Our cloth book

As I've looked back at old posts (and yes, I do that a lot, both for entertainment value and research), I've come to realize that as much as I like to pretend this blog is about and for the kiddos, it's just as much about and for me. I don't really mean for it to be that way, but I suppose sometimes I need an outlet as much as the girls need every detail of their lives documented and photographed (which is to say, not in the way we need air, but more than we need sequined cell phone cases).

And it's in that spirit that I'm posting pictures of the cloth book I made for Kalina and Elise. I realize this post is probably more interesting to me than to you, but I feel like I owe it to all the people whose cloth book posts I drooled over as I was looking for inspiration for my own. I'm also including a cute picture of the girls to tide you over to the next post, which will probably be another riveting sleep one, or possibly something about how Kalina can read (and I mean honest-to-goodness sound out) several words and how much trouble we're all going to be in when Elise can crawl because her appetite for learning is rather unstoppable. Plus I'm probably bragging a little, but at least it's about something other than my kids for once (excluding the previous sentence, that is).

The cover says Kalina, but I have made it clear that the pages are for sharing, as they are bound with metal rings and can be removed and exchanged. In the coming months, Elise will receive her own cover and set of pages, which will also be for sharing, but I'm pretty sure if I gave them to her right now they wouldn't survive more than about one car ride, or would at least be sopping wet by the end of it.

While the book is for the kids, I'll admit that it was also an excellent way for me to get acquainted with my new sewing machine and while away the long hours of winter (not that most of my "long hours" lasted much more than 20 minutes at a time). I also wanted to prove how much I love my girls in case this blog and years of devotion don't do the trick.

Kalina helped with some pages, while other I kept as complete surprises. It actually ended up being a lovely little project for us, as she got to help make some of the important decisions (the cover fabric, for instance, which she was insistent upon in the store and still remembered weeks later even though I'd tucked it away and hadn't done anything with it yet) and "keep track of"/play with the pieces.

I did often have to remind myself that it's just a children's toy, and that it didn't need to be perfect, and nobody (but myself) would be critiquing my work. Not that I could've made it perfect if I'd tried. It's already been tested at church, and with great success--most of the pages are right up Kalina's alley (I know what my little girl likes!), with a few that I've intended for her to grow into.

I did discover that some of the activities need a little more help from Mommy than I'd intended (the snaps are tough), but I'm mostly just grateful that Kalina's responsible to ask for help rather than tearing the book to shreds. Elise's book will, on the other hand, be more suited toward a younger audience. And will probably be made of titanium if I want it to stay intact. Voracious little learner, that girl!

I used cheap fabric/scraps, felt, a magic marker, lots of Velcor, snaps, a zipper, google eyes, magnets, yarn, buttons, ribbon and other assorted materials. Despite trying to keep it cheap, I think the book ended up costing a fortune, especially when you count the hours of freelancing lost. Anything for my girls! I enjoyed every minute. No, I will not make one for your child. :) And here's my description of each page:

Page 1: This page is about getting ready for the day. Untuck the bear from her bed, unzip the "closet" and help her find an outfit. Then, she can have breakfast, comb her hair, wash her face and brush her teeth.

Page 2: Make your own flowers! Each piece (petal, stem, center) of each flower is outlined in thread (I drew it with disappearing marker first and then sewed over that to create the outline). The petals, centers and stem pieces store in a pocket behind the background and can be placed on the design to fill out the flowers.

Page 3: The three removable birdie finger puppets (complete with google eyes) live in a nest. Their egg hats store up above in the leaf pocket. The nest, by the way, has a couple slits in it so you can stick your hand through and operate the puppets inside it.

Pages 4-5: On this spread, Kalina and Elise can choose an object (pennant, flower, flag, balloon, kite) and a ribbon to attach it to each tactile animal (suede, fleece, terrycloth, plush). Also, each of the objects buttons on, so they can be rearranged. Yes, there are 5 objects and 4 animals. You'll see why later.






Page 6: It's a garden! Snap an orange and an apple onto trees, and corn and a tomato onto plants. A carrot and a potato tuck into pockets. Once you "harvest" them, you can put them into the reusable shopping bag.

Page 7: I was going to sew the farm animal buttons onto this page, but Kalina had so much fun playing with them that I left them loose. They store in a pocket in the barn. The first time one of them gets lost, I'm sewing the rest on. The barn doors, hayloft, chicken coop, pigpen and haystack are all flaps for the animals to hide behind. There's also a pasture, pond and a windmill that really spins, kind of.

Page 8: Matt thinks these puzzles (a star, duck, sailboat and whale) will be too hard for Kalina, but I'm pretty sure she'll catch on so quickly I'll be glad I made them double-sided and all in one color. They store in the pocket. Page 9: I sewed magnets into this page to allow the girls to match up the words with the objects. I worked hard to use all the different vowel sounds, or as many as reasonably possible, and still keep the words short and recognizable. Kalina already knows "cat" and "dog" without breaking a sweat.

Page 10: It's Memory! I used scraps of fabric and see-through Velcro to keep them in place. These turned out so nice in person that I might make a few gift sets. Page 11: When Kalina's a little older (and Elise), I bet she'll be able to weave these strips of fabric into really cool designs. I know I would've.

 Page 12: Cuckoo! All the numbers are Velcro'd on so that Kalina can arrange them in order (or not). The hands really move. And if you tug the bird gently he'll kind of pop out. Pull the string below the clock's face and he'll go back into place.

Bonus: Don't tell Kalina and Elise, but I've arranged it so each of these numbers, 1-12, corresponds with a specific page or spread. Right now, they're in order (1 bear, 2 flowers, 3 birdies, etc.), but as the girls get older it might be a fun challenge to have them match the numbers to the pages.

The back has a big pocket and also a pencil holder.

[Taking a bow.]