Well it's been about a year since I last made some busy book pages so I've enjoyed making a few new ones this week to try and take my mind off the whole house selling process. Doing a bit of sewing for me is a bit like having a glass of wine- it does chill me out a bit! So here are my latest pages...
Marble Run
You'll need
* some fabric and/or felt
* a trick marker pen (also called an air dry pen as the ink eventually fades)- I got mine from Bernina
ruler
* scrap pieces of felt for the red and blue arrows
* a marble
Cut out 2 squares of fabric (mine are about 25 cm each). I used felt for one piece so it wasn't too floppy, and a piece of this cool marbles fabric from Flowerpress Design.
Put wrong sides together and sew around, leaving a gap on one side to turn right sides out. Clip the corners without cutting the stitching!
Turn right sides out, poke out the corners with a chopstick and iron (don't iron on the felt side if using felt!)
Using your trick marker draw on the maze pattern, then sew over all the lines. Stitch a small arrow triangle at each end of the maze. Pop your marble into the gap where you turned the maze right sides out, then top stitch all the way around the maze to close the gap.
And here are the other pages I made..
Linky chain
Another cool idea I saw on pinterest- strips of felt with velcro at both ends that you make a chain with. The red and grey strips are sewn onto the page and then you link up with the other strips.
And every good busy book needs a fishing page...here's my version...
Under the Sea
The sea creatures are made out of felt with a paper clip between the layers of felt. The fishing rod is made with a piece of dowel and an eyelet screw at the top. I tied and glued on some embroidery thread at the top with a magnet at the other end and covered the magnet with a worm cut out of felt.
The fish bowl page to put the sea creatures into when you catch them (and a pocket for the fishing rod). So far these are the favourite pages from the ones I've made- kids sure do love a pretend fishing rod and magnet fish don't they, it feels like very other week Stella is bringing one home from her daycare!
And because the marble maze was fun to make and I had just enough marble fabric left I made another one to giveaway so leave a comment and I'll put you in the draw!
Win Me!
To see more creative spaces, check out 'My Creative Space' hosted by Kootoyoo at Kidspot here
Megan x
24 comments:
Oh, I love this idea! My 4yo LOVES mazes! Maybe I'll make him a jumbo-sized one - and win the smaller one for his little brother! ;)
So cool! I would love to make a busy / quiet book before our next baby is born (in june!) so pinning this now! x
you are so clever!
Your busy book pages are always so beautiful! I totally get why the maze was so popular with your 3 year old!
Some great ideas there, and beautifully made as always. I have a 3 year old who i'm sure would be into the maze, so i'd love to enter x
oh those are adorable!!!!
I love the marble run page - what a neat idea! My toddler would love this!
Awesome! Love it. Do join in with Leonie (at 3xsunshine) for her NZ crafty link up too. :o)
I am working on a colour busy book but your pages are SO, so inspiring. :o)
Hi Megan, these are such clever ideas for little fingers. I would like to make some pages too at some stage. How many activities is right for one book?
very cool, I think I might just have to make one :)
I've made a few quiet books in my time, but your pages are fantastic ideas. Cx
Thank you for the great ideas! Definitely will do this!
These are really great, i want to start a busy book so you have inspired me to get started before the kids are too old. Sarah x
You are so amazingly talented! I love these....won't be able to make one...but love it :)
What a lovely surprise Megan to click over here tonight and see my marbles becoming part of your wonderful busy book (which I have loved since you started it!!)
I'm so happy my marbles will go to start a new one too :-)
So cute! I wish I was a bit more crafty... let's hope I can win the maze for my 3yr old!
I've just discovered your wonderful blog and LOVE the busy book pages. Thank you for sharing!
This is so awesome! Ive been meaning to make a busy book for a couple of years and if/when i finally do I will definitely be getting lots of ideas and inspiration from you!
This is a awesome idea. my daughter would love it!
Such great ideas, i sm definitely making a book for my daughter. Tell me please, what is the fish bowl made of? Is it clear plastic or are the fish on top? Also how do you attach the pages to your book?
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing your tutorial.
Wow! I have never heard of these books - what a fantastic idea. I have two grandies that are just going to love these. Do you join them up or just have them as they are?
Thanks so much for the inspiration. Belinda xxx
Hi Megan, Just visiting via Susie's post and couldnt resist a comment. What a fantastic thoughtful busy book! I sooo wish I seen this when mine were tiny. : )
you are very creative,, I have seen the marble maze before, but wasn't sure how far apart to sew the paths, very cute, thanks.
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