcro to the backs of your costume pieces, sew them to the head, torso and groin of the body. (If you use Velcro, I recommend the snag-free kind for use with felt.)

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PageGhosts
For each ghost: Sew the other half of the snap onto the back of the ghost. On the front, make two French knot eyes and sew down the mouth. Sew the front and back together with a blanket stitch.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PagePumpkin
To make the pumpkin pocket, I cut a scrap of yellow felt large enough to go behind the cut-outs of the pumpkin face. I tacked it behind the face with a bit of felt glue, then sewed it on around the eye and mouth holes. I then layered another pumpkin piece behind the yellow to hide it, and sewed both layers together across the curved top with a blanket stitch. I positioned the pumpkin onto the page and sewed through both it and the background the rest of the way around. This makes a pocket that is open at the top.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PageCostumes
To finish each costume piece: cut out a piece of backing felt to match the shape of your final piece, then sew it on with a blanket stitch, matching your thread colors to the felt. (If you are adding Velcro or snaps, do it before the blanket stitch.) I used the same “wild blueberry” dark blue felt as my costume backings.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PagePrincess:
I started by stitching on her face. I made aqua French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. I used red-brown for her eyebrows and made a long, loose stitch and tacked it down into a curve with a tiny vertical stitch. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the bottom lip, one longer one for the upper lip. On the upper lip, I made a small “v” of stitches in the center as shown. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down her hair and crown. I stitched the hair down around her face. I took a small piece of gold trim and stitched it down to the crown with the ends tucked under. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

For her blouse, I made a series of French knot pearls, then attached the backing. On the skirt, I stitched the skirt puffs on, then stitched more gold trim along the hem. I glued the feet to the back of the skirt after confirming their positions by laying it on the body pattern. I tacked down the shoes with glue then stitched them on. I then attached the backing.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PageWitch
: I started by stitching on her face. I made purple French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. I used lavender for her eyebrows and made a long, loose stitch and tacked it down into a curve with a tiny vertical stitch. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the bottom lip, two longer one for the upper lip. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down her hair, hat and hat band. I stitched the hair down around her face and stitched down the hat band and where her hat meets her hair. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

On her blouse and skirt, I glued and sewed down the two patches using large, uneven stitches. I continued on with the skirt by positioning her stockings using the body pattern and gluing them and her shoes into place. On her stockings, I made long horizontal stitches to add stripes before attaching the backing.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book PageCowboy
: I started by stitching on his face. I made brown French knots for her eyes with tiny stitches beside them as shown. I made two peach stitches together for the nose. Using the same dark peach, I made teenie stitches for freckles. Using pink I made two small stitches together for the mouth. Using a light layer of felt glue, I tacked down his hair, hat and hat band, then stitched all the inner edges. Then it was ready to attach the backing.

On his shirt, I tacked down the vest and then the scarf. I sewed down all the inner edges, then attached the backing. On his pants, I layered the jeans and shoes behind the chaps, using the body pattern for positioning, and tacked them with glue. I tacked down the belt buckle, sewed all the inner edges, then attached the backing.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
Skeleton
: For all parts of the skeleton, I tacked the bones down into place with a light layer of felt glue and them stitched them down. I added the red heart on top of the ribs because it was easier to see. I then attached all the backings.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
And there is something that makes it even more fun… Flocked pumpkin felt on the back of the page! The jack-o-lanterns are fuzzy and a little glittery. Super cute!

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page
I hope you enjoy this free pattern! The commercial license for selling completed products from this pattern will be available in my Etsy shop.

Halloween Costume Match Quiet Book Page

Do you have a special pattern request? Stop by my Facebook Page or my Instagram (@iolstephanie) and let me know! Happy Halloween!

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
I’m always looking for ways to teach Jax about what we can do to help our planet. I knew a “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” theme would make a wonderful quiet book theme. Trash and recycle trucks are so much fun for kids to watch, so I had to add one in to expand the project into a fun recycling set.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
This is a pay pattern available in my Etsy shop. Purchasing my pay patterns will let me move towards making a living at crafting and give me more time to devote to both pay and free projects.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
The 6″ square quiet book features 3  double pages: Reduce teaches turning off lights and faucets to save resources. Reuse promotes using reusable cups and bags whenever possible. Recycle introduces sorting recyclables (and compost items!) into their bins. The cover has a recycle symbol and an earth with a heart.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
All of the sorting items can be used with the recycle truck that features a working back hatch. Pull the loop to open the hatch, then pull the ribbon to close it up again. There is also a recycle bin and a felt doll that is compatible with my other dress up felt dolls (fire station and dollhouse.)

I hope you’ll find the pattern files to be beautiful and helpful. A lot of time went into them! The pattern includes a stitch guide and full tutorial with photos and illustrations. You will also receive a coupon for $5 off at American Felt and Craft to help you get started on your felt stash.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
You can purchase this pattern for $8 in my Etsy shop, Imagine Our Life. If you would like to sell the finished product, you can purchase commercial licensed version for $20. This is a one time fee, and you’d be able to sell as many recycle quiet books as you’d like after purchasing it.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables
As a free add-on to this felt set, I am providing my matching 3-part cards and recycle sorting game free for educational use! Click here to download the pdf.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free PrintablesThe cards and game include the same sorting categories as the felt set, giving you an additional way to teach the new vocabulary. (I include both the North American spelling on “aluminum” and the world spelling of “aluminium”.) The game features illustrations that were hand drawn by me.

Recycling Quiet Book Set & Free Printables

Montessori MondayTo assemble, print out the cards and cut them out. Glue them to card stock backs, then laminate and trim. I use this laminator. To make laminating a bit easier, you can try adding a dab of glue stick to the cards when you position then in the lamination sleeves. It keeps them from wiggling and overlapping.

I purchased two 3-packs of blue drawer organizers from Dollar Tree to use as my sorting bins.

If you liked this free homeschool printable and want more homeschool ideas, visit Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now.

I hope you enjoy this pattern! I can’t tell how much your support means to me. Big thank yous to all of you who are a part of our Facebook page. You have given me so much inspiration! Please feel free to comment here or on Facebook if you have suggestions for new projects. I am sketching patterns and ordering felt for all my fall projects this week. I’ll post some sneak peeks on Instagram. Come follow along!

Recycling Quiet Book Pattern

Sock Penguin Tutorial

Sock Penguin TutorialWhen I found an old pair of rainbow striped socks, I knew I wanted to make a sock animal. I asked Jax what he would like, and wasn’t surprised to hear him request a penguin. They are his favorite animal! I wasn’t sure how a rainbow striped penguin would turn out, but he’s really cute! This works up very quick and easy. It took me about 2 hours of hand sewing to finish.

Sock Penguin TutorialYou could use any size sock, but would need to scale the pattern pieces to match. One knee-high sock is perfect (mine were thigh-high and I had 7″ leftover before the cuff. (See my sock measurements on the pattern as a guide.) I can use two socks if yours are shorter.

Other materials needed are: the pattern, poly fill, felt (white, orange, black and an eye color) and needle/threads.

Sock Penguin TutorialThe tutorial is included in the pattern file, as well as a stitch guide. (The stitch guide is a new feature in my pay patterns. Let me know what you think of this sample!)

If you sew a sock penguin from my tutorial, Jax and I would love to see yours! Show us a picture via our Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram.

Sock Penguin Tutorial

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

I keep my sequins in a vintage canning jar beside my sewing area, and all the pretty, sparkly colors have been calling to me recently. I wanted to make a quick project with them, so I combined my love of felt and fun, dangle earrings!

Felt and Sequin Dangle EarringsNo patterns needed for this one – just have fun!

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

What I Used:

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

I started by cutting out shapes in my felt and laying them out with sequins to create a design I enjoyed. I then cut out a second set. Make sure you cut a backing piece for each earring body. Decorate the earring fronts by sewing down the felt shapes and adding sequins and French knots as embellishment.

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

Here is how I made mine:

I cut my base out in a rounded teal diamond shape. I had a honeydew green circle the size of a nickel and a blue-gray square, slightly bigger than a sequin. I laid the pieces out and started by sewing down the center square. With the same thread, I sewed on the center sequin. I then switched thread colors and sewed on 4 contrasting sequins around the circle.

With the same thread color, I added a French knot to the center sequin. Switching thread colors to match the circle, I stitched it down. I then started alternating adding matching sequins and stitching French knots.

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

Repeat everything for the front of the second earring.

I then created a tassel. I cut a length of three colors of floss, cut those in half and then tied then together at the midpoint. I then folded them in half and used one of the thread colors to tie knot loops around the bundle. After my last knot, I ran my needle up through the top of the tassel and let the tail stick out with the others at the top. I trimmed the bottom, then made a second one to match.

With thread matching my background, I stitched the tassels to the backsides of the earrings. I made stitches that were hidden by the sequin on the front. I then began sewing the front and back together for each earring. I paused at the top and sewed on a jump ring. Make sure the rings face the way they need to in order hang the right way from your earring wires.

Finish the earrings by attaching the earring wires. I had fun with the colors and made a bright pink and purple set that is slightly smaller.

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

I really enjoyed making these and may design some more to give as gifts or sell in my Etsy shop. Let me know if you make some! Stop by our Facebook page or share a photo with me on Instagram or Twitter (username @iolstephanie). Be sure to share the project with a friend who sews!

Felt and Sequin Dangle Earrings

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Tic Tac Yo-Ho-ho!

Jax has recently taken an interest in learning how to play tic-tac-toe (Noughts and crosses, Xs and Os, etc…) so I thought it would be a fun and quick page to sew up. This project would also work great as a stand-alone 9″ square felt tic-tac-toe set. We’ll be going to the beach in September, so I thought up a pirate island theme!

This page can be made as a stand-alone game by sewing it to a 9″ square background.

Pair this page with: The Treasure Quiet Book Page

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

What I used:

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Sewing the Island

Following the template, sewing the tic-tac-toe grid onto the island piece.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Pin down the island with a bit of stuffing or batting underneath for dimension. Sewing it down, then embellish it with French knots and tiny stitches to show the sand texture.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Decorate the water’s edge with blue crystal sequins. Decorate the sand with some pirate’s treasure: gold sequins and pearl buttons.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Treasure Chest

Stitch two gold bands onto each side of the treasure chest. I used thick 100% wool felt, so I didn’t line the chest. If you are using regular felt, place a blank chest piece behind each side of the chest and sew them together along the long top side.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Place the two finished sides together and sew the right sides and bottom together, then place it on the page as shown and sew the left side together through the page. This will make a pocket that is hinged to the page. You can flip it out of the way when it is time to play. Add a snap to the back of the chest on the loose side, then sew the matching half to the page. This holds the pocket still while you flip through your quiet book.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Cross Bones

Using a light layer of felt glue, tack down two of the bones into a cross shape onto black felt. Once it is dry, cut it out and sew it all around the outside. Repeat so you have 5 X’s.

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

Ruby Rings

With on strand of pink thread, sew the gem lines onto each felt ruby. Start with a long horizontal line, then make two V’s above it and one large V below it. Use the template as a guide.

Using a light layer of felt glue, tack down a gold ring onto brown felt.  Glue a ruby on top as shown. once it is dry, cut it out and sew it all around the edges. Repeat so you have 5 O’s.

Arrrrh! Have Fun!

Pirate Island Tic-Tac-Toe Quiet Book Page

 

Felt Sandwich Set

Have you caught the felt food bug yet? Felt food is super adorable and quite easy to make. I’ve been dying to design some for Jax, but needed to wait until he was old enough to keep them picked up. We have a golden retriever who would find felt food equally as fun!

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I had so much fun designing and sewing a felt sandwich set for Jax, that I wanted to share the free pattern with you all. This set includes all sorts of goodies for your sandwich shop: breads, proteins, cheeses, veggies and spreads. And don’t forget chips and a cookie!

Felt Sandwich Set

I’ve also been sewing a lot of sliced fruits to go along with the sandwiches. Follow my Play Kitchens & Food Pinterest board for many of the tutorials I followed. I did create some of the fruits on my own. I can share those later if there is interest.

Felt Fruit

What I Used

I used a hodge-podge of felts for this project – whatever I had on hand! Some is wool blend felt from American Felt and Craft, some is cheap craft felt by the yard from Joann’s Fabric and the chip bag is thick 100% wool from the craft store. Here is the pattern I made.

Felt Sandwich Set - Breads

Breads

For the pita pocket, I placed two layers together and sewed them together along the straight edge with a blanket stitch. I repeated this with the last two pieces to have the two sides of the pocket. I placed them together and sewed through all the layers along the curve.

Felt Sandwich Set - BreadsFor the sliced breads, I cut two strips of crust for each slice. Using a blanket stitch, one strip got sewn around the top curve of one bread piece and the other around the square bottom. The strips were trimmed and sewn together at the base of the curves on each side. I then blanket stitched the other side of the bread on, pausing halfway to lightly stuff it with poly-fil.

Felt Sandwich Set - BreadsI used artists’ pastels to add shading to the brown toasted bread. I colored lightly around the edges of each side, then “set” it by getting the colored felt wet and drying it overnight. We haven’t had any rub off yet, but Jax is gentle. I do not recommend doing this if any felt food will be in someone’s mouth! And do be sure your pastels are non-toxic.

The cookie is very simple! I cut little chocolate chips and glued them down with a dab of felt glue. I sewed mine down as well. I then sewed the two sides together with a blanket stitch, pausing halfway to lightly stuff the cookie. (All of the items in my breads section were done with cheap craft felt.)

Felt Sandwich Set - Breads

Spreads

For each of the spreads, I sewed the front and back pieces together. On the guacamole, I also glued then sewed down little scraps of red and green felt before sewing the whole piece.

cheese

Cheeses

I made three kinds of cheese, but you could easily add your favorites. For each of them, I sewed the front and back pieces together. On the pepper jack, I also glued then sewed down little scraps of red and green felt before sewing the whole piece.

Felt Sandwich Set - Veggies

Produce

Being a vegetarian, I wanted lots of tasty, colorful fruits and veggies for Jax’s sandwich set. They take a bit more work but add so much!

For the lettuce, I cut mine out with pinking shears for a zigzag edge. I sewed the two sides together with a running stitch (a dashed line stitch that looks the same on both sides.) I pinched the base together into a tiny dart and stitched it to make the stem. I used a running stitch to add veins.

To make the spinach, I stitched three leaves to one of the base pieces using a back stitch up the center vein of each. I then blanket stitched the front and back together.

Felt Sandwich Set - Veggies

When sewing the avocado, I started by sewing the two sides of the avocado flesh together along the straight edge with the pit hole. I then blanket stitched the back piece on to make a wedge, pausing to fill it with stuffing.

The tomato takes a bit of embroidery time. I laid each side of the tomato down onto one of the inner pieces, then sewed down the holes. Using gold thread, I stitched the seeds with a lazy daisy stitch (Bring your needle up and down at the same spot, but before you pull the loop tight, make a tiny perpendicular stitch at the top to tack it in place.) Once all the seeds were done, I stitched the two sides together with a blanket stitch.

Felt Sandwich Set

For the red onion, I made two rows of dashed running stitch to each white ring. I then sandwiched the purple skin piece between the white rings and blanket stitched it together. The purple will show a bit as though you sliced the onion thinly.

The cucumbers started with seeds that were tacked down with glue, then stitched on. I sewed 3 to each side. I then layered the skin piece between two flesh pieces and blanket stitched it all together, the same as with the onion.

Felt Sandwich Set - Proteins

Proteins

I know olive loaf is pretty yucky in real life, but it sure looks adorable made of felt! Jax like olives, so I thought he would find it fun. I cut whole and partial olives, red square pimentos and random pink scraps. I glued and sewed them down to both pieces of a really lovely pale peachy pink felt, then stitched the two sides together with a blanket stitch. I did the salami the same way as the olive loaf, using pink and white random scraps for the little bits in it.

For the two sandwich meats, I simply sewed the two sides together with a blanket stitch. On the turkey, I used the same pastel technique as the toast to add some shading.

Felt Sandwich Set - Proteins

The fried egg is simple. I stitched the yolk down to one side, pausing to add some stuffing. I then sewed both sides together with a blanket stitch.

To make the bacon, I cut two wiggly pink strips for each side. I glued and sewed them down, then sewed the two sides together.

Felt Sandwich Set - Chips

Chips

I used a very thick 100% wool for my chip bag, so it did not require a double layer of felt. You can double up the same way as with the pita pocket if needed. I also cut my bag on the fold so I didn’t need to sew the bottom. I used back stitch and a french knot to make my chip label. After stitching the lettering onto the label, I stitched the label onto the bag front with a blanket stitch. I then stitched the side of the bag closed into a pocket.

The chips were made by simply blanket stitching two layers of felt together.

There are so many fun combinations you can make with this felt food set – especially if you add some pieces of fruit! Which piece is your favorite?

Felt Sandwich Set

Felt Weather Station Pattern & Free 3-Part Cards

Felt Weather StationLearning about the weather is always fun for kids. It is easy to relate what you learn to what is going on outside the window.

I knew I wanted to create something for Jax to let him explore and learn about different weather conditions. I decided to go with a felt set that can both be used to learn new weather words and to post the daily weather.

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This pattern is my very first pay pattern. I hope you find the pricing reasonable! I am really hoping to turn my crafting into a career that lets me both be creative and have time to be the best mama I can be. I will still be offering free patterns. At this point, I expect 50% will be free. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

You can purchase this pattern for $6 in my Etsy shop, Imagine Our Life. If you would like to sell the finished product, you can purchase commercial licensed version for $20. This is a one time fee, and you’d be able to sell as many weather charts as you’d like after purchasing it.

Felt Weather Station Pattern

This pattern included instruction to sew both a felt weather wall chart and a quietbook version. The wall chart is perfect for classrooms, while the quietbook is a fun way to make learning portable. There are 12 adorable weather condition pieces, along with matching labels printed on photo fabric. (You can also print the labels on card stock and laminate them.) There is a slider that can be set to the current temperature. A special pocket allows children to post the current weather conditions.

I worked hard to really make the pattern and instructions look beautiful. I’ve included a full tutorial and a brand new stitch guide! As an added bonus, there is a $5 American Felt & Craft coupon to help you purchase beautiful felt!

Felt Weather Station Pattern

As a free add-on to this felt set, I am providing my matching 3-part cards free for educational use! Click here to download the pdf. The cards include many of the same weather conditions as the felt set, giving you an additional way to teach the new vocabulary.

3-Part Cards - Weather

Montessori MondayTo assemble, print out the cards and cut them out. Glue them to card stock backs, then laminate and trim. I use this laminator. To make laminating a bit easier, you can try adding a dab of glue stick to the cards when you position then in the lamination sleeves. It keeps them from wiggling and overlapping.

If you liked this free homeschool printable and want more homeschool ideas, visit Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now.

 

Felt Weather Station Pattern

I hope you enjoy this pattern! I can’t tell how much your support means to me. Big thank yous to all of you who are a part of our Facebook page. You have given me so much inspiration! Please feel free to comment here or on Facebook if you have suggestions for new projects. I’ll also be posting sneak peeks at this week’s free pattern on my Instagram. Come follow along!

Felt Weather Station Pattern

A Year of Quiet Book Pages 2013

A Year of Quiet Book Pages 2013

Happy new year!

In 2013 I felt like I always had at least 2 sewing projects going at all time. With Jax turning 3 back in February, my quiet book projects grew with him. For our annual beach trip, I sewed him a large fire station quiet book. I also began a massive project to sew the whole world!

Felt Patterns on Imagine Our Life

With a new year beginning, it’s fun to look back on the pages I made and shared with you, as I did in 2012 and 2011.

Current Top 5

  1. Sock Matching Quiet Book Page – 71,096 views | 18,000+ pins
  2. Bumble Bee Lacing Maze Quiet Book Page – 16,972 views | 2,000+ pins
  3. Autumn Leaves Quiet Book – 8,794 views | 1,000+ pins
  4. Forest Quiet Book Page – 37,092 views | 1,000+ pins
  5. Circus Train Quiet Book Page – 35,987 views | 3,000+ pins

The sock matching page has been the top page for 3 years!The sock matching page has been the top page for 3 years!

All Time Top 10

  1. Sock Matching Quiet Book Page – 32,292 views | 9,000+ pins
  2. Forest Quiet Book Page – 37,092 views | 1,000+ pins
  3. Circus Train Quiet Book Page – 35,987 views | 3,000+ pins
  4. Sandcastle Quiet Book Page – 35,333 views | 7,000+ pins
  5. Let’s Cook Breakfast Quiet Book Page – 28,227 views | 4,000+ pins
  6. Mailbox & Letters Quiet Book Page – 27,230 views | 2,000+ pins
  7. Treasure Quiet Book Page – 26,466 views | 3,000+ pins
  8. Cookie Shapes & Colors Quiet Book Page – 25,461 views | 2,000+ pins
  9. Astronaut Quiet Book Page – 22,976 views | 1,000+ pins
  10. Dump Truck Quiet Book Page – 22,073 views | 1,000+ pins

The dump truck made the all-time top 10 for the first time in 2013.The dump truck made the all-time top 10 for the first time in 2013.

10 Most Popular from 2013

  1. Montessori Continents Map & Quietbook – 18,854 views | 1,000+ pins
  2. Bumble Bee Lacing Maze Quiet Book Page – 16,972 views | 2,000+ pins
  3. Felt Fire Station – Fire Truck & Dalmatian – 10,259 views | 1,000+ pins
  4. Autumn Leaves Quiet Book – 8,794 views | 1,000+ pins
  5. Felt Fire Station – Cover – 7,289 views | 298 pins
  6. Animals of the Ocean for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook – 6,989 views | 675 pins
  7. Animals of Africa for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook – 6,657 views | 661 pins
  8. Felt Fire Station – Garage & Locker Room – 5,299 views | 876 pins
  9. Animals of North America for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook – 4,631 views | 512 pins
  10. Animals of South America for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook – 4,522 views | 395 pins

Animals of Europe for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with PrintablesThe Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook posts got a combined 52,682 views this year!

Overall, I’ve shared 62 quiet book pattern posts with you since I started sewing them in September of 2011, including 4 multi-page books. Wow! You can check them all out here.

Click a thumbnail to visit a post:

Felt Fire Station - Fire Truck & Dalmatian  Ready to fight fires!  Felt Fire Station - Kitchen

Felt Fire Station - Office & Bedroom  Felt Fire Station - Cover  Bumble Bee Lacing Maze Quiet Book Page

Montessori Continents Map & Quietbook with 3-Part Cards  Animals of Africa for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables  Animals of North America for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables

Animals of the Ocean for the Montessori Wall Map  Animals of Antarctica for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables  Animals of South America for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables

Autumn Leaves Quiet Book & Fall Homeschool Unit  Animals of Asia for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables  Animals of Europe for the Montessori Wall Map & Quietbook with Printables

I’m always taking suggestions for new page ideas. Join our Facebook page, or leave a comment here!

Small Sewing Projects

Along with quiet book sewing, I also did a long of small sewing projects in 2013. My Little Ponies are a common project for me, thanks to my niece who adores them. I also do a lot of ornament sewing every Christmas.

Top 10 Sewing Projects in 2013

  1. Wee Wonderfuls – Sewing Rag Dolls – 11,512 views | 897 pins
  2. Pillow Quiet Book Cover – 5,550 views | 218 pins
  3. Felt Valentine Play Set – 5,155 views | 3,000+ pins
  4. Christmas Tree for Toddlers – 5,137 views | 179 pins
  5. DIY Rainbow Dash Plush with Goggles – 4,383 views | 324 pins
  6. DIY Sewing Labels – 3,444 views | 330 pins
  7. Make the World’s Best Robot Costume! – 2,890 views | 82 pins
  8. Mini Advent Ornaments Set One – 2,331 views | 97 pins
  9. Felt Caterpillar Coin Purse – 2,283 views | 238 pins
  10. DIY Felt Poppy Headband – 1,811 views | 199 pins

Mini Advent Ornaments Set FourOur Reader’s Choice project this holiday was the Christmas Tree Play Set!

Preschool Handbells: New-Sew Felt Musical Notes and PrintablesHonorable mention to this no-sew project: our color-coded handbell music note set!

Thank You!

A big thank you to American Felt and Craft for supplying felt for many of my creations! Their wool blend felt is just so nice to work with. And thank you Safari Ltd. for helping me make a lot of my projects more exciting and educational!

Thank You!Thank you American Felt and Craft!

Top 5 Referring Blogs in 2013:

  1. The Quiet Book Blog
  2. American Felt and Craft – The Blog
  3. Living Montessori Now
  4. Lapappadolce
  5. Proverbs 31 Woman

Let’s Be Friends!

Stephanie Segall

Want to get social? I’m the best at responding on Instagram, but you can always email if you don’t mind waiting (Sorry about that!) You can join my Facebook page or message me via Twitter. My personal site is Stvlive.com. I’m on Pinterest, and I host a large quiet book board. I also love postal mail! Jax enjoys postcards from around the world. Our mailing address is here.

Jax is growing up (he’ll be 4 in February!) but he hasn’t outgrown quiet books. But, you may have noticed that I am tending towards educational projects and larger multi-page books.

Upcoming projects will include a bit of everything: a weather page and money page that can be used in homeschooling, the last installment of the world map (Australia!) and something donut-themed (the birthday party theme Jax chose!) Have an idea for me?

Happy New Year!