I'd like to make a quiet activity book for Rhett for Christmas (it's only six months away people!). But the thought of doing everything by myself is quite daunting. Then it hit me (things often do and most of the time Chuck isn't throwing them). Why not do a quiet book swap?
This is how I see it happening. People comment on this post and tell me they'd like to participate (emily, you're already in, so deal with it). I'll send the basic felt for the pages to each swap participant so that each book is uniform in size and basic material. The participants will design one page; I'll assign which "activity" should be highlighted on their page. Then, participants will make up to 10, or however many people want to participate, of their page using their own fabric and embellishments. At the pre-determined end of the swap, the participants send me their 10 pages, I'll put the books together, and then I'll mail them out to everyone! Voila!
Some ideas I came up with for the "activities" are:
Lacing
Buttons
Braiding
Tieing
Buckling
Zipping
Telling time
Writing a note
Snapping
Pockets
I know some of you will be concerned with your ability to complete such a project. I think that this won't be that hard and, really, there is no expectation for greatness. It's just a great idea (humble, ain't I?) to be able to share something handmade with a special little person. Addendum: After reading Meg's comment, I concur with her about this definitely being a sewing project. Not only am I concerned about the life of these sweet books, but I am certainly concerned about pieces coming unattached and becoming choking hazards. If you don't have a sewing machine, either find someone who does, commit to hand sew these objects, or wait for another fun swap. Hope that's not too harsh. :)
So what do you think? Would anyone be interested? If so, do you have any other "activities" you'd like to see or not like to see? Would those interested still be interested if I asked for money (probably around $10) to reimburse me for the cost of the felt and mailings? What is the largest number of pages you'd be willing to make? How long do you think would be an appropriate time for you to make your pages?
Of course there are some details to be worked out, but I think it could work. It has to work! Think about how fun for your favorite little one to have something made by so many lovely hands from all over the country. SO FUN. And $10 for a handmade quiet book? Not possible anywhere else. If you have friends that you think would be interested, please send them a link to this post. I'll make a decision by the end of the week.
If you want to see some examples of books and book pages, look here, here, here, or here. The internet has tons of different images and books for you to copy.
And P.S., don't forget to read our Saturday post about last week's return to full-time work for me. That's right: our post; I got Chuck to post his thoughts about being Mr. Mom.
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ummm, i guess i'm in. :) i'd be in anyways - even if my older sis didn't force me to do it.
ReplyDeletei think $10 is great. i don't care how many pages i'd have to do. maybe give us a month to complete it?
it is a great idea and people better sign up for it!
I am nervously saying yes. High pressure cause I know how good your stuff looks. Mine might not look as good, so if you are willing to sacrifice asthetics a bit, I'll totally do it. I'll do as many as need be and I think a month is good.
ReplyDeleteI do have one BIG request. As much as is possible, I think all things that are permanent on the page need to be sewn in. I only say this because my sister-in-law did a super cute animal quiet book for us and glued the pieces in. Kids are hard on these books and many of the pieces have been ripped out and the felt animals don't have eyes or faces anymore. I guess that's a sign that my kids really liked it, but if they had been sewn in it would still be together.
Just a thought. I know not everyone is comfortable or has access to a sewing machine. I think the most people who want should be able to participate.
I'm in! I started to make one for Matthew but it was too much work so it sits in a bag in my closet. Making 10 of the same page sounds much easier! I agree with Meg that the pages need to be sown together as much as possible. $10 and a month is OK with me.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm Emily's friend and followed the link from her blog. I'd love participate! Also overwhelmed by all the different pages and would feel totally capable of making a ton of just one style page. My skills are on the low end so bear that in mind, please :D. $10, a mth, as many pages as needed and sewing are all fine with me. LOVE the button blooms page and a lot of the other examples!
ReplyDeleteOkay, If I am not too late I want to do this. As if I don't have enough projects going on right now but I really want to do it! Let me know what I need to do next. I will send money when you need and just let me know what my time limit is. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to make one of these for a while now as well and haven't gotten around to it. So I'd love to do it. My only problem will be that I'm having my baby 3 weeks from today, so depending on when I get the materials, etc. I'm not sure that I could promise to be done in a month. Other than that everything else sounds great to me.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm so dang slow! I remember you said something about Monday, but my life was crazy as I just got rid of 3 adopted kids...anyway, I already have a bunch of ideas and maybe it would be incentive for me to finish...let me know if you want pics of what I've already done if you think taht would be helpful.
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