DIY characters: Create your own fictional animals. Your kid will love them, warts and all!
Paperdolls
When my baby girl Filippa was little I made her a new play crib with some animals sewn on it. But I needed to sketch them first. One thing led to another. Can I play with your drawings, mama?” YES!
All you need is a pair of scissors to slide the dolls into the drawing. Interior magazines or sourcebooks for interior design will work perfectly for your kid`s paperdoll playtime.
Outer space
And the animal sketches got a school-in-a box observatory aswell!
Decoupage
Use any cardboard box, tape other boxes to it if you like to change the shape. Cut the holes that you want. Add old newspaper, varnish with glue. Let dry, paint your color of choise /decorate.
Original artwork
When I was making my daughter the play crib that day I didn`t have any furry fabric at hand. So I grabbed the ironboard cover to make her a rabbit and teddybear. Made sence?! That is why they`re all silver and I dont do much ironing..
From sketch to fabric
Quiet book
I must have been around 2 yrs old when my siblings and I sat with a homemade quietbook from America. It grew with me, not all tasks for finemotorskills could be checked off immediately. Far from it!! I couldnt tell time until the 5th grade. So in case my genes were slow, tell time was particularly of interest when making my daughters. :-) The great thing with quietbooks is that there are no wrong answers. Its all wonderfully intuitive for a small child, the feel of a fabric, buttons to pull off. Practise, practise..
What to put inside
I made fabric eyeshadow
The book itself is soft enough to double as a pillow, perfect for travelling. Find out what you would like your child to practise on, make a plan. Here`s a good shortlist:-)
Velcro
Tie a bow
Beltbuckles
Tell time
Zippers
6. Buttons
All the stuff that you`ve got in your closet but never use anymore can be treasures for a fabricbook! I cut my old purse in half and sewed it on the bookpage:-) Same goes for a belt I never wore. The possibilities are endless! In my next book I`m gonna have a how to hold a fork and knife- page. In my daughters playkitchen I found several fabric items already sewn:-D But it is a good idea to keep it flat, though. If it`s starting to look like the holiday suitcase, you might have to review it. Find out how many pages you want to make and sew them all together at the end. My bookcover was made out of faux leather and the pages were actually cotton pillowcases which I hand dyed with tea leaves. (Earl Grey:-) Use what you have!
Tea dyeing
If you have never teadyed fabric, check out this tutorial, it is supereasy. and all natural https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyxLb-iVvI
Another great advantage of making a quiet book is that the child will practise its ability to focus and concentrate. And it will be given the quiet space it needs while doing the book activity. The quiet from within;-)
Why quiet?
Scientists at Yale University discovered noise stimulation in young mice reduces the number of blood vessels being formed in the brain.
Research tells ut that our kids will reduce stress with less noise. But sometimes it is easier said than done. At work I don`t think I have ever seen a child be quiet just by saying so. They need the inner motivation, just like us.
Sensory play
Being a bit of a tactile-nerd is at the core essential of being a child.
The suede “leatherbound” book adds to the tactile criteria of a fabric book. I used Custard Cream cookies as referance for the embroidery. The one that got away…
Quiet books are recommended by doctors, speech pathologists, psychologists. The experts all agree. The soft books help improve fine motor skills and explore colors, shapes and explore the world. Phenomenology heavyweights such as Merleau-Ponty (French philosopher 1908-1961) argues that we should regard the body not as a mere biological or physical unit, but as the body which structures one's situation and experience within the world.
Quiet books are great for the development of the child!
a friend for life
Tying a bow for the first time. You will never forget that quiet book. My aunt Rhonda made rhymes to go with each task: Tie a bow, so it will look just so!
Get pinterest
There are many wonderful artists out there making fabricbooks, or you can make one yourself! Here is some inspiration. Best of luck❤️