Team Gabriel: Lily's Busy Book

A couple of months ago, I decided I would make Lily a busy book. We had one of these growing up and Lily loves to play with it whenever we are in Asheboro. I figured it would make a great toy for quiet times - church, car trips - pretty much anytime we might need to have a quiet, occupied toddler. Now, I am not really an experienced crafter. I've done some small things here and there, but I haven't ever attempted something of this detail and size (project wise). One of my friends at work gave me the motivation to do this, as she had also been looking into doing this for her little girl. So with her experience, plus the encouragement (and sewing machine lessons!) from my mom, I was able to complete it. We've had one small casualty so far (one bead string), but I think it is pretty easily fixed and I've learned that next time I will sew these in so much more securely. A lot of these pages came from templates I found here. She has an amazing collection of quiet books and is kind enough to provide templates, as well as some instructions and suggestions. I have to admit - I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing it!

Here are the pictures and some explanations of what each page is - enjoy!

These are the pages in progress. I cut 4 pieces of pellon, which held 2 pages each.

This is the counting flower page - the petals are removable (velcro holds them on).

This is the paint brush page, the first page in the book. There are paint splotches that velcro on to the palette and the paint brush is there to be used to paint everything else in the book.

Paint brush page with the splotches attached.

Sorry - this picture just will not orient the right way! This tree has snaps sewed on it and green leaves, flowers and brown leaves can be attached according to what season Lily would like for it to be. The grass at the bottom is a pocket and holds the leaves and flowers.

Another picture that won't orient correctly. This is the zipper page - self explanatory I think.

This is the bead string page. The strings have different numbers of beads, ranging from 1-10 to practice counting and colors.

This is the ballet shoe page to practice tying bows (more girlie than a tennis shoe).

This is Lily's dress up doll page - maybe my favorite page?? She has velcro attached to her and can wear the different outfits I made for her (and I made a LOT!).